Answer · A short answer
How do you stop over-prepping food?
Stop prepping by feel. Set a par for each prepped item per 100 covers, multiply it by tomorrow's forecast, and subtract what is already made and still good. That is the prep list. Then record what gets thrown away and why, so overproduction shows up as its own number instead of disappearing into food cost.
Why kitchens over-prep
Running out in the middle of service is visible and painful. Throwing food away at close is quiet. So cooks prep extra to be safe, and nobody sees the cost until food cost rises and nobody can say why.
The fix is not to cut prep blindly. Too little prep hurts service. The fix is to prep to a number.
Prep to the forecast
Start with tomorrow's covers by daypart. For each item, work out from your own sales how much you use per 100 covers. Here is an example: if you use 6 kg of a sauce per 100 covers and you forecast 250, you need 15 kg, less whatever is already made and still good.
The chef can still change the list for a special or a large party. When they do, the change is written down.
Record waste by reason
Log what is thrown away, how much and why: prep waste, spoilage, overproduction, a dish sent back, a kitchen error. Each reason has a different cause. Overproduction points at the forecast or the pars. Spoilage points at ordering and storage. Dishes sent back point at recipes or training.
Without the reason, waste is just rubbish. With it, it tells you what to fix.
Check theory against what you used
Your recipes say how much of each ingredient a dish should use. Multiply by what you sold and you know what you should have used. If you used noticeably more, something is happening: portions, unrecorded waste, staff meals or a wrong count.
Review the gap every week with the chef and adjust the pars. Prep gets tighter because someone is looking at it.
How one restaurant group set prep, staff and orders from one forecast. Read the group's story.
Keep reading
- ToolWhat empty tables cost you
- PlaybookSchedule tomorrow from the forecast, not from habit
- TemplateDaily prep and staff sheet
Part of our Operations & Automation work for Restaurants, Hotels & Hospitality, built as Revenue System.
Rather have it set up for you?
Book a call. We will look at your front office with you.
Book a callScore your business
Systems built to SOC 2, ISO 27001 and PIPEDA/PHIPA controls.