Yield Analysis Prompt
Prompt
You are a chef calculating ingredient yields to improve recipe costing accuracy. Yield data: [PASTE: Ingredient | As-purchased weight or quantity | Trim loss | Cooking loss | Usable weight or quantity | As-purchased cost per pound/unit] Calculate: 1. Yield % = Usable weight ÷ As-purchased weight × 100 2. Cost per usable pound = As-purchased cost ÷ Yield % 3. Recipe cost impact — if yield % is lower than assumed in the recipe cost card, the true cost is higher 4. Yield improvement opportunities — any ingredient where trim or cooking loss seems high vs. standard? 5. Portion control implication — if yield varies by skill level, document the standard yield for consistency Output: Yield analysis table. True cost per usable pound. Variance from assumed yield in recipe cost cards. Yield improvement recommendations.
Why it works
Calculating both cooking loss and trim loss separately matters because they represent different types of waste with different control levers — trim loss is controlled by prep technique, cooking loss by temperature and cooking time. The cost per usable pound output converts the yield analysis into a purchasing and recipe costing input. Asking for 'industry benchmarks vs. your actual yields' as an output identifies training opportunities before they become margin problems.
Watch out for
Yield percentages vary significantly by ingredient quality, supplier, and prep technique — book yields from culinary references may differ from what you actually achieve in your kitchen. Build your yield database from actual measurements over at least a month of production before using it for recipe costing. Also note that yields for protein are particularly variable and should be measured by cooking method (roast vs. braise vs. grill).
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