All About Food Purchasing and Receiving Control

Purchasing is the careful process of selecting from many choices, making sound decisions, and developing solid relationships with vendors

Responsibility for Purchasing

Who does the purchasing? Owners Managers Chef Purchaser Steward One person responsible so they can be held accountable Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labour Cost Controls, Second Canadian Edition

Steps in Purchasing

Request bids and/or quotations

Select vendor

Send purchase order via electronic or other means

Collect invoices

Produce receiving reports

Maintain inventory records

Maintain requisition records

Perishables & Non-perishables

Perishables: those items that are typically fresh foods, relatively short shelf life Non-perishables: longer shelf life Groceries Staples Storeroom items Principles of Food, Beverage.

Quality, Quantity and Price are the Standards and Standard Procedures for Purchasing.

Purchasing Quantities for Perishables

Order only enough to get through to the next delivery to minimize spoilage, but with a small buffer. Take into account inventory on hand and forecast sales.

Predicted Item Sales =

Forecast Guests x Menu Mix Percent (as a decimal)

For Example

A restaurant forecasts 210 guests. 7% of guests usually order the cream of asparagus soup.

How many asparagus soups should the chef expect to sell?

Item Sales = Forecast Guests X Menu Mix % =

210 X 0.07 = 14.7

Receiving Standards

The quantity delivered same as the quantity on the Market Quotation List and invoice

The quality delivered meets establishment’s standard specifications

The prices on the invoice match the Market Quotation List

The goods are received at the time specified

Receiving Procedures

Verify the quantity, quality, and price for each item

Verify invoice with invoice stamp

List foods delivered on the Clerk’s/Security/Finance Daily Report for that day Forward paperwork to proper personnel

Move food to storage or production areas

The Invoice Stamp The invoice stamp provides for: Date food received

Signature of the receiving clerk

Steward’s signature, acknowledging delivery

Controller’s verification of calculations on invoice

Signatory approval of the bill for payment

Yield Percentage

Percentage of yield = Weight after cooking / Weight before cooking × 100

Quality Standards for Storing

Storing: It’s critical that operations create quality standards for proper storage. Monitor perishable food daily to preserve its quality.

Some food items have manufacturer’s recommendations for storing the product.

Store food with proper labels, and rotate all products in storage following the FIFO (first in, first out) system. In addition to checking the food in the storage facilities, the storage facilities themselves should be checked regularly to make sure they are clean and functioning properly and efficiently.

Quality Standards for Inventory

Taking physical inventory means counting and recording the number of each item in the storeroom.

Closely monitor inventory to ensure that products are ordered as they are needed.

Carefully monitoring inventory also helps ensure that no product goes to waste. Minimizing waste keeps costs down and sales up.

Determine actual food costs by opening and closing inventories for a given period.

Use the latest purchase price (FIFO), actual purchase price, weighted average purchase price, or last in, first out (LIFO) method to determine the value of the closing inventory.

Read: Learn Quickly to Control Food Costing