The Ace Café

Kuala Lumpur
By Kelvin
 The Ace Café(Corner)
Kuala Lumpur

01 02 03
MENU KITCHEN LABOUR AND
DEVELOPMENT FLOW/LAYOUT FOOD COSTING
 Menu Development

 The Ace Café KL aimed to offer its patrons the finest food and beverage, specializing in
coffee&tea and food including some local’s special. In addition, TAC will offer cakes and
desserts too. Seasonally, TAC will add food and beverages (LTO- limited time offer)
according to the festive season.
 The Ace Café around the world typically offers ala carte( determined the concept) menu,
catering to travelers particularly motorcyclist.
 Not more than 20 item or less on the menu
 We shall follow the same concept to preserve identity of Ace Café. (If its franchise menu
has to be approved by franchisor)
 core ingredient list includes the following
 Raw meat, fresh vegetables etc. ( see suppliers list)
 The menu also defines the following:
 Ingredients needed
 Equipment the kitchen needs for preparation
 Staff requirements
 Proposed menu
 Fusion- mix of western Asian food
 One page menu, consist of beverage, salad, quick fixes, mains. (desert on desert
counter
 May include nasi lemak, satay, chicken rice and other local delights. Not necessary
to prepare from scratch, as a full kitchen would need bigger space, may take from
supplier.
 Pricing
 To price within the target market group ie: mid- high income group (m40 to t20)
 Selling price: divide food cost by a percentage

Exp : food cost is RM 5 and targeted food cost is 20%

Solution 5/ 20% = RM 25- recommended selling price
p/s: actual food cost may varies from targeted food cost
 Food Cost

 Typically comes between 25- 35percent- 30% is considered healthy given the current
price of raw goods.
 Technology- POS system these days can be integrated with food cost/ cost of
ingredients
 Example- IRS,SQL, STOREHUB, SLURP, Xilnex
 However it is important to know the format / calculation too ie:
 Food cost percentage = total cost of ingredients/menu item price% 
 Food cost/ consumption = opening stock + purchases- closing minus closing stock
 Exp: opening balance 10kgs of chicken, purchased 5 kgs in that week, closing balance
is 8 kg. Calculations: 10+5-8= 7, therefore 7kg was used in that particular week.
 Normal Price

No Item
Per Pack (1kg) Per Carton Cost Per Serving

Per Serving (120g) Per Serving (180g)

16.55 165.50 8
1 Bolognese Sauce   2.07

19.60 196.00 8
2 Mushroom Crean Sauce   2.45

10.15 101.50 8
3 Cabonara Sauce   1.26

12.20 122.00 8
4 Garlic Black Pepper Sauce   1.52

14.50 145.00 8
5 Tom Yam Sauce   1.81

20.75 207.50  
6 Sambal Chili Paste 5 4.15
7 Aglio - Olio (90g)**          
 Costing
 Primary cost consist of f&b cost + labour cost
 Primary cost usually 55%-65%, labour cost usually comes around 25- 35%
 Other expenses (such as utilities, taxes, equipment maintenance): < 20%
 Labour cost- each outlet should have at least 1 person in charge, 2 duty
managers(supervisors/asst manager or management trainee could be on duty)
 A general rule of thumb is that:
 the higher the prices of restaurants, the more customers expect out of 
atmosphere and service; so the manpower cost will be relatively higher.
 At lower priced restaurants, the customers expect more value for money and less in terms
of service, so your food cost will likely be higher in proportion to your labourt cost.
 Reduce labour cost

 Some of the example

 Cross train staff
 Schedule efficiently
 Hire part time- reduce benefits.
 minimize the number of staff during slow periods or close off parts of the restaurant if it is not in
use( applicable if restaurant is big)
 Limited service or self service concept
 Train employees and communicate expectation
 Cost management(food)
 Carefully watch on wastages ie: stock receiving, reuse item, food prepare to follow
SOPs,
 Practise FIFO
 Proper inventory or stock management( from storage to having proper system)
 Review menu from time to time- fast selling item vs slow moving item, menu with
lower cost of production
 Selecting supplier that could give better price
 Proper usage of equipment to reduce cost to fix/ maintain the equipment
 Budgeting
 Sales budget- to pre-determine volume of sales in respect of the accounting year
and this enables assessment of the sales performance within the stipulated period
 Sales budget depends on past performance, current trend and limiting factor
 P&L budget- to pre-determine all income and expenses and net profit as well.
 Labor Budget- to pre- determine labor cost in relations of sales budget, higher sales
volume normally equals to higher total labor cost
 p/s: higher sales may not necessary equal to increase of labor cost exp:
management salary, numbers of staff and public holidays affects labor cost too.
 Kitchen Layout
 To determine equipment needed
 To ensure safe work space
 To optimize the space
 Proper ventilation and exhausting of equipment
 Factors to consider- 1. kitchen layout may influence food cost as poor planning of storage area may
result in wastages.:
 Kitchen layout vs seating capacity: smaller kitchen may not be able to cater to large crowd at a time.
 As dirty might be oily and wet, anti-skid tiles are recommended for the floor and white glazed tiles on the
walls up to 8’ feet( food safety recommendation)
 The 3 main kitchen work stations:

 1.Food storage– Your refrigerator and pantry are the major items. Under counter
chiller and freezer to save space. Chest freezer instead of four-door freezer would
be cheaper
 2.The preparation/cooking station– stove, combi- oven, microwave, and smaller
appliances are found in this area. Top counter space is important in this section.
 3.The clean-up station– one of the kitchen’s most important – clean-up area. This
area is where the sink, dishwasher and rubbish bin are placed.
p/s: not to forget to include some space for receiving/ holding area.
 Proposed Kitchen Flow/ Layout

 The galley kitchen

 This shape offers the most efficient use of space, was mainly use by the BIG Group. The
two rows allow room for lots of preparation space, and easy to move around.
 Make sure there is enough room between middle work table and work station.
 • Great for smaller kitchens
 • Appliances are close to one another
 • Easy for small team of cooks to manoeuvre
 • Can easily convert to a U-Shape
 The U-shape kitchen
 The use of three full walls in a room offers the perfect working kitchen. The chiller/freezer,
combi-oven and dishwasher can be spaced out for maximum for efficiency and
convenience. it provides the good workflows with the shortest distances around the kitchen.
This shape also allows for large amounts of countertop and storage space.
 Used in DOME and BIG Group
 • Provides plenty of counter space
 • Efficient work triangle
 May take into consideration- open kitchen, suitable for small commercial space
Thank you for your time.
Looking forward to be part of the team.