The Food Service Professional Guide to Controlling Restaurant & Food Service Operating Costs (The Food Service Professional Guide to, 5) (The Food Service Professionals Guide To) [Paperback]

Cheryl Lewis (Author), Douglas R Brown (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Food Service Professionals Guide To | Publication Date: September 2, 2002

This new series of fifteen books - The Food Service Professional Guide TO Series from the editors of the Food Service Professional are the best and most comprehensive books for serious food service operators available today. These step-by-step guides on a specific management subject range from finding a great site for your new restaurant to how to train your wait staff and literally everything in between. They are easy and fast -to-read, easy to understand and will take the mystery out of the subject. The information is boiled down to the essence. They are filled to the brim with up to date and pertinent information. The books cover all the bases, providing clear explanations and helpful, specific information. All titles in the series include the phone numbers and web sites of all companies discussed. What you will not find are wordy explanations, tales of how someone did it better, or a scholarly lecture on the theory. Think of them as Cliff Notes TM on the subject matter. Every paragraph in each of the books are comprehensive, well researched, engrossing, and just plain fun-to-read, yet are packed with interesting ideas. You will be using your highlighter a lot! The best part aside from the content is they are very moderately priced. You can also purchase the whole 15 book series the isbn number is 0-910627-26-6. You are bound to get a great new idea to try on every page if not out of every paragraph. Do not be put off by the low price, these books really do deliver the critical information and eye opening ideas you need you to succeed without the fluff so commonly found in more expensive books on the subject. Highly recommended!

Editorial Reviews

Review

I recomend a wonderful new source of information - The Food Service Professionals Guide To Series - Jim Contis, Publisher -- Food Industry News, November 2002 I recomend a wonderful new source of information - The Food Service Professionals Guide To Series - Jim Contis, Publisher --Food Industry News, November 2002

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company (FL); illustrated edition edition (September 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0910627150
• ISBN-13: 978-0910627153
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #856,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great little book!, January 12, 2006

By 

DeAnna Knippling "Word Nerd" (Colorado Springs, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Food Service Professional Guide to Controlling Restaurant & Food Service Operating Costs (The Food Service Professional Guide to, 5) (The Food Service Professionals Guide To) (Paperback)

I wish I'd had something like this when I was working in the food service industry. This book, with brief bullet points that still manage to spell out the practical details as necessary, gives the seasoned restaurateur hundreds of tips on how to cut costs--everything from trimming energy expenses (run the water supply for your ice machine through the refrigerator or freezer to pre-cool it) [...] It seems like it would be very practical to copy pages out of the book and include them in your employee training packets or post them in the kitchen. I've found that the more employees understand the reasons behind your policies--and the big differences they make on profit margins and customer satisfaction--the more likely they are to follow them. The book has tips for all parts of the food service industry, from fast food to fine dining, and states the reasoning behind each tip in a way that would be easy to explain to others. The book is well written, clearly organized, and includes a helpful index. If you're looking for something specific, you should be able to find it in moments. I would recommend this to any food-service business looking to increase its profit margins and willing to do the planning and work necessary to make it happen. This is not a quick fix book (although quite a few of the tips would take little time or money to implement), but a thorough and honest guide on how to cut costs over the long run.

1.0 out of 5 stars would not buy it, September 25, 2011

By 

Mighty Anvil (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Food Service Professional Guide to Controlling Restaurant & Food Service Operating Costs (The Food Service Professional Guide to, 5) (The Food Service Professionals Guide To) (Paperback)

I did not buy this book because the Look Inside pages put me off. In the table on page 61 the food cost made no sense relative to the menu price and the profit margin was shown in dollars instead of as a percentage. If the author doesn't know the difference between profit margin and mark-up he should not be writing a management book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for Newbies or a Refresher for the Experienced, March 23, 2009

By 

David (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Food Service Professional Guide to Controlling Restaurant & Food Service Operating Costs (The Food Service Professional Guide to, 5) (The Food Service Professionals Guide To) (Paperback)

Purchased this as a gift for my father who's owned a restaurant for 25+ years. In this economy I figured any little bit of information might help and I didn't really expect this to tell him anything he didn't already know but it's relatively inexpensive so I figured "why not?"

I was more or less right. "Sometimes it's good to remember the basics" was his take on it. It didn't tell him anything he didn't know but it did remind him of a few things and that was the goal. I expect this would be more beneficial to the young, inexperienced restaurant owner/manager but for the more experienced professional you'll probably have the same reaction my father did. It's a relatively quick read and well-organized with the tips and explanations. The book also arrived quickly and in the promised condition.

Again, if you're a newbie or just starting out this may be of great help to you. If you're already established don't expect any ground-breaking revelations. Just a few reminders of what you may have forgotten.