The Recipe Information section is used for viewing recipes that were previously designed in FOOD-TRAK and can also be used to set up recipe categories as well as perform sizing and modeling operations. Recipes cannot be built or modified directly from this section; however, the Recipe Designer can be activated from this section. The Recipe Designer is the tool used for creating and modifying recipes.
Ingredients Window
This window near the top of the Recipe Information section displays the ingredients that are used in the recipe. Recipe procedures and comments can be viewed by clicking the Recipe Designer button.
This drop-down list displays the proper unit size yielded by the recipe. As units are changed from the drop down list, the yield quantity changes as well based on the unit conversion factors set in the Unit Information section of the recipe.
When performing cost modeling in the Recipe Information section, note that this is for informational purposes only. This has nothing to do with the actual price at which the item is sold. This suggested selling price is displayed on the Recipe List detailed report.
Enter an optional value in this field to add the cost in dollars in labor to prepare the recipe.
Enter an optional value in this field to add any miscellaneous costs associated with preparing the recipe.
These pieces of information work in conjunction with the Cost Modeling tool and display the data reflective of the most recent changes in Price and Cost.
The Production Location list is pre-loaded with Locations. Select the area of the operation where the item is produced or stored once it has been produced, if applicable. Double-click locations from the Production Location list to assign them to the list on the right. There may be more than one location in which a recipe is produced.
It is possible to select a particular location as a production location for each profit center if the recipe can be produced in multiple kitchens in multiple outlets. Click the folder with the green check mark button to open the Profit Center Production Locations editor. Click a location name below each of the Profit Centers and then click the Set button to flag the selected location as the production location for that profit center. Click OK to save changes and return to the Recipe Information section.
Recipe Categories can be set up by type of recipe; for example, Beef Entrees, Seafood Appetizers, etc. Think of these groups as convenient headings for a recipe book. As with other grouping functions, you can establish subgroups and master groups. Assign the item to the appropriate Recipe Category once they have been defined by clicking the drop down list to select the Category.
To add or edit existing Recipe Categories, click the open folder button to the right of the Recipe Category field to open the Recipe Categories group editor. After adding a new Recipe Category, it may be necessary to close and reopen Item Editor in order to see the new Category on the drop down list.
Main Ingredient is a further refinement of FOOD-TRAK's search and grouping abilities and is used for categorizing recipes by the most important ingredient in the recipe. Typical group names would be Beef (as a master group) followed by Tenderloin, Ground, Sirloin, etc. as subgroups.
Click the drop down list to select the desired Main Ingredient.
To add or edit existing Main Ingredients, click the open folder button to the right of the Main Ingredient field to open the Main Ingredient group editor. After adding a new Main Ingredient, it may be necessary to close and reopen Item Editor in order to see the new option on the drop down list.
This category is used to describe predominant cooking techniques such as baked, fried, steamed, boiled, etc. Establish groups for each cooking type and then assign recipes to How Cooked categories.
To add or edit existing How Cooked categories, click the open folder button to the right of the How Cooked field to open the How Cooked group editor. After adding a new How Cooked category, it may be necessary to close and reopen Item Editor in order to see the new option on the drop down list.
Options Include by selecting the radio button for: Hot, Cold or Room Temperature. There are no groups to establish here, simply three possibilities.
The Recipe Designer is used to add, modify and work with procedures for all FOOD-TRAK recipes. With it, one may enter ingredients, comments, preparation instructions and procedures.
The Recipe Designer is activated with the Recipe Designer button in the Recipe Information section. Based on the current user’s permissions, recipes with ingredients (or sub-ingredients) that are not in the current user's profit centers (but that are in the current user's profit center at the top level) are displayed in the recipe but are disallowed from being selected to be modified.
Users with access to the recipes at the top level can view them in the Item Editor (in a read-only state) but must have access to all ingredients (and sub-ingredients) in order to edit the recipe.
Pictures can also be added to the recipe through the Recipe Designer in addition to the normal method of using the Item Editor General Information section. You can create procedures for the recipes with the build in text editor.
FOOD-TRAK employs a recipe costing 'on-the-fly' recalculation approach. In an effort to increase the speed and performance of the system, this means the Perpetual Inventory Engine does NOT update the cost of every recipe in the database each time it is executed manually or on a scheduled basis. FOOD-TRAK will display the current cost of a recipe in appropriate situations. There are a number of transactions and user activities which trigger the immediate cost recalculation of a recipe including:
A note of clarification related to viewing recipe costs on the Item Selection screen: When a user accesses Database, Elements, Items or Recipes and then selects a view which includes cost (e.g. Recipes Only: Name and Cost) not all of the recipes displayed on the screen will have their costs recalculated to current. Rather the recipes will display with the last calculated cost triggered by one of the events in the list above and the date and time stamp of that recalculation.