In Chapter 4 , definitions were given for directs and stores. Directs were defined as those foods charged to cost as received, and stores as those carried in inventory and charged to cost as issued. That distinction is particularly important in a discussion of issuing.
There are two elements in the issuing process: (1) the physical move- ment of foods from storage facilities to food preparation areas; and (2) the record keeping associated with determining the cost of the food issued.
Physical Movement of Foods from Storage Facilities
As described in the discussion of standards and standard procedures for storing, foods should be stored in fixed locations and under secure condi- tions to ensure that they will be available readily and in the proper quantities when needed. When a cook needs a particular item, it must be removed from a storage facility and transported to the preparation area. Practices for doing this vary from one establishment to another. In some operations, all facili- ties are locked, and cooks must list all of their needs on requisitions, which are turned over to a steward, who sees to the issuing of the various items and their delivery to preparation areas. In other operations, storage facili- ties are unlocked and any cook who needs an item simply goes to get it. In many establishments, some of the storage facilities are locked (the storeroom
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and the walk - in refrigerators for meat, for example), whereas others are left unlocked (refrigerators containing produce or leftovers, for example).
There is no universal practice, but it should be obvious that estab- lishments that take greater precautions tend to have greater control over unauthorized issuing. At the same time, it must be noted that these estab- lishments tend to make issuing more time-consuming, and thus costly, by requiring written requisitions that must be filled by additional specialized personnel. In general, small establishments tend to follow more informal practices, and large organizations are more likely to rely on specific proce- dures requiring paper records and specialized staff. Standards and standard procedures for the physical movement of foods must be determined specifi- cally for a given establishment, often on the basis of a cost – benefit ratio.
Record Keeping for Issued Foods
Directs
Directs are charged to food cost as they are received, on the assumption that these perishable items have been purchased for immediate use. Theoreti- cally, these foods will be moved to appropriate facilities in or near the kitchen and will be used entirely in food preparation on the day they are received. In practice, this is not normally the case. Some of the directs received on a given day are likely to be left over and used the following day; in fact, most estab- lishments purposely purchase more than one day ’ s supply of many directs. Although this greatly simplifies the record keeping associated with determining the cost of directs, it does introduce some inaccuracy in the records maintained. As discussed later, establishments that determine daily food costs use the total dollar figure in the “ Food Direct ” column on the Receiving Clerk ’ s Daily Report as one component of the daily cost of food. This is based on the presumption that all directs received on a given day have been consumed and should thus be included in food cost for that day. Because this is not strictly true, these daily costs tend to be artificially high on days when all directs received have not been consumed and artificially low on days when directs included in costs for previous days are actually being consumed.
For recordkeeping purposes, then, directs are treated as issued the moment they are received, and no further record of particular items is kept. The alternative is to follow an issuing procedure similar to that described for stores in the next paragraph, which requires significant additional time and labor. Finally, it should be noted that waste, pilferage, or spoilage of directs will result in unwarranted additions to food cost figures.
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ISSUING CONTROL 147
Stores
The food category known as stores was previously described as consisting of staples. When purchased, these foods are considered part of inventory until issued for use and are not included in cost figures until they are issued. Therefore, it follows that records of issues must be kept in order to deter- mine the cost of stores. For control purposes, a system must be established to ensure that no stores are issued unless kitchen personnel submit lists of the items and quantities needed.
The Requisition. A requisition , illustrated in Figure 5.1 , is a form filled
in by a member of the kitchen staff. It lists the items and quantities of stores that the kitchen staff needs for the current day ’ s production. Each requisition should be reviewed by the chef, who should check to see that all required items are listed and that the quantity listed for each is accurate. If the list of items and quantities is correct, the chef signs and thus approves the requisition. It is next given to the storeroom clerk, who fills the order.
For computer users, the requisition process may be slightly differ- ent. If the chef has a computer in his or her office, the chef may input the information directly into the computer and then send the requisition elec- tronically to the storeroom. The quantity of each item requisitioned will • FIGURE 5.1 •
Requisition
Supply Main Kitchen Date 8 - Sep
Quantity Description Unit Cost Total Cost 3 #10 cans artichoke hearts
50 lbs. sugar
20 lbs. boneless duck breasts 30 lbs. strip steak
Charge to
Food
Dept.J.J. Lemon
Chef
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automatically be deducted from inventory, and it will then simply be a matter of gathering the foods indicated on the requisition.
Whenever practical, it is advisable to require that requisitions be sub- mitted in advance to enable the storeroom clerk to prepare the order with- out haste. In some places, it has been found practical to insist on requisitions being submitted the day before food is needed. This has the desirable effect of forcing kitchen personnel to anticipate needs and plan for the following day ’ s production. In some operations, the requisition is also used to inform the steward of unusual items that will be needed for upcoming functions. It is therefore helpful to submit requisitions as far in advance as possible to give the steward adequate time to properly purchase the items.
It is also desirable, whenever possible, to set definite times for the store- room clerk to issue food. The storeroom clerk, after all, has other duties to perform, including keeping the storerooms and refrigerators clean, maintain- ing stocks of staples on shelves, rotating stock, and doing considerable paper- work. Some operations have achieved good results by restricting the times for issuing food to two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. Naturally, such decisions must be left to management in any particular operation.
Pricing the Requisition. After stores have been issued from the appropri-
ate storeroom, refrigerator, or freezer, it may be the storeroom clerk ’ s respon- sibility to record on each requisition the cost of listed items and to determine the total value of the foods issued. If the requisition has been printed by the computer, prices should already be recorded. As will be discussed in Chapter 9 , this information is necessary for a daily determination of food costs.
The items listed on requisitions fall into two categories: staples and meats/similar entr é es. The unit cost for staples is derived from one of the following, depending on the system in use:
1. The unit cost of each item is marked on each container as it is stored,
making it readily available to the storeroom clerk.
2. A book or card file is maintained for all staple items, one page or one card
per item. As prices change, the most recent purchase price is entered.
3. The most recent purchase price for each item is listed on a perpetual
inventory card or in the computer.
4. The storeroom clerk keeps a mental record of the orders placed and
usually remembers the purchase prices because of constant use.
Computer users who use purchasing programs will employ the third method. The computer program keeps track of the prices paid for all
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ISSUING CONTROL 149
purchases and is thus able to provide accurate information for all issues. For example the Comtrex computer software discussed in Chapter 4 depletes stock in inventory when issued. It is done on a first in, first out basis and pro- vides the food cost for all issues as well as a value of all remaining stock. This obviously saves considerable time and effort over other methods.
The first method is generally preferred by those still using a manual system. However, it unquestionably involves considerable labor and conse- quently is costly to maintain. Therefore, though preferred, this is not the method in general use. More often than not, prices come from the store- room clerk ’ s head. Although the accuracy of this system leaves much to be desired, it is the method requiring the least time and labor. Many have found that the resulting inaccuracies have no significant effect in the long run.
The costs for meats and similar entr é e items are determined differ- ently. As discussed in the previous chapter, meats can be considered as either directs or stores. Many operations purchase meats on a daily basis in the same way they purchase other directs, such as lettuce, fresh vegetables, and fruits. These meats are typically precut in individual portions similar to pur- chasing them at a retail grocery store. Essentially, the butchering process is done by the wholesaler. The establishment may trim the meat and remove excess fat, but preparation of the meat for cooking involves little else. These operations can treat meat as either directs or stores. If large amounts are pur- chased at one time, the establishment might treat meat purchases as stores, in which case the cost of meats is charged to food cost when issued. If meats are purchased for daily use in smaller quantities, meat is treated as directs and charged to the cost of food when received.
Once the unit cost of each item on the requisition — both staples and meats/entr é es — has been recorded, it becomes possible to determine the total value of the food issued. For each listed item, the unit value is multiplied by the number of units issued. This is called extending the requisition . Computer - generated requisitions are automatically extended. When the values of the various items on the requisition have been extended, each requisition is totaled, as illustrated in Figure 5.2 . At the end of each day, all requisitions are sent to the food controller.
Thus, each morning the food controller will have figures available for the principal components of a daily food cost for the preceding day:
1. Cost of directs from the receiving sheet 2. Cost of stores from the requisitions
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The importance of having accurate and timely data developed in this way will become apparent in Chapter 9 , which discusses a method for deter- mining daily food cost and its significance.
As previously illustrated, the first step in the control process — establishing standards and standard procedures — is the proper beginning in storing and issuing control, which must be followed by three additional steps: training staff, monitoring performance, and taking corrective action as required.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE TRANSFERS
So far in our discussions we have assumed that a restaurant purchases, receives, stores, and issues food for use in one kitchen in which all production is accomplished. By doing so, we have quite purposely ignored the existence of several possible complications, which will be useful to consider at this point. For example, even in small restaurants, food production in the kitchen may require the use of certain beverage items, such as wines and liquors, not purchased specifically for kitchen use. Conversely, many establishments purchase some food items knowing that they will be used at the bar for drink • FIGURE 5.2 •
Requisition
Supply Main Kitchen Date 8 - Sep
Quantity Description Unit Cost Total Cost 3 # 10 cans artichoke hearts $ 5.79 $ 17.37
50 lbs. sugar 0.39 $ 19.50
20 lbs. boneless duck breasts $ 3.80 $ 76.00 30 lbs. strip steak $ 10.45 $ 313.50
$ 426.37
Charge to
Food
Dept.J.J. Lemon
Chef
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FOOD AND BEVERAGE TRANSFERS 151
production. Whole oranges and lemons, as well as heavy cream, are good examples. In addition, in some large hotel and motel operations, more than one kitchen is in operation, and it may be necessary or desirable to transfer food from one kitchen to another. Transfers may occur in chain operations: a single unit may produce such items as baked goods for other units in the chain, or one unit in the organization, running short of needed items, may be encouraged to secure them from another unit. In these cases, a failure to record the value of transfers will result in a food cost that is inaccurate.
Because the goals of food control include determining food cost as accurately as possible and matching food cost with food sales, it is often necessary to maintain records of the cost of the food transferred. When the amounts involved are relatively insignificant and have little appreciable effect on cost and on the cost - to - sales ratio, they may be, and usually are, disre- garded. But when the amounts become somewhat larger and have more sig- nificant effects, records of some type must be developed.