A sample Thursday Report.
This is the deliverable: two pages, in your inbox every Thursday by 5pm, written for the operator rather than built as a dashboard you log into. The figures below are illustrative, from a sample long-term care operation.
Report
The four numbers that matter.
Notes from your week.
Written by whoever ran your count, not generated by a dashboard. This is what turns numbers into a report.
Solid week. Food cost held at 29.8%, just inside target, on lighter spend than last week. Two things stood out, one to celebrate and one to keep an eye on.
Maria held protein portions tight on the line through a busy weekend. Proteins came in closer to theoretical than they have in a month. Worth saying so, out loud, at the workshop.
Devon, your new prep tech, is over-prepping produce on the slower days, and it shows up as waste. Not a fault, just a habit we can coach. I'll walk par-by-day with them on the next visit.
Your top five.
The five biggest gaps between what production should have used and what it actually did. These are production variances we can act on, not vendor drift or contract pricing. Each one is a conversation, not a verdict: why it might have happened, and what the team focuses on next. That conversation is where the culture shift around inventory begins.
1. Braised proteins
−6.1% vs theoreticalWhy
Portions crept up on the weekend braise when the line got slammed.
Focus
A two-minute portion check at the workshop, and a scale on the braise station.
2. Prepped produce
+22% waste vs parWhy
Over-prepping on the slow days, then tossing what did not move.
Focus
Par-by-day for produce so prep matches the cover forecast.
3. Plated desserts
−3.4% vs theoreticalWhy
Recipe drift; the cream pours have grown since the last re-cost.
Focus
Re-spec the two highest-volume desserts with the pastry lead.
4. Therapeutic supplements
−4.0% vs countWhy
A substitution went out without being logged against the resident order.
Focus
Confirm the sub-mapping sheet gets filled in at the point of swap.
5. Coffee and hot beverage
+9% vs parWhy
Free-pour and unlogged staff drinks through the week.
Focus
A logged staff-drink tally, and a portioned scoop on the urn.
Think ahead.
What we are keeping on the radar beyond this week: product, people, and equipment, across three horizons.
- Product: re-quote or substitute chicken thigh, up 8.4% on the latest invoice.
- People: portion check with the line on the weekend braise.
- Equipment: the walk-in #2 door seal is loose and pushing dairy spoilage; get it serviced.
- People: cross-train a second team member on counts so coverage survives a vacation.
- Product: the therapeutic supplement contract has not been re-quoted in six months; a review is queued.
- Equipment: start budgeting for the combi oven, since its uneven cook is part of the protein waste.