Food waste that entrepreneurs often overlook. Turn food waste back into money with ideas to increase profits.

Waste from restaurants, especially waste from trimming ingredients, waste from ingredients that have been stored for a long time but have not been used until they rot and are thrown away, food that has to be thrown away because it is not all sold, or food that has to be thrown away because it is dropped or damaged, all of this is wasted money. MHA invites you to turn waste back into money, helping to save on the budget and being an idea to increase profits for restaurants.

1. Creating a detailed SOP for cooking procedures To reduce the chances of the staff cutting too much, because each staff will use their own feelings to cut the ingredients, causing the actual amount of ingredients used to be different, and also causing unnecessary loss of ingredients. Even in the cooking process, if there is no definite standard, it will cause the ingredients to be used differently in each dish. If the staff often puts in "heavy hands", it will cause the opportunity to sell other menus that use the same ingredients.

The solution is to create a Standard Operation Procedure (SOP). Starting from the steps of preparing each type of ingredient, such as washing meat properly, cutting and trimming methods, the yield value of each ingredient must be set as a standard, followed by steps for storing ingredients, separating types of refrigeration and freezing correctly, which will help reduce spoilage of ingredients before use.

Until the cooking process of each menu, the quantity of each ingredient must be clearly specified. It would be good to have a fixed recipe for the restaurant, using the same weight, measurement, and measurement every time cooking. Determining the cooking steps is also important. It helps reduce damage during cooking. And all of these standard steps should be set as a manual for employees to strictly follow.

You can study the standards of each aspect of the restaurant at Course => “Systematic establishment of restaurant standards: Standard Operation Procedure” by A.Porachai Nitmethawong Restaurant Consultant and Restaurant Management Guru

2. Overcooking or over-preparing food. Especially for shops that need to prepare food before selling, such as fried chicken and sticky rice shops, or food that needs to be stocked and ready to be sold as a main dish, such as soup, curry, dessert, etc. When the cooked food is not sold, it must be discarded. It cannot be sold again the next day because if it spoils and customers buy it, there will be many more problems.

Giving away leftover food to employees is possible, but it risks intentionally overcooking food because employees want free stuff. In addition, ingredients that are prepared but not cooked can also be spoiled. In particular, meat should not be refrozen after being taken out of the freezer and thawed. Some pre-cut vegetables should be discarded because they are no longer usable. All of these are considered a loss of food costs in that area.

 

The solution is to forecast daily sales volume based on existing sales data if the store has a system. POS If you are already there, take out the data to see how much each menu item is sold each day of the week. This will help you calculate the amount to sell the next day more clearly. You may want to leave a little extra for a shortfall. For shops that do not yet have a POS system, try recording sales data for a while. In the meantime, estimate the sales volume on a daily basis and reduce the amount of food you make. Once you have clear information, you can plan your sales again.

 

3. Using processed raw materials can reduce labor costs, time, and increase storage space. It is true that processed raw materials are more expensive than raw materials that have not been processed or trimmed. However, processed raw materials will save us time in trimming ourselves. And processed raw materials have been preliminarily inspected by the supplier to ensure that they are not spoiled or near expiration. Also, when trimmed, the volume will be reduced, resulting in less storage space. Therefore, we must choose a reliable supplier and always inspect the raw materials upon delivery because processed raw materials themselves can also spoil.

4. Convert remaining ingredients into new menus. Sometimes the parts that are cut off can be used to make other dishes. For example, a whole salmon, when the meat is sliced, will be left with the bones, fins and head. Usually, the meat removed from the bones is used to make a salad. The fish head is often used to make a soy sauce soup dish. The fins are often fried until crispy and served with seafood sauce.

Or if you have a lot of vegetables left over from trimming, try boiling them to make vegetable stock to use in making soup dishes. This soup can also be made from fish bones, chicken frames, or shrimp heads.

Steak restaurants that may have a lot of leftover meat can try grinding it, seasoning it, and frying it into hamburgers. Or Thai dishes like sour curry can use vegetables left over from other dishes. This is a way to add value to leftover materials.

5. Check the price of raw materials at all times. Because the price of raw materials always fluctuates. If the price of raw materials increases, we may have to reduce the amount of stock. For example, from the original order of raw materials in case of shortage of about 15%, we have to reduce it to 5-10% first. We can wait until the price drops or there is a change before ordering the same amount. Or we can look for other suppliers who offer cheaper prices. We will have to check the prices of many suppliers and compare them. And compare the quality of the raw materials to be at the standard level of the shop.

- Make Par level to order raw materials sufficient for each cycle of use. Par level is the calculation of the amount of raw materials used in each order cycle, taking into account the following important factors:

1. Average amount of raw materials used each week

2. Raw material delivery rounds each week

3. Amount of raw materials in case of shortage

In order for the shop to know the Par level, it must first implement an SOP so that the amount of raw materials obtained is the same or close to the same in every calculation round. This will help reduce ordering excessive raw materials until they are left over.

- Set the raw material standards by dealing with suppliers before ordering, so that we receive raw materials that meet our needs more. Because raw materials are not up to spec, cut to the size we want, or raw materials that have been stored for a long time and are close to spoiling are sold at a low price. In the end, if they cannot be used, they must be discarded. Even if they can be adjusted to make other menus, it is not worth wasting the main menu ingredients for this reason.

- Those who are responsible for receiving raw materials in the shop must check carefully. If any raw materials are not up to standard, the supplier must fix them or deduct from the invoice immediately. This matter cannot be ignored. The shop owner must instruct the person responsible for this matter well and must check carefully before receiving every time. Letting it go by “forgetting” will make the supplier think that we accept this mistake and will cause us to lose the budget for no reason forever.

- Know the principles of storing ingredients correctly, as different types of ingredients have different storage methods. Storing ingredients correctly will help extend their life, reduce spoilage, and allow them to be stored for longer, especially fresh food such as meat and fresh vegetables. You must start from the method of cutting, washing, packing in bags, and arranging in trays to put in the freezer or refrigerator appropriately. For techniques for storing ingredients, you can learn more from the course. “Professional raw material storage techniques” by Chef Wilment Leon Founder and Chairman : Thailand Culinary Academy

- Using FIFO in stock management: If a store takes out raw materials for convenient use, change to First-in First-out or first-in, first-out stock, by taking out the raw materials that were brought in first to be used first. This method will help reduce the discarding of spoiled raw materials. And when stocking, there must be a label with the date clearly attached, or use the method of dividing zones according to the date taken if there is enough space in the freezer or storage room.

- Damage during cooking can be prevented by organizing the work flow in the kitchen well, without bumping into each other, and organizing the cooking to be standardized, such as putting ingredients and raw materials separately in containers neatly and close to the cooking area to reduce the chance of ingredients falling out. When cooking is complete, the plates and bowls to be used must be close together and the size must be appropriate for the amount of food being made, preventing overflowing and spilling when serving.