Scrape It, Don’t Scrap It!

Waste not, want not. Take the time to properly scrape your containers!

Whether it’s house made soups and sauces, or pre-made dressings and dips, it’s essential that all culinarians within your operation take the time to scrape containers.

It’s safe to say we have all witnessed containers brought to the “dish pit” with a substantial amount of product remaining within the holding vessel. Although the remnant may appear to some staff as minimal, and not worth the time and effort to scrape the container, in my opinion it’s a wasteful practice. When focused on cost-saving this is one habit that you should instruct your staff to avoid. Foodservice is an industry where every ounce counts and every ounce wasted is money in the trash, or down the drain.

8 ounce a day x 7 days a week x 52 weeks a year = 23 gallons

The good news is that with a few rubber spatulas and a quick team training session these wasteful practices can be eliminated. This is not to say that this practice will forever diminish with one training session. As with your garbage cans, you will want to spot check containers from time to time, which will give you a sense of who your main offenders are; and if necessary identify individuals who need a second training.

This is your money so make scraping a practice of savings!

Try the one week test:

• Throughout the course of a week personally scrape all containers you can find. Scrape all remnant into one large container and reserve in a place where most will not take notice. After one week revisit your findings with the team; sometimes it takes a visual aid to really make your point stick.