Throwing Out the Rice

It is impossible to be so perfect with your food prep and predictions that you never have to throw food in the trash. This hurts on a few levels, especially if you’re a hands-on owner like myself. I’ve spent time preparing that food, as well as money. We work Thursday through Monday and do eat leftovers on our weekend, which is Tuesday and Wednesday, this has the double duty of checking the quality of our food in addition to feeding us, but you can only eat so much. We’ve taken to making care packages for our friends on Monday afternoon so the food doesn’t go to waste. But the one thing that bothers me the most, and I throw out every day, is rice. We do have a very good rice cooker. It’s an Aroma 8-cup and I highly recommend it, it will genuinely keep your rice fresh for hours, but there is always some left at the day and if it isn’t a big day for rice dishes I can end up throwing out a whole pot. I will stand there and eat a couple of spoonfuls just so it won’t all go to waste. I know you might think, “Well rice isn’t that expensive.” but every time I throw it out all I can see is those images of starving children so grateful for just a cup of rice. The restaurant has been open for over three years and I still think about it almost every day.

What you want to do is keep track of your food sales, not just the amount, but what is selling and when. Like I know that on Fridays I have to prep a lot more catfish than on Thursday. With things like fish that have such a short shelf life this can be critical to your success and profitability. Another thing to consider is what to keep in a steam table and what to heat to order. Once something has been in a steam table for a while it’s time for the dumpster. Heating to order might slow you down a bit, but if it saves you from throwing out a lot of product you might want to give it a try. Keep an eye on that menu too, if something is continuously getting tossed then it’s probably time to 86 it from the menu. Here’s a question where did the phrase 86 come from. I have worked in restaurants for more years than I care to remember and have used that saying since the beginning and have no idea where it comes from. If you know, fill me in.