Optimize Intermediate Recipes: Breakdowns
Maximize the use of your intermediate preparations by separating their resulting components into different final products.
Breakdowns allow you to repurpose parts of a base preparation — such as broths, stews, or slow-cooked items — into multiple recipes or service stages.
This reduces waste, increases profitability, and ensures every ingredient is used efficiently.
This video walks you through how to perform breakdowns step by step.
What Is a Breakdown in an Intermediate Recipe?
A Breakdown in an intermediate recipe refers to separating the different parts that result from a base preparation (for example, a broth or stew) into distinct components.
Each component — such as broth, shredded meat, or bones — can then be used independently in other recipes or service operations.
This approach allows one preparation to generate several usable products, improving yield and consistency.
Step-by-Step: How to Add Breakdowns in Intermediate Recipes
1. Select the Intermediate Recipe
Log in to your tSpoonLab account.
Go to the Offer section.
Select the intermediate recipe you want to break down.
2. Open the Cuts & Breakdowns Module
Inside the selected recipe:
Locate the Cuts & Breakdowns section.
Click the three dots (⋮) and select Edit Breakdown.
3. Assign Descriptive Names
For each resulting component, add a clear and practical name that reflects its use.
Examples:
Chicken Broth
Shredded Meat
Waste / Bones
4. Choose the Yield Calculation Method
tSpoonLab offers four calculation methods to determine the yield and waste of each part:
Method | Description |
Direct Input | Manually enter the desired percentage for each part. |
Average | Input gross and net weights; the system will average all recorded entries. |
Last Entry | Use only the most recent weight record for yield calculation. |
Selected | Choose manually which entry to apply from the recorded weights. |
These methods let you measure yield precisely and track efficiency over time.
5. Verify That the Total Equals 100%
Ensure that the total percentage of all components adds up to 100%.
This guarantees an accurate reflection of the real yield and waste ratio in your preparation.
6. Define Usable Parts vs. Waste
Clearly specify which components are usable outputs (to be reused in other recipes) and which represent waste or loss.
This classification ensures that your yield report distinguishes between productive outputs and discarded portions.
7. Add Images (Optional)
For clarity and training purposes, upload images of the preparation before and after processing:
Raw Image: before cooking or separation.
Net Image: usable result after processing.
Visual documentation helps your team maintain consistent standards and facilitates internal training.
Recipe Yield Insight
While the Cuts & Breakdowns module allows highly detailed yield tracking (useful for raw meats or fish), for intermediate preparations it’s often more effective to record overall recipe yield.
This method accurately reflects the final usable output of your cooking process — for example, how much broth or shredded meat results from a batch.
💡 Tip:
You can edit breakdown data at any time.
All changes will automatically update cost calculations and yield reports across your account and connected cost centers.
If you need assistance setting up your breakdowns, contact our support team via the in-app chat at the bottom-right corner of your screen.