Cost Control in Hotel Restaurant Operations

This assignment analyzes the cost control strategies implemented by an executive chef at Marigold Restaurant. The chef outlines methods for managing both front-of-house and back-of-house costs, emphasizing food cost control, waste reduction, inventory management, and employee training. The document includes an interview script with the chef, providing insights into their daily operations and financial control practices.

Running head: FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGEMENT
Food and Beverage Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Analysis of the Interview Findings..................................................................................................2
Type of hospitality enterprise managed by the chef....................................................................2
Maintaining the cost control of front of house operation............................................................3
Maintaining the cost control of back of house operation............................................................3
Financial cost control methods applied in daily business operation of the restaurant.................4
Evaluation of the findings and its effectiveness in managing food service operation.................5
References........................................................................................................................................6
Appendix..........................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Marigold Restaurant is one of the leading restaurants in Sydney serving people with
Cantonese cuisines over the last 30 years. In the year of 1982, the “old Marigold” restaurant
provided varieties of Hong Kong cuisines to the people. The restaurant is famous for its lavish
banquets and it is one of the third leading restaurants at George Street in this group. Marigold
Restaurant is a dining restaurant and the ambience of the restaurant is perfect to spend time with
families and friends. This paper will highlight the summary of the chef of Marigold Restaurant.
The restaurant brings richness, diversity and refinement of the Cantonese cuisines, a la carta
dishes and varieties of banquets. The prices of the dishes are provided at an affordable rate to the
customers. The chef of the restaurant maintains proper co-ordination with the back house of
operation and the front house of operation staffs. The chef analyses the cost of operation of the
restaurant and finds out various ways to reduce them (Benavides-Velasco et al. 2014).
Analysis of the Interview Findings
Type of hospitality enterprise managed by the chef
The executive chef of Marigold restaurant manages the entire kitchen brigades and
provides them the required training. He manages the kitchen staffs and tries to increase the
reputation of the hotel by managing, training and providing them the necessary training.
Marigold restaurant shares the tastes of Cantonese cuisine with their customers. The chef takes
care that he provides the customer with fresh ingredients ranging from seafood to vegetables and
varieties of meat. The kitchen staff along with the assistance of the chef pays greater emphasis
on the freshness of the kitchen ingredients (Saleem and Raja 2014). The restaurant also has

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provision of beverages and it provides an iconic and popular wine that ranges from value to
indulgence. Some wines are also complementary with different kinds of dishes. The chef also
tries to confront the challenges and work in co-ordination in the group. The chef also has the skill
to convince the customers so that they remain satisfied and thus are willing to visit the restaurant
again and recommend it to their friends and families. The chef also highlighted that they
frequently visit and talk to the customers. This helps the chef as well as the management in
getting the desired feedback and thus helps them in improving the quality of food and fulfilling
the demands of the customers (Nieves and Segarra-Cipres 2015)
Maintaining the cost control of front of house operation
The front of house operation refers to the area which is exposed to the customer. It
includes the lounge, restroom, dining room, entry room and the outdoor seating arrangement.
The chef of Marigold restaurant manages the front of house operation very carefully. The chef
manages the profitability of the restaurant and he tries to generate the food cost between 28% to
35% without hampering the quality of food. The chef has also given importance on preparing the
menu of the restaurant. The menu must be prepared in such a way so that it can easily be altered
if any particular dish is not available. There must be substitute cuisines which can be served to
the customers as per their requirements. This is an important and vital area which is to be taken
care of by the chef so that the customers do not return unsatisfied or disappointed (Sachs et al.
2014).
Maintaining the cost control of back of house operation
The back of house operation refers to that portion of the restaurant which is not for public
use. It generally includes the storage and the kitchen of the restaurant. The executive chef plays

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the main role in managing the back of house operation in the restaurant. He supervises the cooks
and the apprentice chef and thus takes care of the food quality. The executive chef of Marigold
restaurant has highlighted that they always use written recipes so that the taste and quality of
food remains the same (Gin et al. 2013). The customers will be willing to visit the restaurant if
they maintain the same taste and restaurant. The executive chef takes special interest in preparing
a new Chinese cuisine everyday and naming it as the “choice of the chef”. The chef also takes
care of the weekly and monthly inventories so as to maintain record of the wastage and adjust the
inventory accordingly. The losses of the restaurant can also be identified by keeping a track of
the inventories. It will also help the management in improving the ordering process. The chef
can also take important decisions based upon these inventories and they can also find out
alternative ways to curb the losses of the restaurant. The executive chef also manages the
dishwashers and thus provides them the necessary training so that they can maintain hygiene in
the restaurant. The chef also prepares special menu for their esteemed customers during festive
seasons. Thus, it can be said that in the back of house operation, the executive chef has to
manage all the staffs and take care of the food quality as well as providing customer service
(Leung et al. 2015).
Financial cost control methods applied in daily business operation of the restaurant
The chef of marigold restaurant has highlighted that there are huge cost involved in each
stages from purchasing the raw materials to serving the food to the customers. The role of
standards plays a vital role in all these stages and there are certain cost control methods which
will help in mitigating the problem. The quality of the food must also be taken care of by the
chef. Proper training must also be provided to the employees so that it becomes easier to handle
the kitchen staffs and they can understand their roles and duties accordingly. The chef must also

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prepare the operation budget and thus it will help in forecasting the sales volume as well as the
overall activities in business (Jani and Han 2014).
Evaluation of the findings and its effectiveness in managing food service operation
It has been found that the chef applies new ideas and helps in improving the business. He
also monitors the activities of the restaurant and manages the kitchen brigades accordingly. The
chef also takes care of the administrative tasks and helps the management in the development of
the business (Ali and Amin 2014). As the hotel industry is facing steep competition, it is
necessary that the chef takes utmost care in maintaining the quality of food at an affordable
price. There are certain cost control methods which must be adopted by the chef so as to
minimize the food wastage. The chef of Marigold hotel also takes take in preparing the menu of
the restaurant (Karatepe et al. 2014). The a la carta menu is prepared by combining the best
ingredients and thus offering the authentic and exquisite cuisines. The restaurant provides a
perfect dining experience for any occasion. The catering group is also managed by the assistant
chef and it the restaurant is ideal for private entertainment. The restaurant is surrounded by
Chinese paintings and the main dining space can cater up to 200 persons at a single time. There
is also a provision of five individual dining rooms which is decorated beautifully. The chef
works in co-ordination with the back of house operation as well as the front of house operation.
Thus, it is the duty of the chef to carry out his duties in a responsible manner (Molina-Azorin et
al. 2015).

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References
Ali, F. and Amin, M., 2014. The influence of physical environment on emotions, customer
satisfaction and behavioural intentions in Chinese resort hotel industry. Journal for Global
Business Advancement, 7(3), pp.249-266.
Benavides-Velasco, C.A., Quintana-García, C. and Marchante-Lara, M., 2014. Total quality
management, corporate social responsibility and performance in the hotel industry. International
Journal of Hospitality Management, 41, pp.77-87.
Gin Choi, Y., Kwon, J. and Kim, W., 2013. Effects of attitudes vs experience of workplace fun
on employee behaviors: Focused on Generation Y in the hospitality industry. International
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 25(3), pp.410-427.
Jani, D. and Han, H., 2014. Personality, satisfaction, image, ambience, and loyalty: Testing their
relationships in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 37, pp.11-
20.
Karatepe, O.M., Beirami, E., Bouzari, M. and Safavi, H.P., 2014. Does work engagement
mediate the effects of challenge stressors on job outcomes? Evidence from the hotel
industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 36, pp.14-22.
Leung, X.Y., Bai, B. and Stahura, K.A., 2015. The marketing effectiveness of social media in the
hotel industry: A comparison of Facebook and Twitter. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism
Research, 39(2), pp.147-169.

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Molina-Azorín, J.F., Tarí, J.J., Pereira-Moliner, J., López-Gamero, M.D. and Pertusa-Ortega,
E.M., 2015. The effects of quality and environmental management on competitive advantage: A
mixed methods study in the hotel industry. Tourism Management, 50, pp.41-54.
Nieves, J. and Segarra-Ciprés, M., 2015. Management innovation in the hotel industry. Tourism
Management, 46, pp.51-58.
Sachs, C., Allen, P., Terman, A.R., Hayden, J. and Hatcher, C., 2014. Front and back of the
house: Socio-spatial inequalities in food work. Agriculture and Human Values, 31(1), pp.3-17.
Saleem, H. and Raja, N.S., 2014. The impact of service quality on customer satisfaction,
customer loyalty and brand image: Evidence from hotel industry of Pakistan. Middle-East
Journal of Scientific Research, 19(5), pp.706-711.

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Appendix
Interview Script of an executive chef of Marigold Restaurant
Interviewer: Mention the type of hospitality enterprise you manage and give me a brief idea of its
functionings?
Executive chef: We build the reputation for the hotel by maintaining by managing, developing
and training the team members of the kitchen. We also take care that we provide fresh
ingredients ranging from seafood to vegetables and varieties of meat. I maintain proper co-
ordination with the back house of operation and the front house of operation staffs. I also check
that the demands of the customers are fulfilled and they are provided proper cuisines.
Interviewer: How do you manage the cost control of front house of operation?
Executive Chef: We try to maintain and attain profitability. The food cost is generated between
28% to 35% without hampering the quality. I also take care that there are substitute cuisines
which can be served to the customers as per their requirements. We give preference to this
because the food cost can affect the bottom line of the business if it is too high.
Interviewer: How do you maintain cost control of back house of operation?
Executive chef: I also manage the back of house operation in the restaurant. I supervise the
cooks and the apprentice chef and thus take care of the food quality. We try to streamline the
waste reduction. The losses of the restaurant can also be identified by keeping a track of the
inventories. I also help the management in improving the ordering process. Moreover, I always
advice the cooks to use written recipes so that the proportion or the amount of spices or

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seasonings is proper. We prefer weekly inventories so as to keep a track of the food that is
wasted and adjust the inventory accordingly
Interviewer: What type of financial control methods do you use in daily business operation?
Executive Chef: The role of standards plays a vital role in all these stages and there are certain
cost control methods which will help me in mitigating the problem. The quality of the food is
also taken care by me. Proper training is provided to the employees so that it becomes easier to
handle the kitchen staffs and they can understand their roles and duties accordingly. I also pay
more importance to the standards which are vital and necessary to make comparisons between
the food quality.