The Insurance Family Blog

Restaurant Insurance: Keep Food Costs To A Minimum & Expand Profits

Posted by Susie Scherff on August 31, 2011 at 9:30 AM

Do you want to increase your restaurant or bistro’s profits?  Of course you do.  So have you been keeping tabs on how much food goes bad during a specified amount of time and found that you’re dealing with an inordinate amount of spoilage?  As a restaurateur you know it’s imperative that you keep a lid on food costs…especially food that goes bad during a given week. That said, it’s always good to check that your California restaurant insurance policy includes coverage for unforeseen food spoilage, as sometimes it’s unavoidable. Nevertheless, keep our guide to minimizing food spoilage in mind when organizing your kitchen.

Organization is key when operating a restaurant’s kitchen because it helps keep food costs down.  A significant portion of a restaurant’s overheads can go to replacing spoiled food that isn’t properly labeled by date and rotated to ensure freshness.  Both in the walk-in cooler and at the different stations on your kitchen’s line, labeling is critical.  Spoiled food can cost you money…and put a serious dent in your reputation.  Enjoy the fruits of your labor and keep spoilage to a minimum.

Other tips to keep your stock fresh include:

  • Buy manageable amounts of fresh produce:  In order to keep your customers happy and healthy, only buy a limited amount of fruit and vegetables to prevent spoilage and waste.
  • Inventory quality control:  Always inspect your orders as they arrive, before the delivery person leaves.  It’s not that your distributor purposefully delivers bad produce, but stock often spoils if it is next to past-ripe product.  Keep incoming produce properly refrigerated, too.
  • Beer and wine enjoy consistent temperatures:  Always keep beer, wine and other beverages refrigerated at their recommended temperatures.  Alcohol can spoil as well.

And One Other Thing..

Did you know that a good insurance policy for your restaurant should cover unforeseen spoilage?  If you didn’t know it previously, it should.  Our restaurant insurance can help protect you financially if something unfortunate happens which causes your food to spoil.

Click the icon to download our free guide for more helpful loss control tips for your restaurant.Free Guide

Topics: Business Insurance, restaurant insurance