Online Financial Management Course for Chefs

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Retaining, training and developing staff, making your team aware of the financial reasoning behind your operational decisions and teaching financial management skills are all hugely important to hospitality businesses as we adapt to a new post-COVID landscape. We’ve partnered with Russell Partnership Technology to bring individual professionals and businesses a unique learning opportunity to expand their skill set.

We spoke to John Wood about his involvement in the project and just how the Financial Management Course can help aspiring chefs.

“There is nothing else like this on the market”

During my 37-year career, having worked with thousands of chefs over the years, I have always felt it is really important to impart and share knowledge. Many chefs rise through the ranks with little or no formal training on financial management. I was very fortunate to have worked very closely with some superb financial controllers and Finance Directors over the years and having run my own business I learnt these skills during my career.

During my time as an F+B Business Consultant, I discovered that chefs and businesses often struggle to manage and improve their margins and profits to the extent that they believe achieving budget is reaching the maximum potential of their business. This simply isn’t the case.

As a result of my experience, I developed an extremely simple but comprehensive training course which I have taught as a consultant to many businesses globally over the years with fantastic and immediate results.

A brand new online Financial Management Course for Chefs

More recently, with the course content and structure in place, we teamed up with Russell Partnership Technology to be able to take the course online.

Chefs progress through an easy-to-follow process, using culinary and operational terminology. The course consists of 7 modules. Each module includes step-by-step guides and training with videos, whilst performing various interactive exercises in Kitchen CUT to ensure complete understanding. Chefs typically learn best from watching and then doing, and this course does exactly that.

What does the course cover?

The 7-part program offers existing and up-and-coming senior chefs the opportunity to elevate their financial acumen. The various modules focus on controlling profit margins, reducing waste and managing costs:

• Yielding and purchasing.
• Recipe writing / costing and margin analysis.
• Menu creating and costing.
• Menu engineering analysis / reporting.
• Waste management and control.
• Stock / inventory control.
• Managing and controlling operational GPs and improving profits.

Detailed course information

This program will enable chefs to further develop their skills and drive forward their professional development. Financial acumen is an essential skill for all chefs and this course will upskill all who participate.

Peter Russell – Russell Partnership

What are the benefits?

Accredited by the International Hospitality Council, the Financial Management course brings together our collective knowledge of the industry, as well as our knowledge of how to deliver world-class learning experiences; delivering more confidence to chefs and enabling them to make enhanced financial and managerial decisions. The program will also ensure chefs have a more rounded skill base and give them opportunities for further promotion. Plus, in the current market, it is far better to retain rather than recruit staff and training has proved to be a key attribute to retention.

The course is also built to deliver a significant return on investment both for the individuals who complete the course and the business operations they control. From our experience, Chefs completing this course can expect to see up to a 6% improvement in their overall profit margin.

Return on Investment

For businesses, there is an instant ROI, by having chefs that better understand all aspects of kitchen financial management:

• Improved margins by up to 6%.
• Reduction in wastage by up to 10%.
• Better costings for menus.
• Tighter more accurate and consistent GP control.
• Better portion control and yield management.
• And much more.