Best Practice on inventorying prepared items

Robert Lopez

• March 17, 2019 00:00

The topic came up today with our culinary team regarding the best practice to inventory prepared items. For example, fresh live lobsters are being purchased, but they are shelled, cleaned and the meat is extracted. The yield we show is 40%, so we get 6.4 ounces of lobster meat per pound of live lobster purchased. The recipe yield will account for this difference when the product is used, but is inventorying a lobster meat recipe the best practice for accurately accounting for the yielded lobster meat? We don't want to count lobster meat as whole lobster, since the value of the cleaned lobster meat is now greater than the value of the corresponding cost of whole lobster.   Thank you!

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  Mark Whitmore

  • March 17, 2019 00:00

  Hi @Roberto Lopez​ ​,

   

  That's a really astute question.

   

  While we would recommend you inventory the recipe for the lobster meat, the cost of sale for this recipe would still be for the whole lobster. Although the weight you are inventorying is correct, the cost to get that 6.4 ounces is still the cost of the whole live lobster.

   

  I hope that helps?

   

  Best

  Mark

  Fourth

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• 

  Mark Whitmore

  • March 17, 2019 00:00

  Hi @Roberto Lopez​ ​,

   

  That's a really astute question.

   

  While we would recommend you inventory the recipe for the lobster meat, the cost of sale for this recipe would still be for the whole lobster. Although the weight you are inventorying is correct, the cost to get that 6.4 ounces is still the cost of the whole live lobster.

   

  I hope that helps?

   

  Best

  Mark

  Fourth

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• 

  Halima Duncan

  • April 12, 2019 00:00

  I would like to follow up on this discussion.

   

  We have created a yielded recipe, following this recommendation from Fourth.

   

  At any given time, we will have both whole lobster (as purchased) as well as cleaned lobster (as a recipe) in our inventory.

   

  When we record our inventory count, we will record the count for whole lobster and for cleaned lobster recipe.

   

  Question 1: When we sell a recipe with lobster (lobster tacos) should our recipe use the cleaned lobster (as subrecipe), or a yielded whole lobster (product)?

   

  Question 2: How will product movement for recipe use and sales be recorded in the variance report?

   

  Thank you!!

  0
• 

  Halima Duncan

  • April 12, 2019 00:00

  I would like to follow up on this discussion.

   

  We have created a yielded recipe, following this recommendation from Fourth.

   

  At any given time, we will have both whole lobster (as purchased) as well as cleaned lobster (as a recipe) in our inventory.

   

  When we record our inventory count, we will record the count for whole lobster and for cleaned lobster recipe.

   

  Question 1: When we sell a recipe with lobster (lobster tacos) should our recipe use the cleaned lobster (as subrecipe), or a yielded whole lobster (product)?

   

  Question 2: How will product movement for recipe use and sales be recorded in the variance report?

   

  Thank you!!

  0
• 

  Mark Whitmore

  • April 15, 2019 00:00

  Hi @Halima Duncan​ ,

   

  Thanks for your follow-up questions.

   

  1. You should use the cleaned lobster as a sub-recipe. As it may be that you use part of the cleaned lobster so may need to inventory the remaining.
  2. This would depend on what you include in the recipe, and if the recipe or the product is moved. If the recipe is moved then the wastage would sit in the preparing outlet (kitchen)​. If the product is moved/sold then the wastage cost would sit in the cost centre.

  I hope that helps

   

  Best

  Mark

  Fourth

  0
• 

  Mark Whitmore

  • April 15, 2019 00:00

  Hi @Halima Duncan​ ,

   

  Thanks for your follow-up questions.

   

  1. You should use the cleaned lobster as a sub-recipe. As it may be that you use part of the cleaned lobster so may need to inventory the remaining.
  2. This would depend on what you include in the recipe, and if the recipe or the product is moved. If the recipe is moved then the wastage would sit in the preparing outlet (kitchen)​. If the product is moved/sold then the wastage cost would sit in the cost centre.

  I hope that helps

   

  Best

  Mark

  Fourth

  0

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