1. Price of Menu and Portion Control
Catering
Price of Menu and Portion Control

2. Price of Menu
Customers are generally willing to pay a fair price for a fair portion. The price the caterer can charge will depend on the quality of the food and the surroundings. The price you expect to pay for a meal in McDonald’s would not be the same as you would expect to pay in a five-star hotel, where you are paying not only for the food but the service and the surroundings

3. Caterers working in residential establishments like hospitals, homes, prisons and schools usually have only a limited budget, so have to keep costs to a minimum.

4. Commercial establishments have to make a profit in order to stay in business. The selling price, (price shown on the menu) must consider:
Food costs
Overheads (gas, electric, lighting, rates and rent)
Labour costs (staff wages)
Profit

5. The actual food costs are calculated at about forty percent of the selling price. This means that if a dish costs £4.00 per portion to make, it would be sold for £10.00 per portion

6. How much will your dish cost?
Use the receipts to work out the cost of your dish
Add up the cost of your ingredients remembering that you might not have used all of some of them and will need to work out the cost of the part you have used
Divide the total by 4, this gives you 10% of the cost.
Multiply this figure by 10 to get the total selling price of your dish
Ingredients cost £4.00÷4=£1.00
£1.00x10=£10.00 this is the price your dish will cost on the menu
Ingredients cost £6.00÷4=£1.50
£1.50x10=£15.00 selling price

7. Costing:
It is vital to cost dishes accurately to make a reasonable profit. Portion control (keeping the size of a portion the same every time by using the same size container or serving spoon).
The total cost of a food item depends upon 3 things:
Food or materials cost the cost of the raw materials or ingredients.
Labour costs - Direct labour cost e.g. the wages of the chefs, Indirect Labour costs - other people who work in the restaurant.
Overheads - the cost of rent, rates, heating, lighting, electricity, gas.
Sales - Food Cost = Gross Profit
Sales - total cost = Net Profit
Food cost + Gross Profit = Sales
Gross Profit is usually around 40%
Net Profit (after Labour & overheads have been taken out) is around 20%
Weights & Measure Act 1985 Weights and measurements of products must be accurate.

8. Portion Control
Portion control concerns the amount of each menu item produced and served. It will depend upon the type of customer, the actual food item (some foods are very rich and only served in small portions) and the selling price of the food.

9. Good portion control is needed to:
Keeps costs down
Keep losses in food preparation and serving to a minimum
To offer customers a ‘satisfying’ portion without waste
To make a profit

10. Portions can be ‘marked’ in the kitchen i. e
Portions can be ‘marked’ in the kitchen i.e. cutting lines are marked on dishes to show how big the portions should be.
Careful garnishes or decorations (such as on a gateau or cheesecake) will also indicate portion size.
There is also a range of equipment that can be used to portion food:

11. Scoops – used for ice cream, mashed potatoes
ladles – used for soups, sauces and gravies
Fruit juice glasses – for fruit juice
Individual pie dishes – shepherds pie, fish pie, steak and onion pie, steak and kidney pie, lasagne
Ramekins – egg custards, mousses, pates
Sundae dishes – Sundae dishes
Individual moulds – jellies mousses
Individual pudding basins – summer pudding, Christmas pudding, steamed pudding, meat pudding
Butter-pat machines – butter
Milk dispensers – milk
Soup plates or bowls – soups, salads
Serving spoons/tablespoons – fruit or vegetables