PCC Food Cost Management & Pricing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When calculating a standardized recipe cost, which of the following should be included?
- All ingredient costs including garnishes and condiments (Correct answer)
- Only the cost of the protein component
- Labor costs only
- Overhead expenses but not ingredients
Correct answer: All ingredient costs including garnishes and condiments
A complete recipe cost includes every ingredient—proteins, produce, spices, garnishes, and condiments.
Question 2: A chef buys 5 cases of tomatoes at $18/case. After trimming and waste, the yield is 78%. What is the cost per usable pound if each case contains 25 lbs?
- $0.923/lb (Correct answer)
- $0.72/lb
- $1.05/lb
- $0.80/lb
Correct answer: $0.923/lb
Total cost = $90; usable lbs = 125 × 0.78 = 97.5; $90 ÷ 97.5 ≈ $0.923/lb.
Question 3: What is 'menu engineering' primarily used to analyze?
- The profitability and popularity of each menu item (Correct answer)
- The nutritional content of dishes
- Kitchen workflow efficiency
- Staff scheduling requirements
Correct answer: The profitability and popularity of each menu item
Menu engineering classifies items by their contribution margin (profitability) and sales volume (popularity).
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'shrinkage' in food cost management?
- Reduction in food weight or volume due to cooking, trimming, or evaporation (Correct answer)
- The gap between budgeted and actual food costs
- Portion sizes that are smaller than the standard
- Vendor invoicing errors that increase costs
Correct answer: Reduction in food weight or volume due to cooking, trimming, or evaporation
Shrinkage is the loss of product weight or volume from raw to ready-to-serve through heat, moisture loss, or trimming.
Question 5: A personal chef wants a 30% food cost and her ingredient cost for a meal is $36. What should she charge?
- $120 (Correct answer)
- $108
- $90
- $144
Correct answer: $120
Selling price = food cost ÷ desired food cost % = $36 ÷ 0.30 = $120.
Question 6: In a purchase specification, what information is typically NOT included?
- Recipes using the ingredient (Correct answer)
- Grade or quality standard
- Pack size and unit of measure
- Acceptable substitutes
Correct answer: Recipes using the ingredient
Purchase specs define quality, quantity, and delivery requirements—not internal recipes.
Question 7: What does a food cost variance indicate when actual food cost exceeds budgeted food cost?
- Costs are over budget, possibly from waste, theft, or price increases (Correct answer)
- The menu is priced correctly
- Revenue is higher than expected
- Portion sizes have decreased
Correct answer: Costs are over budget, possibly from waste, theft, or price increases
A negative variance (actual > budget) signals overspending, which may result from waste, theft, over-portioning, or higher ingredient prices.
PCC Food Cost Management & Pricing 3
When calculating a standardized recipe cost, which of the following should be included?