CEC Financial Management and Cost Control 2

Question 1

What is a contribution margin in menu engineering?

Accepted Answer

The dollar amount remaining after subtracting food cost from a menu item's selling price

Answer

Contribution margin is selling price minus food cost per item, representing how much each sale contributes toward covering labor, overhead, and profit.

Question 2

In menu engineering, a menu item classified as a 'Star' has:

Accepted Answer

High popularity and high contribution margin

Answer

Stars are the ideal menu items—they sell frequently (high popularity) and generate strong profit per sale (high contribution margin), making them the cornerstone of a profitable menu.

Question 3

What is the break-even point in restaurant financial management?

Accepted Answer

The sales volume at which total revenue equals total costs, resulting in zero profit or loss

Answer

The break-even point is where total revenue exactly equals total costs (fixed + variable), meaning the operation neither profits nor loses money at that sales level.

Question 4

Which cost control tool tracks the actual versus theoretical food cost based on what was sold?

Accepted Answer

Food cost variance report

Answer

A food cost variance report compares theoretical food cost (calculated from sales mix and recipe costs) against actual food cost, highlighting discrepancies caused by waste, theft, or over-portioning.

Question 5

A kitchen's theoretical food cost is 28% but actual food cost is 34%. Which action should the executive chef investigate first?

Accepted Answer

Audit portioning, waste, and unrecorded transfers or theft

Answer

A 6-point variance between theoretical and actual food cost indicates portions are larger than specified, waste is unrecorded, or product is being removed without documentation—all requiring an operational audit.

CEC - Certified Executive Chef Practice Test

CEC - Certified Executive Chef Practice Test

CEC Financial Management and Cost Control 2