11/28/17 - Scaling Recipes: Consistency is Key

Have you ever received a complaint from a resident regarding food taste and quality? Is there an association to the day it was prepared or the individual preparing it?

"I really enjoyed the Chicken Pot Pie the last time it was served. It doesn't taste the same this time."

Why are you receiving this feedback? What makes the first version so much better than the second? Shouldn't they taste the same?

Facilities that do not have standardized recipes to follow nor a tool that will assist in quantifying the recipe to the required production quantity often face this challenge. Having access to an application that enables users to manage standardized recipes and scale recipes to varying production quantities can help in maintaining recipe consistency among facility cooks and staff.

Increasing consistency has a direct impact on recipe quality and resident satisfaction. If residents can rely on having the same great tasting recipe every time it is prepared and offered on the menu, they are going to be more content and generate less negative feedback. Residents look forward to mealtimes and preparing consistent high quality and flavorful meal options will certainly impact the resident's opinion of the dining operations. By implementing foodservice software, the facility has access to a recipe management tool that foodservice staff can easily access to print recipes with ingredients, ingredient amounts and instructions for preparation.

Scaling recipes accurately also impacts food and labor costs. Using an application that automatically scales recipes to production quantities eliminates the manual process and potential miscalculation of ingredient amounts. Preparing recipes with accurate ingredient amounts keeps food costs in check and also helps to avoid situations where a recipe does not turn out correctly (whether it be taste, texture or consistency issues) and has to be thrown out.

Additionally, by following a standardized and/or scaled recipe closely, the nutritional analysis for the portion consumed by the resident is more accurate. This is especially important when dealing with residents on therapeutic diets where specific nutrients are being tracked closely. If a recipe is prepared without a formal process, the cook or chef may add incorrect quantities of certain ingredients possibly delivering too little or too much of specific macro and micro nutrients.

Quantifying recipes and generating scaled recipe reports are just a few of the many features and benefits in MonarqRC's RDS Elite application. Review more details on RDS Elite by visiting the RDS Elite product page or call (855) 836-4717 to schedule a demonstration with a Sales Specialist.