Kitchen Management and Costing Flashcards

When comparing bids from two food suppliers, a kitchen manager should primarily evaluate:

Answer: Price, quality, delivery reliability, and service

A comprehensive bid evaluation weighs price alongside quality, delivery consistency, and vendor service to ensure total value.

The contribution margin of a menu item is calculated as:

Answer: Selling price minus food cost

Contribution margin = selling price − food cost, representing the amount each item contributes to covering non-food costs and profit.

A restaurant uses the FIFO method for inventory rotation. This means:

Answer: Oldest stock is used first to minimize spoilage

FIFO (First In, First Out) ensures the oldest inventory is used first, reducing spoilage and maintaining food safety.

Which type of cost remains constant regardless of sales volume, such as monthly rent?

Answer: Fixed cost

Fixed costs like rent do not change with production or sales volume within a given period.

A cook prepares 20 lbs of carrots that yield 16 lbs after peeling and trimming. What is the yield percentage?

Answer: 80%

(16 ÷ 20) × 100 = 80% yield percentage.

In menu engineering, a 'star' item is one that is:

Answer: High popularity and high profitability

Stars are the ideal menu items — high sellers with strong contribution margins that should be prominently featured.

A kitchen manager wants to reduce food waste. Which practice is MOST effective for daily production planning?

Answer: Using sales history to forecast production quantities

Using historical sales data to forecast production prevents overproduction, which is the leading cause of food waste in commercial kitchens.