Server Products Provide Portion Control for Condiments

Ensuring customers are served consistent portions can improve their satisfaction and save you hundreds of dollars in operating costs each year. Though it's sometimes overlooked, one crucial aspect of restaurants' portion control involves condiments. Whether guests are allowed to fill their own paper cups or are given ramekins that are pre-filled in the kitchen, Server dispensers allow operators to reduce wasted products.

Condiment Control in the Front- and Back-of-House

In quick-service and fast casual restaurants, customers are usually given the freedom to fill up paper ramekins on their own. These ramekins can control condiment portions, since they are typically designed to hold only a half-ounce, but you can also limit how much of the condiment is dispensed with each pump. This can help thwart overzealous customers who may accidentally dispense too much at one time, potentially overfilling their cups and creating messes or dispensing more than they will need for their meals.

In full-service operations, dipping sauces and dressings are more often presented in ramekins that have been filled by servers or the back-of-house staff. In this case, using Server dispensers with set portion sizes will help ensure customers are served condiments in consistent volumes. For example, using condiment pumps set to dispense a 1-ounce portion will let employees know to dispense two pumps to serve a 2-ounce portion. Because servers know how many pumps to dispense, rather than having to estimate how much of the ramekin to fill, this may also speed up the process of filling the ramekins.

To help illustrate the savings that are possible by reducing condiment waste in your operation, Server Products has provided the following estimation, based on reducing the portion size by ¹⁄₈ of an ounce.