Research and Discuss the Principles of Food and Beverage Control

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Research and discuss the principles of food and beverage control. Give a series of recommendations to ensure that gross profit targets are met. In order to achieve the coveted gross profit targets and business objectives, it is of utmost importance for companies to have a firm control system in place (Mohsin, 2006). Such control system is one of the main components of the management function (Leslie, 1987) and includes all processes and procedures that businesses use to direct, regulate and restrain the actions of people (Dittmer and Griffin, 1999). It is therefore a responsibility of the top management to ensure that an effective internal control system is put in place with the aim of improving the bottom line. Such control systems should be in place at all levels, starting with the purchasing function and spanning up to the service delivery to customers. However, before the controls, it is important to have accurate budget and forecasts in place. Performance will be then checked against goals. PLANNING/BUDGETING/FORECASTING Firstly, it is important to accurately decide what is to be sold and at what price. Menus must be engineered and portions sizes must be set keeping in mind the profitability targets. Menu items must be constantly costed and prices must be set accordingly to ensure the desired profitability. Food and beverage costs should then be recorded continuously with the objective of evolving accurate decisions as quickly as operational data changes (Trautman, 2005). In addition, forward-thinking companies can also implement continuous improvement models borrowed from other industries such as Lean and Six Sigma methodologies, as highlighted by Trautman (2005) and Shakman (2012). However, it is important to point out that menu pricing should be more dynamic than setting a price based on budgeted food cost percentage, as lower food cost percentage
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