At a Glance
Persona: Procurement Department + F&B Operations Manager · Module: recipe · Workflow stages: off-path — strategic upstream (menu-item linkage approve) + purchasing downstream (PO sizing) · Key permissions: read recipes, approve-menu-link (F&B Ops), raise substitution requests (Procurement)
What this persona does: Procurement sizes POs from recipe demand and surfaces substitution requests; F&B Ops approves menu-item linkages and runs menu engineering.
The Procurement / F&B Ops persona covers two related operational roles: Procurement (consumes recipe demand to inform purchasing — uses recipe explosions × forecast sales to size purchase orders, validates that ingredient availability matches recipe needs, receives substitution requests when an ingredient cannot be sourced) and F&B Operations Manager (owns the recipe library at the strategic level — approves new menu items and their recipe linkages per REC_AUTH_011, signs off menu engineering against margin and variance data, ensures recipe documentation supports training and audit). Both roles are read-mostly against the recipe library (recipe:read per REC_AUTH_010); F&B Ops additionally holds the menu-item linkage approval right (recipe:approve-menu-link per REC_AUTH_011). Procurement does not write to the recipe — they may surface a substitution request to the Chef (operational channel, not a schema write); the Chef remains the author of any ingredient swap or recipe revision. F&B Ops does not write to recipe header / ingredients / steps either — their authority is upstream of the recipe (set strategic direction, approve linkages) and downstream of recipe publication (price-side and menu-side decisions driven by recipe cost data, in collaboration with Cost Controller). From the recipe module's perspective, this persona is the strategic upstream gate (F&B Ops on menu-item linkage) and the purchasing-side downstream consumer (Procurement on PO sizing).
¶ 2. Entry Point and Primary Flow
Entry point: Five paths into Procurement / F&B Ops work touching the recipe module.
- Procurement → demand explosion — aggregate recipe explosions across all outlets × forecast sales over the planning horizon (week / month) produce a portfolio-level ingredient demand; this seeds PO sizing for the central store.
- Procurement → ingredient availability check — for each
PUBLISHED recipe (or a candidate DRAFT recipe coming up for approval), validate that the ingredients are reliably sourceable from the current vendor list at the cost the recipe assumes.
- Procurement → substitution request channel — when an ingredient is unavailable (vendor stock-out, discontinued, vendor change), surface a substitution request to the Chef for recipe revision.
- F&B Ops → menu-item linkage approval — when a Chef has published a new recipe and proposes it for menu-item linkage, F&B Ops reviews the recipe (cost, margin, fit with the menu, brand) and approves or rejects the linkage.
- F&B Ops → menu engineering review — periodic (typically quarterly) review of the menu vs the recipe library: which dishes are over-margin (raise the price or drop them), which are under-margin (cost-engineer or drop), which are signature dishes (preserve at any margin).
Primary flow (10 steps — runs continuously across the procurement and menu-planning calendar):
- (Procurement) Aggregate recipe demand. For the planning horizon, sum recipe explosions × forecast sales across all outlets. Each menu item → linked recipe(s) → ingredient lines × forecast sold quantity × wastage % × unit conversion → portfolio-level ingredient demand. Sub-recipe lines recurse to leaf-product demand.
- (Procurement) Compare against on-hand and in-flight POs. Net demand for the horizon = projected ingredient demand − central store on-hand − in-flight POs (deliveries expected in horizon) − safety stock. The net demand is the basis for new PO sizing.
- (Procurement) Validate ingredient availability. For each high-volume ingredient, confirm vendor availability at the recipe's assumed cost. If a vendor flags an upcoming stock-out (seasonal product, supply-chain disruption), flag the recipes that depend on the ingredient for substitution planning.
- (Procurement) Raise PO(s). Size POs to meet net demand per vendor, per delivery window. The PO lifecycle is owned by the procurement module (not the recipe module); the recipe is the demand input. Recipe accuracy (especially wastage %, conversion factors, and sub-recipe roll-ups) directly impacts PO sizing accuracy.
- (Procurement) Surface substitution request. When an ingredient is unavailable from the current vendor list, raise a substitution request to the Chef: "Vendor X cannot supply Y in the next N days; candidate substitutes are A / B / C at costs //$. Recipe impact: dishes [list] use Y in quantities [list]." The Chef evaluates the substitute and either revises the recipes (per
REC_POST_004 or REC_POST_005) or coordinates a temporary menu pause.
- (F&B Ops) Review new recipe proposals. When a Chef publishes a new recipe and proposes it for menu-item linkage, F&B Ops opens the recipe detail; reviews cost (
cost_per_portion), margin (actual_food_cost_percentage, gross_margin_percentage), menu fit (does it complement existing items? does it cannibalise sales of existing items?), brand fit (does it align with the cuisine / concept?), and operational fit (does the kitchen have the equipment, skill, throughput?).
- (F&B Ops) Approve or reject menu-item linkage. Per
REC_AUTH_011. Approval is recorded outside the recipe schema (in the POS-integration layer or an application-layer mapping); the recipe itself is unchanged. Rejection sends the Chef back to revise (commonly: cost too high, doesn't fit the cuisine, duplicates an existing dish) — the recipe stays PUBLISHED but is not linked to a menu item.
- (F&B Ops) Run menu engineering review. Periodically (quarterly), review the menu × recipe cost / margin / variance data. The matrix combines popularity (sales volume) with profitability (margin %): high-margin / high-volume = stars (preserve, promote); high-margin / low-volume = puzzles (consider promotion); low-margin / high-volume = workhorses (cost-engineer to improve margin); low-margin / low-volume = dogs (drop or re-conceive).
- (F&B Ops) Coordinate price / cost / recipe decisions. Menu engineering findings drive collaboration: Cost Controller adjusts prices on workhorses (per
REC_AUTH_006); Chef revises ingredients on dogs to bring cost down; F&B Ops drops linkages for dishes being retired. The recipe module supports the workflow but the strategic decisions are owned by F&B Ops.
- (F&B Ops) Sign off period-end menu performance. At the end of each menu cycle (quarterly / seasonally), F&B Ops signs off on menu performance: which dishes hit margin / sales targets, which under-performed, which decisions (drop / re-cost / re-price) were made. The signoff is part of the strategic operating package.
- PO size — recipe-driven vs par-level: Procurement may size POs either by recipe-driven demand explosion (accurate for known production volumes — banquet events, set-menu services) or by par-level top-up (default for a-la-carte where demand is probabilistic). The choice is per ingredient / per outlet; high-value, slow-moving ingredients are typically recipe-driven, fast-moving commodities are typically par-level.
- Substitution approach: when an ingredient is unavailable, Procurement may propose (a) a direct substitute (similar ingredient, similar cost — Chef confirms and updates wastage/conversion if needed), (b) a different vendor for the same ingredient (no recipe change), (c) a temporary menu pause on affected dishes (no recipe change, demand temporarily zero). Decision is driven by duration of the supply gap and the affected dishes' importance.
- Menu-link approval — accept-as-is vs request-revisions: F&B Ops may approve a proposed recipe linkage (publish proceeds to menu listing), request revisions (cost too high, doesn't fit menu — Chef revises), or reject outright (concept doesn't fit). The threshold for "accept-as-is" depends on tenant tolerance and the strategic priority of the new dish.
- Menu engineering — drop vs re-cost vs re-price: for an under-performing dish, F&B Ops decides among (a) drop the menu link entirely (no recipe state change; the recipe stays
PUBLISHED but is no longer linked to a menu item), (b) coordinate with Chef to re-cost (ingredient revision to bring cost_per_portion down), (c) coordinate with Cost Controller to re-price (increase selling_price to restore margin). Choice is driven by the dish's role on the menu and brand considerations.
- Cost-drift escalation path: when Cost Controller flags portfolio-wide cost drift in a category, F&B Ops decides whether to (a) absorb (preserve menu prices, accept margin reduction), (b) pass through (raise menu prices to restore margin — communication / competitor analysis required), or (c) re-engineer (drive ingredient revisions across the category — Chef-side work). The decision is strategic and impacts the relationship with Cost Controller and Chef.
¶ 4. Exit Point / Handoffs
The Procurement / F&B Ops persona's involvement on a given recipe / menu cycle ends at one of several boundaries:
- (Procurement) PO raised — handoff to the procurement module's PO flow (vendor side, purchase-order); the recipe demand input is preserved as the rationale for PO sizing; the PO advances independently. Procurement returns to the recipe module on the next planning cycle.
- (Procurement) Substitution request issued to Chef — handoff to the Chef for evaluation and recipe revision per
REC_POST_004 / REC_POST_005. Procurement monitors for recipe update or temporary pause confirmation.
- (F&B Ops) Menu-item linkage approved — handoff to the menu / POS-integration layer (outside the recipe schema per
REC_XMOD_008); the recipe is now driving theoretical consumption on menu sales. F&B Ops returns to maintenance mode (menu engineering, periodic review).
- (F&B Ops) Menu-item linkage rejected — handoff back to the Chef (with feedback) for revision and re-proposal; the recipe remains
PUBLISHED but is unlinked.
- (F&B Ops) Menu engineering decision recorded — handoff to the affected collaborators: Chef for ingredient revision, Cost Controller for price adjustment, or [retirement]. The recipe module reflects the resulting changes per the per-collaborator persona's flow.
- (F&B Ops) Period-end menu signoff — handoff to Audit / Config (Finance + Auditor) for the period close; the signoff is part of the financial / operational period-close package.
Procurement is in continuous engagement with the recipe module — every PO sizing exercise touches recipe demand. F&B Ops is in periodic engagement — at recipe-publish approval moments and at menu-engineering review cycles.
- Parent overview: 03-user-flow.md — the canonical lifecycle and the cross-persona handoff table; Section 4 rows "Procurement → Chef (substitution request)", "F&B Ops → Chef (menu-item linkage approval)", "F&B Ops → Cost Controller (price / menu engineering)" anchor this persona's exits.
../carmen/docs/recipe-module/RECIPE-Overview.md (and the wiki index Roles and Personas table) — Procurement Department and F&B Operations Manager rows.../carmen/docs/recipe-module/RECIPE-PRD.md § 6 Integration Requirements (Procurement integration; Cost Control integration) — informs the upstream / downstream coupling.- Sibling: 03-user-flow-chef.md — primary collaboration partner for both sub-roles: Procurement raises substitution requests; F&B Ops approves / rejects menu-item linkages on Chef-published recipes.
- Sibling: 03-user-flow-cost-controller.md — F&B Ops collaborates on menu engineering: cost-side decisions are Cost Controller; menu-side decisions are F&B Ops.
- Sibling: 03-user-flow-outlet-manager.md — shares the demand-explosion data (outlet-level demand sums into portfolio-level demand for Procurement); the Outlet Manager's SRs are the per-outlet expression of the same recipe-driven need that Procurement aggregates.
- Sibling: 03-user-flow-audit-config.md — Sysadmin owns RBAC including the
recipe:approve-menu-link permission F&B Ops uses; Auditor reviews menu-item linkage approvals as part of audit.
- Sibling: 01-data-model.md —
tb_recipe.cost_per_portion, actual_food_cost_percentage, gross_margin_percentage (the figures F&B Ops reviews at menu-engineering); tb_recipe_pricing_history (the timeline of cost / price changes informing menu engineering).
- Sibling: 02-business-rules.md —
REC_CALC_014 (theoretical-consumption formula — the demand-explosion math Procurement uses), REC_AUTH_010–REC_AUTH_011 (Procurement / F&B Ops authority scope), REC_XMOD_008 (menu-item linkage is application-layer, not in the recipe schema).
- Related: purchase-order — Procurement's primary downstream document; recipe-driven demand sizes the PO.
- Related: vendor-pricelist — vendor cost data is the upstream input to product cost, which is upstream of recipe cost; vendor changes flow through to recipe-cost drift events.
- Related: costing — F&B Ops reviews cost data sourced from the costing module via the recipe.