Know The Terms To Determine Your Food Costs Correctly

In food costing, there are several frequently used terms you must know. These terms include Standard Recipe, AP or As Purchased, EP or Edible Portion and RTS or Ready to Serve. Understanding each will help you to appropriately determine your food costs.

Standard Recipe

This is a recipe or formulation that has been tried and tested and has been found to be consistently good.
It is based on the standards of the restaurant both in quality and yield.
It is documented on a piece of paper or card for easy access by chefs. This recipe card should be laminated or placed in a clear book for protection.

AP (As Purchased)

This is the condition of a food item or ingredient when it was purchased or delivered. AP may refer to the form, cost, weight, or volume. Hence the terms: AP form, AP cost: AP weight, or AP volume.
For example, the vegetable you bought with stalk, roots, and leaves are in AP form. It costs 1 Euro when you bought it. That’s the AP cost. It weighs 3 kilos when you bought it; that’s the AP weight. It can fit in 6 measuring cups; that is the AP volume.

EP (Edible Portion)

EP is the amount of usable food/ingredients that can be used in food preparation after removing trimmings or waste from the original AP form.
Let’s refer to the vegetable example in AP. Let us assume that only the leaves can be used and the stalks and roots have to be discarded. The remaining leaves are what we call EP.

Ready To Serve (RTS)

This is different from EP and refers to the amount of food served to guests after cooking. There are four types of RTS weights:

RTS weight is lower than EP weight when moisture from food is lost during cooking. For example, roast beef losing moisture after roasting.
RTS weight is higher than EP weight when water is absorbed during cooking. For example, dry pasta absorbing water after boiling.