Over the next three months
we will list 100 reasons for high food costs.
This month we begin by looking at the menu and
purchasing.
Menu
1. Poor forecasting of business volume
2. Menu offerings that do not appeal to clientele
3. Poor menu design for cost control
4. Too many items on the menu
5. Monotonous menu choices
6. No balance between high and low food cost menu
items
7. Poor promotion of low cost items
8. Improper pricing of menu items
9. Failure to adjust prices when food costs increase
Purchasing
10. Excessive inventory of perishable items
11. No competitive purchase policy
12. No detailed specifications
13. Poor relationships with suppliers
14. Use of fixed versus flexible standing orders
15. Not monitoring markets for supply and price
16. Graft between buyer and purveyors
17. No regular and organized inventory procedures
18. No formal written inventory records
19. Overbuying
20. Par stock level too high—slow inventory
turnover
21. Fictitious company invoices being sent for
payment
22. Reprocessing of paid invoices for payment
23. Failure to take discounts for early payment
