What's your Leftover policy for employees?

Leftovers are somewhat a signal of how well you manage your menu or the quantity of your servings.

For ala carte type of service, having lots of leftovers on guest's plates all the time means that you have overportioned and vice versa.

If it's a buffet or eat-all-you-can type of service, leftovers mean that you need to watch your forecasting and take a keen look at what you're missing. In some places, though, forecasting is not helpful because of the unpredictable trend of diners. This makes it very difficult for a restaurant operator to make forecasting work for them, if they do it at all.

Consequently, one thing that has to be answered is what do you do with leftovers? I hear fastfood chains do not give them away or recycle them or sell them at a cheaper rate to employees. They just throw them away. I guess for fear of getting a bad reputation when somebody eats a not so hot burger or soggy fries.

I know of restaurants who sell leftovers at a cheaper rate. A local bakery has a 30% off on breads at 10 minutes before closing time. I have honestly waited hear the bakeshop sometimes at 10 minutes before closing!

Some restaurants put them in the dog food or pig food bin (in the philippines, piggery owners actually buy leftovers and even those food that were cleaned from plates to feed their pigs) where they are collected and fed to the dogs or pigs.

Some throw them in the biodegradable bin. Some give them away to poor people. Noble act, I would say, but wouldn't the poor people get spoiled with eating restaurant food all the time? Anyway, the food is not spoiled at all!

If you decide to throw them away, make sure you throw them where they will not rot or be a nuisance to the neighbors or the environment.

If you decide to give them away to anybody including your employees, include it in your employe handbook and make your employees understand, or anybody for that matter, that you will not be held liable if they get sick as a result of eating your restaurant's leftovers. It sure is not a good publicity.

For me, when my clients ask me aboutwhat to do with leftovers, I recommend throwing them away or recycling and not to give them away free to be eaten by somebody. Why? Because you never know what happens to that dish after you give them away. It is safer to throw them away. However, with the worldwide food crisis, I think twice already. But I still recommend throwing them or recycling.

Whatever your policy will be, make sure it is clear to all employees and that your policies and procedures on disposing of your leftovers are concise.