Costing, Documentation Finalization, and Presentation Setup

Why This Session Matters

Everything you have produced in this capstone—your breads, pastries, plated desserts, and HACCP records—now needs to speak for itself on paper and on the display table. Employers, ACF evaluators, and RBA assessors all look for the same thing: a professional who can bake with skill and document and price that work with accuracy. Today you close the loop by finalizing your cost sheets, assembling your portfolio binder, and staging your finished products for judging.

Completing Your Cost Analysis

A cost sheet is not an estimate—it is a record of what you actually spent. Work from real purchase receipts or the instructor-supplied price list. For each ingredient, divide the total purchase price by the total purchase quantity to get a unit cost (for example, cost per ounce, per gram, or per each). Then multiply unit cost by the quantity your recipe uses to get ingredient cost per recipe.

Once every ingredient line is costed, add them together to get batch cost. Divide batch cost by the number of units the batch yields to get cost per unit. Finally, set a proposed selling price by applying a target food-cost percentage. A common retail bakery target is 28–35% food cost; foodservice operations often work in a similar range, though exact figures vary by business model. The formula is:

> Selling Price = Cost per Unit ÷ Food-Cost Percentage (as a decimal)

For example, if your cost per unit is $1.20 and your target food-cost percentage is 30%, your proposed selling price is $1.20 ÷ 0.30 = $4.00.

Now compare your final batch cost to your original estimate. Write one paragraph explaining any variance. Common reasons include yield loss during trimming or portioning, price differences between the estimate and actual purchase, or recipe changes made during production. Honest analysis of variance is a professional skill—do not skip it.

Assembling the Portfolio Binder

Your binder must follow this required order before submission:

1. Project proposal – your original concept and goals

2. Final standardized recipes – updated to reflect any changes made during production (adjusted yields, corrected temperatures, revised mixing times)

3. Production Gantt chart – with actual-vs-planned notes filled in for each task

4. HACCP hazard log – including every critical control point you monitored and any corrective actions you took

5. Cost sheets – the completed as-built documents from today's session

6. Annotated photo log – dated photos of key production stages with brief captions explaining what the photo shows and why it matters

Before you close the binder, run through the portfolio rubric checklist your instructor provided. Mark each item present or missing. A missing section cannot earn points it was never in the binder to earn. Arithmetic on cost sheets must be correct; the evaluation allows no more than a 5% rounding tolerance.

Labeling and Allergen Disclosure

Every product on your display table must carry a professional label. At minimum, each label must show:

• Product name
• Allergen disclosure – identify all major allergens present (milk, eggs, wheat/gluten, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, sesame, fish, shellfish, and others as applicable under current US food labeling guidance)
• Price, if your concept is based on a retail or foodservice selling model

Allergen labeling is not optional and is not just a classroom exercise—mislabeled food can cause serious injury or death. Double-check every ingredient on your standardized recipe before writing the label. If a product was made in a facility that also processes a major allergen, consider whether a cross-contact statement is appropriate.

Staging Your Presentation Display

A professional display does more than hold food—it communicates your concept at a glance. Apply the presentation principles you studied earlier in the program:

• Vary height: use risers, cake stands, or tiered boards so the eye travels across the table rather than sitting flat.
• Create focal points: place your most visually complex or signature item where the eye lands first.
• Negative space is allowed: do not crowd every inch; open space draws attention to what is there.
• Consistency: use a coherent color palette for linens and labels; mismatched materials undercut an otherwise strong product.
• Cleanliness: wipe every vessel, board, and stand before placing product. No fingerprints, crumbs, or smudges on display surfaces.

The presentation setup is evaluated on a 10-point professional checklist; a score of 7 or higher is required before your defense session begins.

Peer Walk-Through

During the structured peer walk-through, every student gives each display exactly one commendation (something done well, stated specifically) and one suggestion (a concrete, respectful improvement). Use the feedback card provided—do not skip either field. Receiving feedback before the final defense gives you one last chance to correct a label, adjust a display height, or add a missing binder section.

Safety Reminders

Even in a documentation and display session, hazards remain. Carry display risers and heavy boards with both hands and ask for help with bulky items to prevent drops and strain injuries. Use only food-safe platters, boards, and vessels—never substitute non-food-contact materials. Keep cold products at or below 41 °F and hot products at or above 135 °F even during display; use thermometers to verify, not visual judgment. Any product that has been out of safe temperature range for an unsafe cumulative time must not be displayed for consumption.