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Started By
Message
Chicken Sausage Gumbo costs
Posted on 11/7/24 at 7:56 pm
Posted on 11/7/24 at 7:56 pm
I just read something about how much someone is charging for catering a gallon or 5 gallons of gumbo. What do you estimate your costs per gallon to cook a Chick/sausage gumbo including rice ? Give it a day or so and I’ll tell you what I read about the costs
8
Posted on 11/7/24 at 8:23 pm to Boston911
There are gumbo shops in N.O. that are getting upwards of $100 a gallon for that gumbo.
I make a lot of gumbo, especially chicken/sausage/okra style and for a 2 gallon pot I'll use 1 whole large fryer and about 3 lbs. of smoked or andouille sausage.
Figure a fryer is costing $1.50 a lb. and running about 4-5 lbs., so figure around $8-$9 for the chicken. Regular smoke sausage is around $3 a lb., so $9 + tax. If using andouille, I make my own and it costs me about $2 a lb. to make. If buying it in Laplace, you're looking at close to $10 a lb. That alone adds considerable cost to the finished product.
Okra comes from my garden and is smothered down in large batches to freeze and use later, but if buying it from the store in the frozen bags, probably around $8.
The rest is mainly the trinity and other seasonings, stock and roux. I make my own stocks and roux in large batches to use for such occasions so the cost is minimal. Figure about $5 for the vegetable seasonings and a couple dollars for any herbs, spices, bay leaves, etc.
Rice is cheap, probably no more than $3 to make more than enough for a couple gallons of gumbo.
I figure just under $20 a gallon for the ingredients.
I make a lot of gumbo, especially chicken/sausage/okra style and for a 2 gallon pot I'll use 1 whole large fryer and about 3 lbs. of smoked or andouille sausage.
Figure a fryer is costing $1.50 a lb. and running about 4-5 lbs., so figure around $8-$9 for the chicken. Regular smoke sausage is around $3 a lb., so $9 + tax. If using andouille, I make my own and it costs me about $2 a lb. to make. If buying it in Laplace, you're looking at close to $10 a lb. That alone adds considerable cost to the finished product.
Okra comes from my garden and is smothered down in large batches to freeze and use later, but if buying it from the store in the frozen bags, probably around $8.
The rest is mainly the trinity and other seasonings, stock and roux. I make my own stocks and roux in large batches to use for such occasions so the cost is minimal. Figure about $5 for the vegetable seasonings and a couple dollars for any herbs, spices, bay leaves, etc.
Rice is cheap, probably no more than $3 to make more than enough for a couple gallons of gumbo.
I figure just under $20 a gallon for the ingredients.
This post was edited on 11/7/24 at 8:24 pm
Posted on 11/7/24 at 9:00 pm to Boston911
Does your estimate include labor costs?
Posted on 11/8/24 at 8:57 am to Boston911
Ingredients are probably $20-30 per gallon conservatively. Throw in about $25 for my refreshments while cooking. Little extra for my "labor".
I'd charge you about $200 for 5 gallons as a first offer. Let's place the negotiation game.
$100 per gallon? Funny.
I'd charge you about $200 for 5 gallons as a first offer. Let's place the negotiation game.
$100 per gallon? Funny.
Posted on 11/8/24 at 9:55 am to Boudreaux35
quote:$12 for a 10 oz cup of gumbo gets you $120 per gallon.
$100 per gallon? Funny.
Posted on 11/8/24 at 10:19 am to Stadium Rat
quote:
$12 for a 10 oz cup of gumbo gets you $120 per gallon.
Part of the reason so many restaurants are closing up.
I went out to a high end restaurant with my wife a couple weeks ago. Granted we had not been to this one, for whatever reason, in about a year. I knew what our usual bill was on many visits. somewhere around $120-150. Check arrived and it was $240. We each had one drink, shared an app, and a "non-special" entrée (each). One entre was a basic fish entrée and the other a pasta dish (pretty damn cheap). $24 dollars for a single glass of wine that I can literally buy a bottle of for under $30. Ounce of whiskey (ok maybe 1.5 oz), Buffalo Trace, that costs ~$25 for a fifth was $17.
Then I read the sad stories from owners that they are having to close shop. They're pricing themselves out of business and I don't feel sorry at all.
Posted on 11/8/24 at 10:28 am to gumbo2176
quote:
Figure a fryer is costing $1.50 a lb. and running about 4-5 lbs., so figure around $8-$9 for the chicken.
This is neither here nor there, but I looked at a 4lb chicken at Albertson's just north of Albuquerque two days ago. The price was $19.15.
Posted on 11/8/24 at 11:29 am to Boston911
$125/gallon was the price,,,,,,I did some gorilla math using Stadium Rats Gumbo Calculator, 20 gallons, 160 large bowl servings, total ingredient costs I can come up with is under $400,,,,so 20 gallons would yield $2500/revenue, ,,,,figure in 2 people, $20/hr each 8hrs each to prep/cook, serve, another $500 expenses with 25% burden (payroll tax/work comp, SSI payments) $1600 net profit before admin costs which would be variable, give than another $400 in overhead (rent, Utilities) yields a net profit of $1200 on 20 gallons of gumbo using the receipt. Again, gorilla math, you can adjust these costs as needed if I'm wrong.
20.0 cups oil
20.0 cups flour
30.0 lbs of boneless chicken thighs
30.0 lbs of sliced sausage and/or andouille
65.0 quarts of water or stock
86.7 Tbs soup base (if using water instead of stock)
26.7 lbs OR 80.0 cups chopped onions
20.0 bell peppers, chopped
40.0 celery stalks, chopped
80 tsp OR 1.7 cups of garlic powder
40 bay leaves
40.0 tsp of salt
10.0 tsp of cayenne pepper
10.0 bunches OR 15 cups of chopped green onions
10.0 bunches OR 15.0 cups of chopped parsley
21.3 bs OR 53 cups raw white rice
20.0 cups oil
20.0 cups flour
30.0 lbs of boneless chicken thighs
30.0 lbs of sliced sausage and/or andouille
65.0 quarts of water or stock
86.7 Tbs soup base (if using water instead of stock)
26.7 lbs OR 80.0 cups chopped onions
20.0 bell peppers, chopped
40.0 celery stalks, chopped
80 tsp OR 1.7 cups of garlic powder
40 bay leaves
40.0 tsp of salt
10.0 tsp of cayenne pepper
10.0 bunches OR 15 cups of chopped green onions
10.0 bunches OR 15.0 cups of chopped parsley
21.3 bs OR 53 cups raw white rice
This post was edited on 11/8/24 at 1:27 pm
Posted on 11/8/24 at 12:48 pm to SpotCheckBilly
quote:
This is neither here nor there, but I looked at a 4lb chicken at Albertson's just north of Albuquerque two days ago. The price was $19.15.
That HAD to be the price of an "Organic" or "Free Range" packaged chicken.
I can get the normal, commercially raised and processed birds all day long here in N.O. for $1.50 a lb., so a 4 lb. fryer would be $6 + tax. Now, an older and larger "Baking Hen" would be a bit more per lb. and are a great choice for soups and gumbos.
This post was edited on 11/8/24 at 3:08 pm
Posted on 11/8/24 at 1:00 pm to Boston911
I worked in kitchens growing up and into college. Food costs at a restaurant shoot for 30ish%. So, if ingredients cost me $10, I need to price it at $30.
When I did catering, we charged a little more since we will not be making money off you for drinks and we had to deliver the food. If this is at a venue with a captive audience (like wedding place that makes you use their caterer) then expect to get screwed since there is no reason to price competitively.
This was in the late 90's so times may have changed somewhat.
Also, a regular fryer chicken in Denver area is about $3.19 a pound at King Soopers. Albertsons/Safeways are always higher.
When I did catering, we charged a little more since we will not be making money off you for drinks and we had to deliver the food. If this is at a venue with a captive audience (like wedding place that makes you use their caterer) then expect to get screwed since there is no reason to price competitively.
This was in the late 90's so times may have changed somewhat.
Also, a regular fryer chicken in Denver area is about $3.19 a pound at King Soopers. Albertsons/Safeways are always higher.
Posted on 11/8/24 at 1:12 pm to Boston911
My notes from a large gumbo cook last year (2023)
Ingredient Cost Only (no labor)
- sausage, chicken thighs, onions, bell pepper, roux, seasoning
- $900 for 300 quarts
- equals $12 per gallon
Ingredient Cost Only (no labor)
- sausage, chicken thighs, onions, bell pepper, roux, seasoning
- $900 for 300 quarts
- equals $12 per gallon
Posted on 11/8/24 at 2:09 pm to Boston911
quote:This is pretty vague information. Is this for take out/ pick up, delivery, or a catered event? Each of these situations would have different costs associated with them which would influence the cost of the gumbo.
I just read something about how much someone is charging for catering a gallon or 5 gallons of gumbo.
quote:This is a different quesiton but has similar missing information. How much it cost to cook a gumbo is different from how much it cost to cook and package a gumbo for retail, which is different from how much it cost to cook, package and deliver gumbo, which is also different form how much it would cost to cook, transport, and set up gumbo for a catered event.
What do you estimate your costs per gallon to cook a Chick/sausage gumbo including rice ?
Posted on 11/8/24 at 2:51 pm to Boudreaux35
quote:
$100 per gallon? Funny.
Make a few calls to gumbo shops or restaurants that make and serve a good gumbo. Not so funny when they quote you a price per gallon.
Posted on 11/8/24 at 3:18 pm to gumbo2176
quote:
That HAD to be the price of an "Organic" or "Free Range" packaged chicken.
The organic bird was more expensive. Maybe it said Free Range in fine print, but I didn't see it. Those were the only two kinds they had.
Posted on 11/9/24 at 6:48 am to SpotCheckBilly
quote:
The organic bird was more expensive. Maybe it said Free Range in fine print, but I didn't see it. Those were the only two kinds they had.
It wasn’t that long ago that you could find whole fryers on sale for .79/lb and regularly priced at .99/lb. Now $1.50 is the norm.
Posted on 11/9/24 at 7:30 am to HeyCap
quote:
It wasn’t that long ago that you could find whole fryers on sale for .79/lb and regularly priced at .99/lb. Now $1.50 is the norm.
Yep. Rouses has them "On Sale" pretty often for $1.49 a lb.
Hopefully, things will turn around with a new Sheriff in town.
Posted on 11/9/24 at 7:42 am to HeyCap
quote:
It wasn’t that long ago that you could find whole fryers on sale for .79/lb and regularly priced at .99/lb. Now $1.50 is the norm.
That was more along the lines of what I was expecting, not that I buy chickens that often.
Posted on 11/9/24 at 1:16 pm to Boston911
This is impressive you guys can cook quantities like this.
Posted on 11/9/24 at 3:49 pm to Boston911
quote:
net profit of $1200 on 20 gallons of gumbo
I'd wager you're vastly underestimating overhead. Average net profit on catering looks to be 7-8%. Still, $125/gallon, whether justified by costs or not, is too damn high to pay for gumbo.
Posted on 11/9/24 at 5:23 pm to Boudreaux35
quote:
$24 dollars for a single glass of wine that I can literally buy a bottle of for under $30.
I can't speak to the whiskey, but wine by the glass in restaurants has been (roughly) priced at the cost of the bottle at wholesale for my entire adult life, and from what I gather, basically since the beginning of the modern restaurant. Depending on the vagaries of importing/distribution, I would expect a bottle that retails for $30 to wholesale for around $22, give or take. The price you paid might have been a touch high, but not much.
Now, if you meant "under $30" to mean significantly under, that obviously alters the analysis a bit.
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