The Importance of Meal Uniformity

In the kitchen, meal uniformity is key. Meal uniformity ensures when food is prepared, each plate is the same size and taste each time. Meal uniformity is extremely important for two main reasons: food cost and customer satisfaction. Understanding the importance of meal uniformity and how to achieve consistent, identical meals is a key in restaurant success. It can honestly make or break a restaurant.
Meal uniformity effects food costs. Restaurant owners must determine an exact amount of food for each dish. Failure to have meticulous, precise measurements may result in incorrect recipes and inflated food costs. When chefs are over-generous in their servings it results in wasted food, taking money away from the restaurant. In a recent study, “76% of chefs thought that they served "regular" portions, the actual portions of steak and pasta they reported serving were 2 to 4 times larger than serving sizes recommended by the U.S government.” It’s important that chefs aim for healthy, proportionate, consistent servings.
Another detriment of inconsistent portion size is unhappy customers. Customers will rarely notice if they are receiving an abundant amount of food but they will notice if it’s significantly less or if the food tastes significantly different. Recipes should be the same each and every time, this means both the portion size as well as the flavoring. Often chefs "wing-it" while they're cooking, causing significant changes to the way food tastes whenever a customer comes in. When you visit a restaurant, you expect a dish to taste the same. When customers return to a restaurant, especially for a specific meal, they expect their meal to be unchanged. Maintaining restaurant uniformity requires a well trained staff and simple kitchen tools that they can learn quickly.
Teach your kitchen staff to always use the correct utensils when making and serving food. Ingredients should be measured using a portion scale, like Edlund’s 10 lbs Digital Portion Scale to ensure the same amount is in each portion. This includes spices, meats, toppings and more, it all should be weighed. We suggest Edlund’s scale because it contains a removable stainless steel platform and large LCD read-out. This scale can measure up to 10 lbs of ingredients and is very easy to use. The Edlund Scale features a button to convert between ounces and grams, if that is a needed feature. A scale and measuring is something that is a must for meal uniformity. In a restaurant kitchen the words "pinch" or "dash" shouldn't be heard, but instead precise measurements.
For liquid ingredients measuring cups are the proper item in the kitchen. There are many different choices when it comes to measuring cups, here, we suggest Cambro’s 1 Quart Clear Measuring Cup. Cambro color coded this cup in blue and red. Molded-in graduations are printed in blue for metric measurements while the opposite side features red for standard American measurements. The cup is transparent making it very easy to see its contents and has a easy to pour lip making sure you pour the entire contents exactly where you need it. The Cambro 1 quart Measuring Cup is dishwasher safe and NSF approved. Using a measuring tool that does not pour well or easily can cause part of the ingredient to splash about or miss the intended dish, further preventing meal uniformity.
For consistent sauce servings, rely on a portioning system such as the Portion Pal system. This innovative Portion Pal system has a large assortment of products that help with sauce and condiment portion control. Sauce and condiments dramatically affect how a meal will taste. Use along a make line to ensure your employees are portioning out sauces equally so that one customer does not receive double portions without paying accordingly. Consider investing in the 24 oz. FIFO Portion Pal Kit. It includes four fixed portion control rings that allow you to determine the serving of each sauce. Choose between 1/4 oz., 1/3 oz., 1/2 oz., and 1 oz. The Portion Pal is extremely helpful for any kitchen that relies on sauces, dressings or condiments in their meals. This simple tool will ensure your meals, in terms of condiments, are consistent.
At Public Kitchen Supply we work hard to provide our customers with products and advice that will improve their restaurant. Meal uniformity is extremely important in the kitchen. It effects the money a restaurant spends and a customer’s experience. Monitor expenses and improve customer loyalty by practicing meal portion control and meal uniformity. For more products like the ones mentioned in today’s blog visit our website at PublicKitchenSupply.com.

Condrasky, M., et al. "Chefs' Opinions of Restaurant Portion Sizes." Obesity (Silver Spring) 15.8 (2007): 2086-94. Print.

How to Use FIFO Bottles

As an e-commerce site, we, at Public Kitchen Supply, have bestsellers. One of our most popular products, the FIFO Bottles, also creates the most intrigue. Often we are asked the questions: what's the difference between a FIFO Bottle and a standard squeeze bottle? And, how do I use this FIFO Bottle properly? You see, FIFO Bottles are not just standard squeeze bottles, they have a removable lid as well as a removable base. They offer benefits well beyond a standard squeeze bottle.

The removable base lid is what sets this squeeze bottle well apart from the competition. To use, simply take off the base lid, while leaving the top lid, and fill this squeeze bottle all the way up. As you use it, it'll work just like a squeeze bottle. When you go to refill it, you'll once again remove the base cap and fill it up. This little step is what makes these bottles so great. You never just pour new sauce on top of remaining sauce. That keeps the old ketchup (for example) continually at the bottom, never being used, and just getting older and older. By refilling from the base, rather than the top, with a FIFO bottle, it creates a "first-in, first-out" system; hence where these bottles receive their name. Fast dispensing, easy to wash, NSF Approved; perfect for a restaurant environment. The design of these bottles are for easy usage, but they also prevent waste. Using standard bottles, the amount of ketchup or other condiment that is tossed at the end of a bottle is ridiculous. Too much is wasted, but using a FIFO Bottle, this is prevented saving more than just the condiment, but money.

The clear bottle design allows you to see through this bottle with ease so you know when its time to refill it. When its time to clean it, remove both the top and bottom lids and voila, you have plenty of room for cleaning. Think about the time, money, and food you'll save when you switch to a FIFO Bottle system. Check them out on our website Public Kitchen Supply or give us a call if you're interested in more information about the FIFO Bottle System and implementing it in your kitchen.

Top photo credit: pablo_photo via photopincc. Side photo: Fundametal Designs.