Food can be lost in all sorts of ways, from damage during delivery, spoiling in storage, or overproducing in the kitchen. Some of these reasons you cannot reasonably control, but there are ways to minimize food waste in your restaurant you can adopt to mitigate the problem. Know how to prevent disposing of good food and eliminate the potential profit loss.

Too Much Stock

It’s easy to purchase ingredients in bulk to reduce costs. There may be better deals to buy everything all at once, but not paying attention to what your restaurant can realistically use will result in lost product. Have a rough estimation of the number of ingredients you use every delivery cycle and avoid purchasing too far above that limit.

Further Problems

While stocking up too much can lead to food spoiling while it’s still in storage, it will also lead to space being taken up unnecessarily. On top of all that, you will have an inaccurate record of your ingredients, causing you to believe that you have more product than you actually do.

Have the Right Equipment

Make sure that the processes you use to prepare food are as optimal as can be. Using certain methods or tools can lead to chefs mishandle food while preparing it for a larger dish. This may result in you having to invest in certain cooking appliances to ensure the proper preparation of food.

Automation Over Hand-made

One of these necessary tools, the dough sheeter machine, can properly prepare dough for pastries far better and much more efficiently than human hands. Mistakes and wastage can be avoided with the use of the proper machines for certain procedures.

Proper Food Storage

Know what the optimal temperature every ingredient and foodstuff should be at. Much of the food that goes to waste is lost due to improper storage, whether that’s because of not knowing the right temperature or faulty storage units.

The Right Procedures

Keep foods at lower risk of spoiling higher up on your storage racks. Maintain a clean and organized space to easily find and select food and keep the right environment to prevent the growth of bacteria. Perform routine inspection and maintenance on refrigeration units to guarantee continued safety and reliability.

Audit Your Current System

Performing an audit on what your current system is doing will help identify where your restaurant’s shortcomings are. The best way to minimize food waste in your restaurant is to know where you’re having the most trouble—whether that’s food prep, storage, or employee mishandling.