"How Restaurants can Maximise Revenue through Audits"

The food industry, which is currently valued at US$ 39.71 billion, is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11 per cent to US$ 65.4 billion by 2018. Food and grocery account for around 31 per cent of India’s consumption basket.

Food industry has shown tremendous growth as it contributes around 14 per cent of manufacturing Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 13 per cent of India’s exports and six per cent of total industrial investment. Indian food service industry is expected to reach US$ 78 billion by 2018.The Indian gourmet food market is currently valued at US$ 1.3 billion and is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent. India's organic food market is expected to increase by three times by 2020.

According to the statistics, undoubtedly there is a gigantic increment in eating out culture and factors like restaurant audits is add on to maximise revenues and take the business to the next level. It helps to optimise all the resources and maximise the yield which is the end objective of every restaurateur. Investors in the manufacturing sector ensure that all their machines work as effectively as possible and that the machine operators are trained to maximise output. It should be no different in the hospitality sector where a regular restaurant operational audit can uncover so many opportunities to positively manipulate revenue and to control revenue costs. But experience has shown us that restaurateurs can spend their days jumping from one operational task to another, missing these opportunities and leaving a lot of easy profit on the table. “Restaurateurs need to understand their duties and responsibilities and it are their foremost responsibility to give a food safety check on the food which is being served on customer’s table. Gone are the days when people used to enjoy water-balls on the street with vendor dipping his hand into the water. Now customers have the choice to opt for mineral water and other hygienic things which show things are changing,” says Kapil Malhotra, Founder & Chairman of the Total Solutions Group.

Role of Audit

Government has introduced some perplexed laws which restaurateurs need to know and implement accordingly. The role of audit is to provide solutions to the restaurants i.e., what do they need to do, how should they handle things at their restaurant and there is a full check list which they advise their clients. “What we do is we go to their kitchens once or twice a month and do spot audit then advise them on how food should be handled and then how it should be prepared to serve the customer an unforgettable experience. One of the key strategies of audit is how does a restaurant structure the plan and help restaurants to increase foot fall and maximise profit. Audits structure their reports in a way so that restaurants could examine themselves. Also it gives the preaching to the servers or waiters to serve the customers in the best way every time,” adds Malhotra.

Restaurant operational audit starts from the farm and goes to the fork. So it includes everything right from procurement, storage, preparation, processing and cooking of raw materials to procurement, processing and storage, serving, sale and display of cooked food. Audit goes through a whole detailed check list which every restaurateur should be aware of. The idea of audit is whenever a food inspector knocks at a restaurant’s door; restaurant needs to be well prepared before.