What can you do with left over French toast? This is pretty easy for anyone who has been in the food business for a while. It can be rotated into bread pudding.

What can you do with left over cake? How about those left over pieces of cake and the ones that have broken or crumbled? One thrifty operator I knew had a secret recipe she used to turn them into her signature spice cake. She mixed it, added a little TLC, and presto!

Trying to offer too many kinds of foods on a menu unnecessarily increases your food costs and food waste. It also makes it more difficult to use up certain food ingredients while they are still fresh.

As the costs of operating a business in today's economy increases, the already slim margin for profit narrows. Keeping the ingredients on hand for a larger than necessary menu is very expensive both in dollar outlay and in wastage.

Consider how many items are needed for the following burger menu, even though each item starts out with a half-pound ground beef patty:

Basic burger Lettuce and tomato

Cheese burger Choice of sliced Swiss, American or cheddar cheese

British burger Choice of cheese and bacon strips

Mushroom burger Topped with sautéed mushrooms

Onion burger Smothered with grilled onions

Hickory burger BBQ flavor with cheddar cheese

Cajun burger Grilled with spicy seasonings

Mexican burger Cheese and jalapenos

Chili burger Chili and cheddar cheese

It is a common experience when you hire a new chef he or she always want to add some new items to the menu. It is good practice to emphasize the impact new items can have on inventory needs and costs, and the value there is in keeping changes simple!