Overview

Kitchen Production Formulas take what was ordered and turn it into clear production quantities for your kitchen.

For this example, we will build a simple Formula for a Pulled Pork Sandwich. Each sandwich gets 4 ounces of Pulled Pork, but the kitchen prepares Pulled Pork by the pound. Since four 4-ounce portions equal 1 pound, the Formula should read:

1 pound of Pulled Pork for every 4 Pulled Pork Sandwiches ordered

That is the basic idea behind every Kitchen Production Formula: take the way a Menu Item is sold and translate it into the quantity your kitchen needs to prepare.

Before you build the Formula, you need to know how the Menu Item is sold. In this example, the Pulled Pork Sandwich is sold by the each. The Customer orders a number of sandwiches, but the kitchen needs to know the total amount of Pulled Pork to prepare.

If the kitchen sees that 100 sandwiches were sold, that does not automatically tell the team how many pounds of Pulled Pork they need. The Formula does that math for them.

This is a simple Menu Item because there are no options, modifiers, or Customer choices involved. Every Pulled Pork Sandwich uses the same Pulled Pork Formula. We are starting here so you can see how the basic Formula works before moving into Menu Items where the Customer chooses meats, sides, sizes, or other options.

Because the Pulled Pork is needed every time this sandwich is ordered, the Formula will be added under the General Prep Items bar.

Before You Begin

This Formula uses three pieces:

The Pulled Pork Sandwich is sold to the Customer by the each. Pulled Pork is what the kitchen needs to prepare. The Formula connects the number of sandwiches sold to the amount of meat needed.

Before creating a new Prep Item, search for Pulled Pork and reuse it if it already exists. This keeps all Pulled Pork quantities connected across your buffets, sandwiches, and à la carte orders.

Step 1: Open the Kitchen Production Formula Builder

• Go to the Admin tab.
• Scroll to Kitchen and Production.
• Click Configure Kitchen Production Report Settings.
• Select Build a Kitchen Production Report.

This opens the area where you can select a Menu Item and build the Formulas your kitchen will use.

Step 2: Select the Menu Item

Find Please Select a Menu Item and choose Pulled Pork Sandwich from the dropdown.

After you select it, CaterZen will display the sections where you can add Kitchen Production Formulas for that Menu Item.

Step 3: Open General Prep Items

After selecting the Pulled Pork Sandwich, find the blue General Prep Items bar.

You must open this bar before you can add the Formula:

• Click the blue General Prep Items bar.
• Confirm that the bar turns orange. This tells you the section is open and active.
• Click the blue Add Formula button.

The Formula builder will open so you can enter the Prep Item, quantity, Unit of Measure, and the For Every quantity.

Use General Prep Items for anything the kitchen needs every time the Menu Item is ordered. In this example, every Pulled Pork Sandwich needs Pulled Pork, and there are no options or choices that change that. That is why the Formula belongs under General Prep Items, not under an option or modifier section.

Step 4: Select or Create the Prep Item

In the Please Choose field, search for Pulled Pork.

Select the result marked Prep. Do not choose a result labeled Menu Item or Option.

Search first before creating anything new. A duplicate such as Pulled Pork, Pulled pork, or Pork - Pulled could keep your quantities from rolling into one clean total.

If the Prep Item does not exist

If you search for Pulled Pork and do not see a result marked Prep, you can create it without leaving the Formula builder:

• Type Pulled Pork in the Please Choose field.
• Review the results one more time to make sure the Prep Item does not already exist.
• Under Add New, click the blue Prep Item button.
• Enter Pulled Pork as the Prep Item name.
• Click Save.

The new Pulled Pork Prep Item will now be available to use in this Formula and any other Formula you build later. You only need to create it once. The next time you need it, search for Pulled Pork and select the result marked Prep.

Step 5: Enter the Quantity and Choose the Unit of Measure

Enter 1 in the Quantity field, then select Pounds as the Unit of Measure. Pounds are used because that is how the kitchen prepares and measures Pulled Pork.

Choose the unit your kitchen naturally uses. Depending on the Prep Item, that might be:

• Each
• Ounces
• Pounds
• Quarts
• Pans
• Trays

If the unit you need is not available, you can create it while building the Formula.

Convert the portion to pounds

The sandwich portion is 4 ounces, but no one wants a Production Report telling the kitchen to prepare 400 ounces of Pulled Pork. The kitchen needs to see that quantity in pounds.

Since there are 16 ounces in a pound, start by converting the 4-ounce portion:

• 4 ounces ÷ 16 ounces per pound = 0.25 pound

You can enter the Formula as:

0.25 pound of Pulled Pork for every 1 Pulled Pork Sandwich ordered

Or you can avoid the decimal by using a larger yield:

• 4 sandwiches × 4 ounces each = 16 ounces
• 16 ounces = 1 pound

That Formula would read:

1 pound of Pulled Pork for every 4 Pulled Pork Sandwiches ordered

You can enter the same 4-ounce portion either way:

Both options produce the same amount. For this example, we will use the larger yield so the Formula does not require a decimal.

For 100 sandwiches, CaterZen will calculate 25 pounds of Pulled Pork. The Customer orders sandwiches by the each, but the kitchen sees the total meat in the unit it actually uses.

Step 6: Enter the “For Every” Quantity and Check the Formula

Enter 4 in the For Every field because the kitchen needs 1 pound of Pulled Pork for every four sandwiches ordered.

The Formula builder is set up like a sentence:

I would like [Quantity] [Unit] of [Prep Item] for every [Quantity Ordered].

With each field completed, the Formula should read:

1 pound of Pulled Pork for every 4 Pulled Pork Sandwiches ordered

Reading the Formula as a sentence makes it easier to check your entries before you save.

As a quick check, an order for 100 sandwiches should calculate 25 pounds of Pulled Pork. CaterZen will use the Formula to calculate the production quantity for every order.

Step 7: Choose the Rounding Setting

Next, decide how your kitchen wants CaterZen to handle partial pounds. The right setting depends on how your team prepares Pulled Pork.

For example, 25 sandwiches calculate to 6.25 pounds of Pulled Pork. You could:

• Use No Rounding if the kitchen is comfortable preparing 6.25 pounds.
• Choose Round Up to the Nearest Whole if the kitchen prepares meat in whole pounds. CaterZen would round 6.25 pounds up to 7 pounds.

Rounding up can also give the kitchen a little extra for over-portioning, a dropped sandwich, a spill, or another unexpected mistake during production.

The rounding setting changes the final amount the kitchen prepares. It does not change the 4-ounce portion used to calculate each sandwich.

Choose the setting that matches your kitchen's process. We will cover more rounding examples, including pans and half-quart increments, in the rounding article.

Step 8: Assign the Prep Station and Food Prep Category

Complete both the Prep Station and Food Prep Category fields. Different Kitchen Production Reports use these fields to organize your Prep Items. The V2 Kitchen Production Report groups items by Prep Station, while other reports may use the Food Prep Category.

To keep your reports organized the same way, use matching names in both fields.

For this example:

Pulled Pork will now appear under Meats/Proteins whether the report is organizing items by Prep Station or Food Prep Category.

Use the same matching structure as you build the rest of your Formulas:

Using the same names in both fields makes it easier for your kitchen to move between reports. Pulled Pork will always be under Meats/Proteins, Mac & Cheese will always be under Hot Sides, and Garden Salad will always be under Salads.

Step 9: Save the Formula

Before saving, read the Formula one more time:

1 pound of Pulled Pork for every 4 Pulled Pork Sandwiches ordered

If that matches what the kitchen should prepare, click the blue Save button.

The completed Formula will appear under the orange General Prep Items bar.

Test the Formula

Do not stop after saving the Formula. Place a small test order and check the Kitchen Production Report your team actually uses.

For example, enter a test order for 100 Pulled Pork Sandwiches. The report should show:

Pulled Pork: 25 pounds

Confirm that:

• The correct Prep Item appears
• The quantity is correct
• The Unit of Measure makes sense to the kitchen
• Pulled Pork appears under the correct station or category
• The item is not listed twice because of a duplicate Prep Item

If the report looks right, the Formula is ready to use.

Add Other Prep Items When Needed

The Pulled Pork Formula is the first piece of the sandwich. If your kitchen also needs the Production Report to show sandwich buns, pickles, sauce cups, or packaging, you can add a separate Formula for each item under General Prep Items.

For example:

• 1 sandwich bun for every 1 Pulled Pork Sandwich ordered
• 1 sauce cup for every 1 Pulled Pork Sandwich ordered

Only add the items your kitchen needs to see on the Kitchen Production Report. If buns, sauce cups, packaging, or other packing items are handled on a Pull Sheet, they may belong in the Pull Sheet portion of the Formula instead of under General Prep Items.

To learn how Pull Sheet Items work and where they appear, see Pull Sheets in CaterZen: Overview and Report Guide.

Why Reusing the Pulled Pork Prep Item Matters

Pulled Pork may be sold in several different ways:

• In the Classic BBQ Buffet
• On a Pulled Pork Sandwich
• By the pound as an à la carte item

Each Menu Item can use a different Formula, but they should all point to the same Pulled Pork Prep Item.

At the end of the day, it does not matter how the Pulled Pork was sold. To your kitchen, it is all the same Pulled Pork. Reusing the same Prep Item helps CaterZen bring those quantities together for production.

Common Mistakes to Watch For

• Creating a duplicate Prep Item: Search before adding a new one.
• Selecting the Menu Item instead of the Prep Item: Choose the result marked Prep.
• Using the wrong Unit of Measure: Choose the unit your kitchen actually works with.
• Entering the quantity in the wrong field: Read the completed Formula as a sentence before saving.
• Skipping the test order: Always check the finished report before building the rest of your Formulas.

Next Steps

Once you are comfortable with a simple Formula, the next step is learning how to build Formulas for Menu Items with Customer choices and modifiers, such as the Classic BBQ Buffet with one or two meats and two sides.

For more help with Prep Items, see Create,Name, Organize, and Reuse Prep Items in CaterZen.

For an overview of the full process, see KitchenProduction in CaterZen: How Prep Items, Formulas, and Reports WorkTogether.

Need Help Building Your Kitchen Production Workflow?

If you would like help deciding which reports your kitchen should use or reviewing your Kitchen Production setup, book a Kitchen Production session with Jill Hammett.

Support

For additional help, refer to the CaterZen Support Center or contact our CaterZen Support Team.

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