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  • Case study & cost comparison: in-house stock vs StocksMatter

Case study & cost comparison: in-house stock vs StocksMatter

Ed Currenti - Business Manager   23 November 2021 

Introduction

The following study was developed by a team of Australian Chefs in collaboration with Prestige Foods Ausralia to determine the actual cost of producing Veal Stock in a commercial kitchen. The purpose of producing a test stock was to gather information to be able to make a cost comparison between the “in house” production of veal stock, and purchasing a consistent, quality stock, such as StocksMatter's Premium Veal Stock.

 

Methods & Assumptions

The test conditions were designed to reflect the real conditions and time involved in the production of a basic veal stock in a professional kitchen. The following assumptions have been made.
 
- There is no industry standard recipe for veal stock.
- All input ingredients must have a real cost assigned to them.
- Labor inputs are only valued when preparing the stock is the only task being performed.
- Intangible values, such as HACCP compliance, OHS or product consistency have not been measured.
- There is no industry recognized nomenclature to describe color, viscosity or taste.
 
The test stock was reduced to Brix 15. This is the same value as StocksMatter Premium Veal Stock.
 
As no standard recipe exists for veal stock, the recipe used for this test was identical to that of StocksMatter Premium Veal Stock. As the StocksMatter product is consistently reproducible, we have used this as the reference stock.
 
The limitations of this test mean that only direct cost comparison can be made with the StocksMatter product. It is reasonable however to assume that the stock produced in most reputable professional kitchens is substantially similar to the test stock.
 
Labor can only really be measured when preparing the stock is the only task being performed. In any kitchen many tasks must be undertaken simultaneously and only short amounts of time can be dedicated to preforming one specific job. The test only measures labor for short periods of time in the preparation of the ingredients and the straining of the stock at various stages. A challenge exists to describe a stock at any given time during its cooking process and to describe StocksMatter Premium Veal Stock in comparison to a stock produced in a professional kitchen. Every individual chef will have an opinion on what is an acceptable flavour, color or mouth feel. The test stock was reduced to Brix 15. This was only for the purpose of valid comparison to StocksMatter Premium Veal Stock.

 

The Process

The test stock was produced using 25kg of veal leg bones, as this is the standard unit of purchase. In addition, 2kg of veal trim and 6kg of vegetables were used. A total of 40ltr of water was added.

The total yield at Brix 15 was 7.8 Litres

All input ingredients have been valued at the same costs as those of the reference stock. This may skew the results slightly as most kitchens could not purchase ingredients at the same value as Stocks Matter, simply based on volume. The difference in costs would be negligible on the typical batch size produced in a kitchen. 
However the difference becomes significant if the batch size made by a kitchen was multiplied by the total volume produced each month.

Labor and energy costs are based on actual Australian costs as measured at the time of publication.

 

Results

Ingredient costs

Total ingredients cost = $69.31

Energy costs

Roasting in a standard commercial combi oven consumes at least 38kw per hour. 
(38kw X $0.28/kwh) x 2hr = $21.28

Simmering and reducing on a single 20 joule gas burner for 20hrs 
(20 x $1.22/Mj) x 20hr = $1.22

Labor Costs

Labor has been costed only at the vegetable prep, skimming and straining/filtering stages. 

The important information here is that the length of time required to produce a stock of Brix 15 is a realistic 40 hrs.

Total labour cost is equivalent to 1.5 hrs x $28.00/hr = $42.00

 
Total Costs

Total costs must also include energy costs, equipment cleaning and depreciation.

Ingredients:  $79.00
Energy:  $22.50
Labour:  $42.00
Total:  $143.5 per 7.8 litre or $18.40 per litre

StocksMatter Cost: $16.00 per litre 
 

18% cost savings

StocksMatter removes:

- purchasing & management of ingredients & bones

- removal of any waste product 

- any storage and holding cost in a freezer or chiller

- overhead costs for raw materials or finished product

- all OHS issues with staff 

 

Conclusion

The ability to produce a consistent product in a changing kitchen environment is one of the toughest challenges kitchen managers currently face. Many kitchens are under-skilled and as labor costs increase as a proportion of total costs the holy grail of consistency is increasingly harder to achieve.

Stocks produced in professional kitchens are on the whole done so by “feel” and are entirely dependent on the skills of the chef involved. Typically, the ratio of input ingredients varies with each batch. Roasting times and the initial simmering times can all change according to the time available to the chef. This will influence the amount of reduction time and the consistency of the final product.

Issues that influence the greater environment of a kitchen, such as HACCP compliance and OH&S practices, are not quantifiable in the context of this cost comparison. They are treated very differently in every kitchen and so while it is not in the scope of this test to value these procedures very convincing arguments exist to minimize and manage these risks.

So here is a very useful tool that will help to understand some of the true and sometimes hidden costs in producing menus. For managers facing pressure on food costs, labor shortages, and skill levels here is a demonstrable way to help address these problems.

 

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