Maintaining Control of Front-of-the-House Prep Work

Every chef and restaurant manager is familiar with The Big Three: labor, beverage and food cost. These are the three reasons restaurant managers and chefs lose sleep, and eat antacids like candy. Of the trio, food cost leads in importance.

Chefs and kitchen managers are always looking to trim food costs and send more money to the bottom line. Purchasing, prep waste, profitable specials, proper product storage and portioning are all daily factors that keep operations in the black.

One area, however, is often overlooked, an oversight that contributes to food cost, and food waste. It's the front of the house. On the surface, it seems that only some lemon slices and creamer packets need to be accounted for, but a closer look is likely to reveal more products moving around past the kitchen door than realized.