Customer Reviews

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)

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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.

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.

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.