Writing the prep list in the morning is a very important task. The morning prep list is a vehicle for which food and labor dollars are spent. In many cases, the person who writes the prep list is not an owner or a member of upper management. And, the opening manager will often take a lashing from customers, co-workers and supervisors when prep levels are out of whack.

If you don’t prep enough, you will run out of product and disappoint guests. One shouldn’t discount the impact on guest satisfaction and sales when menu items are not available. When stock starts running out during the heat of the battle on a Friday night, the opening manager is wide open to ridicule.

On the other hand, if you over prep, you run the risk of spoilage, a poor food cost and/or poor food quality. And, high food cost isn’t the only casualty of over prepping (or ruining batches). You must take into consideration the labor it took to produce the item or items that are being tossed. When you throw away prepped food, you are throwing away the labor dollars spent to create those items as well as the food cost dollars. Either scenario is a major impediment to a successful restaurant.

So what is the solution? When the boss starts asking why there is too much or not enough prep, do you say that you made your best guess? They might think that your best guess isn’t good enough. The best way to determine proper prep levels is to look at past sales. For example, if it is Monday and you want to know how many ribeyes are needed, look at the ribeye sales for the past four Mondays, average them out, and add 20%. Now you have your par or build-to amount. Most opening kitchen managers don’t have a crystal ball. So, this is the work around for not being psychic.

Obviously, this system will need some adjusting for special events (local tourist event or sporting event), holidays (Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, New Years’ Day) , and seasonality (Graduation Week, etc..).

This practice can be a little time consuming, but well worth it. When this system is used, the opening manager, and the restaurant is empowered with a true information. If menu items run out or are left over, at least you have peace of mind that you did your best without a crystal ball. And if the boss asks why prep seems off, you can explain your thought process with words that don’t include “best guess”. Good luck and good prepping!

Zach

P.S. You can look to Cloud Dine’s Restaurant Operating System software for help and quick data for prep pars.