Buffet Food Cost

[bello]

Hello everyone:

How can I calculate a Buffet all you can eat food cost and gross margin, I mean if I offer $10.99 for lunch and $16.99 for dinner, how do I know if I am offering the right price and not to losing any money.

Thanks,
Bello

[jayvader]

you need to find the average amount of food per person
i understand that it is all you can eat but over all there will be an average

you may have to look at it as a whole first like i serve 40 peices of chicken every day

even though yesterday you had 3 people take chicken
two days ago you had 77 people take chiken




once you have an average for how much you food serve every day you need to find the average cost per person

how many people do you average per weeek per day per hour etc you can break down your costs by the second if you have enough information


it will fluctuate but at the end of the year if you stay on top of your averages you will have a decient food cost

[Derek Cooks]

You need to know all the food you have on hand, and its cost.

You need to know how much food you buy, and its cost.

You need to know how much food you have on hand at the end of "X" time, and its cost.

You need to know your food sales dollars (income) during that same "X" time.

Starting inventory plus purchases minus food still in stock is your food cost. Food cost divided by food sales is your food cost percent.

"X" time is a week, a month, a quarter...whatever - just make sure you are comparing the exact same period of sales to the same period of purchases.