Standardized Recipes

Definition.

A standardized recipe is a set of instructions describing the way a particular establishment prepares a particular dish. In other words, it is a customized recipe developed by an operation for the use of its own cooks, using its own equipment, to be served to its own patrons.

The structure of a standardized recipe.

Recipe formats differ from operation to operation, but nearly all of them try to include as much precise information as possible. The following details may be listed:

• Name of the recipe.
• Yield, expressed as total yield (volume or weight), or number of portions and portion size.
• Ingredients and exact amounts, listed in order of use. Exact description of ingredients is included.
• Directions for preparing or fabricating each ingredient, such as trimming and cutting instructions.
• Expected trim yields for any produce or other ingredients that must be fabricated.
• Equipment needed, including measuring equipment, pan sizes, portioning equipment, and so on.
• Directions for preparing the dish. Directions are kept as simple as possible.
• Preparation and cooking temperatures and times.
• Directions for portioning, plating, and garnishing.
• All necessary food safety instructions, including critical storage, holding, and cooking temperatures and cleaning and sanitation procedures. See discussion of Critical Control Points below.
• Directions for breaking down the station, cleaning up, and storing leftovers.

The function of standardized recipes.

An operation’s own recipes are used to control production. They do this in two ways:

• They control quality. Standardized recipes are detailed and specific. This is to ensure the product is the same every time it is made and served, no matter who cooks it.
• They control quantity. First, they indicate precise quantities for every ingredient and how they are to be measured. Second, they indicate exact yields and portion sizes, and how the portions are to be measured and served.

By controlling quality and quantity, recipes are a key tool in controlling costs.

The limitations of standardized recipes.

Standardized recipes have the same problems as all recipes—the problems we discussed earlier regarding variations in foods and equipment and vagueness of instructions. These problems can be reduced by writing the recipe carefully, but they cannot be eliminated. Even if an operation uses good standardized recipes, a new employee making a dish for the first time usually requires supervision to make sure he or she interprets the instructions the same way as the rest of the staff. These limitations don’t invalidate standardized recipes. If anything, they make exact directions even more important. But they do mean that experience and knowledge are still very important.