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Food Costs on Ships Reduced By Using Proper Control By J. Allan Masson OOD control is an important F ssc of the steamship commis- sary business the name of which exactly describes its function. Its aim is not only to account for the raw materials received from the purveyors, and for the finished portions that are served to the passengers and crew: it goes deeper into the heart of the busi- ness than that. Food control acts as a constant watchman during the proc- esses by which these raw materials be- come finished menu items, and by its close contact at all times it serves the end of saving to the company the prop- er profit that usually is lost where food control is not present. It should be noted particularly that food control effects its service by seek- ing out and showing up waste—not by attempting to cut down necessary ex- pense or proper cost. There are many opportunities, even in galleys oper- ated by sincere careful people to point out costly leaks that experience has shown can be corrected. Certainly food control attempts to dictate neither the quality of foods to be bought nor the size of portions to be served. Usu- ally, indeed, knowing the importance of quality of materials in the value of the finished dish, and in the future growth of the client’s business and con- tentment of the ship’s personnel, the food controller will recommend that the best qualities only be purchased and that food portions be of a stand- ard size. Any other recommendation would be unwise, for it would jeopar- dize the success of the line. Food Costs on Various Ships Experience shows that it is possible to save 10 to 15 cents in the food cost of each meal served on representative steamships, both on passenger and on freight ships. With food control in operation on passenger ships, the per meal food costs have been found to average between 22 cents and 32 cents, depending upon the class of the ship. On freighters carrying crews of 25 to 35 men the per meal food cost aver- ages between 13 cents and 25 cents, with a general average cost of 20 cents per meal or 60 cents per man per day. Its cost of installation and operation has been found to be less than half the amount saved in food cost. Food costs on freight ships, plying both inland and ocean waters, at first The author, J, Allan Masson, who has had experience on shipboard, is & Member of the staff of R. M. Grin- Stead & Co. Inc, Commissary Analy- Sists and Controllers. thought may not seem to need much consideration because the personnel on such ships is so much smaller than on passenger ships that the expense of feeding them appears small and rather an insignificant item in comparison. A cursory investigation, however, will show that it is an important item in the current expenses of any company operating a fleet of freighters, irre- spective of the number in the fleet. Many lines of freight ships do not maintain a commissary supply or gen- eral storehouse. All food items are pur- chased at various ports of call and the steward of each freighter, under the captain, is given authority to do the purchasing. Often the esteem in which he is held by the rest of the crew and his desire for such esteem is an index of such purchases being either within reason or excessive. Even in com- panies where a central commissary is maintained the outside port of call purchases may reach unusual propor- tions unless explicit instructions are issued and followed up as to the quality. and quantity of food to be purchased at out-ports. Careful Inspection of Articles A steward frequently will hold the opinion that certain articles are of a much better grade when obtained else- where than when furnished by his home commissary. This may lead him to place an order so large that it will take more than one trip or voyage to consume the articles bought. In such instances the purchase prices are usually higher than those where the articles are supplied by the company. A careful inspection of articles, es- pecially perishable items, at time of delivery to the ship has a direct bear- ing on meal costs. If foods of inferior grade are delivered the steward should have full authority to reject them and call for better grades for replacement. The handling of the stores on freighters too often receives but little consideration. Poor storage facilities are provided in many Cases. Valuable food items are allowed to be thrown into any convenient corner and left there until such time as they are need- ed for use. Then, when they are need- ed, something has happened to them and of course the loss is charged up to meal cost. On the other hand, some companies have provided a separate storeroom and refrigerator for the crew’s food supplies. The better the arrangements of this character are, the greater the saving in the cost of food consumed. The preparation of food is important MARINE REVIEw—May, 1931 too; in fact it probably is the most im- portant factor governing the cost of feeding. A poor cook can cost a com- pany a great deal in dollars and cents. The quality of food supplied may be of the very best and yet if improperly prepared and not of a palatable nature, it is practically wasted. Stewards also have it within their power to regulate their meal cost by careful and systematic methods in the quantities of food items used in the preparation of their meals. It is ad- visable to keep a steward on the same steamer as long as possible, for he soon becomes familiar with the appetites of the various crew members. In tak- ing the raw food from storage a care: ful steward can save a company un- necessary expense by exercising care and judgment in quantities. used, Care and System Needed It is not a difficult matter to control food costs per meal, in fact keep them almost at a uniform basis, if a food control system is in operation, and a reasonable amount of supervision is exercised by those officials having the commissary operations under their direction. Most assuredly it calls for a little extra work and super- vision, but the results warrant the effort. A food control system, properly operated, places the _ di- rect control of all food operations directly in the hands of the fleet man- ager and enables him to prevent losses or stop leaks before they become serious. Last year our company conducted commissary analyses on a number of freighters, owned and operated by va- rious companies, both large and small. One of these companies maintained its own commissary; others specified cer- tain stores with whom to trade in each port of call; others permitted the indi- vidual steward to exercise his own judgment. As a result of these commissary analyses, it was found that the average food cost last season should not ex- ceed 65 cents per person per day. Asa result of installing and properly oper- ating a simple food control system, many freighters operated on food costs amounting to less than 60 cents per person per day last year. This year, with more favorable market condi- tions, those freighters under food con- trol supervision are expected to oper- ate on a daily cost of about 54 cents per capita. The crews will receive the same amounts of the same quality of food as do the crews on other steam- ers. The lower per meal food costs will be secured by the food control system maintaining a positive control over food operations, thereby eliminat- ing over-preparation, over-stocking, carelessness in operations, petty graft and other entirely needless losses. Food control has been in operation in hotels, clubs and institutions for years. Less than two years ago it was first successfully installed and oper- ated on passenger ships. 41