Overview
This course develops the commercial skills required to source café ingredients responsibly and assess their financial impact. Students examine supplier identification, product specifications, local and seasonal purchasing, ethical sourcing, certifications, ordering cycles, minimum order quantities, lead times, delivery verification, storage capacity, and supplier relationship management.
Students apply unit conversions, edible portion and yield calculations, waste analysis, recipe costing, labour and packaging costs, overhead allocation, contribution margin, break-even analysis, price elasticity, and menu pricing strategies. Applied work focuses on coffee, dairy and dairy alternatives, sweeteners, flavourings, ice, garnishes, and specialty ingredients used in Greek frappé service. Students prepare purchasing specifications, compare supplier quotations, forecast requirements, negotiate with vendors, identify substitution and waste-reduction opportunities, and evaluate menu profitability.
Learning Outcomes
- Evaluate supplier quotations using quality, availability, sustainability, service, and total-cost criteria.
- Prepare purchasing specifications for café ingredients, including quantities, quality standards, certifications, delivery requirements, and storage constraints.
- Calculate edible portion cost, recipe cost, yield, waste, labour, packaging, and allocated overhead per serving.
- Forecast ingredient requirements using sales data, ordering cycles, lead times, minimum order quantities, and storage capacity.
- Conduct a structured vendor negotiation that addresses price, delivery, quality assurance, substitutions, and supplier relationships.
- Analyse the effects of ingredient substitutions, seasonality, and price changes on product quality, cost, and profitability.
- Develop defensible menu prices using contribution margin, break-even analysis, price elasticity, and competitive considerations.
- Evaluate gross-margin performance and synthesise a sourcing and profitability proposal for a café menu.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Lab | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | Second term |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Purchasing specification and supplier quotation comparison | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Ingredient costing spreadsheet | 20.00% |
| Test | Costing and procurement test | 15.00% |
| Tutorial | Vendor negotiation and substitution analysis | 10.00% |
| Assignment | Demand forecast and waste-reduction plan | 15.00% |
| Capstone | Café sourcing and profitability proposal | 25.00% |
Prerequisites
- CAFE101 Foundations of Greek Frappé
- Requirement Prior study or professional experience in café operations, food service, or hospitality management.
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.
