Most restaurants track every penny spent on marketing while completely ignoring the profitability of their biggest moneymakers. Your top 5 dishes drive 60-80% of revenue, but if you're guessing at their true costs, popularity becomes a trap. Every packed night could be pushing you closer to bankruptcy instead of building wealth.
Why your top sellers matter most
Your 5 best-selling dishes often make up 60-80% of your revenue. If you don't know the cost price of these, you risk your biggest income source actually costing you money.
💡 Example:
Restaurant De Smaak sells 150 pasta carbonaras per week for €18.50. They estimate the cost price at €5.00 (27% food cost).
Actual cost price after recalculation:
- Pasta: €0.80
- Bacon: €2.10
- Cream: €1.20
- Parmesan: €1.80
- Eggs: €0.60
- Herbs, oil, butter: €0.70
Actual cost price: €7.20 (42% food cost!)
Difference per week: 150 × €2.20 = €330. Per year: €17,160 less profit.
Identify your top 5 dishes
Start with your 5 best-selling dishes. These have the biggest impact on your results. Check your POS system or manually count which dishes go over the counter most often.
- Count for a week how many of each dish you sell
- Rank by number of sales (not by revenue)
- Focus first on the absolute bestsellers
Gather all ingredients and prices
For each top dish, create a complete list of ALL ingredients that go on the plate. Including garnish, sauces, oil and herbs.
⚠️ Watch out:
Don't forget the 'invisible' ingredients: oil for cooking, butter on the plate, herbs, salt, pepper. These quickly add €0.50-€1.00 extra per portion.
Get the purchase prices from your supplier or check your latest invoices. Note the price per kilogram, liter or unit.
Calculate the exact amount per portion
Measure or weigh exactly how much of each ingredient you use for one portion. Do this a few times to get an average - portions can vary per chef.
Something most kitchen managers discover too late: their line cooks use 20-30% more expensive ingredients than the recipe calls for. A heavy hand with cheese or sauce can destroy your margins overnight.
💡 Example calculation steak:
Ingredients per portion:
- Steak 220g at €32/kg = €7.04
- Potatoes 180g at €1.20/kg = €0.22
- Vegetables 120g at €3.50/kg = €0.42
- Sauce 50ml at €8.00/liter = €0.40
- Butter, oil, herbs = €0.45
Total cost price: €8.53
At selling price €29.50 excl. VAT = 29% food cost
Create a clear cost card
Put all the information in a simple overview you can quickly consult. This can be in Excel, on paper, or in specialized restaurant software.
Your cost card contains at minimum:
- Dish name
- All ingredients with quantities
- Cost price per ingredient
- Total cost price
- Selling price excl. VAT
- Food cost percentage
- Date of last update
Update your prices regularly
Suppliers regularly raise their prices. Check at least every 3 months if your purchase prices are still correct, especially for your top sellers.
⚠️ Watch out:
Meat and fish prices can rise quickly due to season or market conditions. Check these monthly, especially if they are main ingredients of your top sellers.
Use your cost card for decisions
With your cost card you can make quick decisions:
- Which dishes to promote (low food cost + popular)
- Which prices to raise (too high food cost)
- Which recipes to adjust (cheaper ingredients)
- Which dishes to remove from the menu (high food cost + unpopular)
A digital cost card automatically calculates your food cost and alerts you if supplier prices rise.
How do you create a cost card for your top sellers?
Identify your 5 best-selling dishes
Count for a week how many of each dish you sell. Rank by number of sales and focus on the absolute bestsellers.
Create a complete ingredient list per dish
Note ALL ingredients that go on the plate, including garnish, sauces, oil and herbs. Don't forget the 'invisible' ingredients.
Measure exact amounts and calculate cost price
Weigh exactly how much of each ingredient you use per portion. Multiply by the purchase price and add everything up for the total cost price.
Create a clear cost card
Put all data in a simple overview with dish name, ingredients, cost price and food cost percentage. Update this regularly.
✨ Pro tip
Calculate your #1 bestseller's exact food cost every 30 days and keep that number posted in your prep area. This single dish likely represents 15-20% of your total revenue.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I account for trim loss in my cost price?
Divide your purchase price by the yield percentage. With 20% trim loss you have 80% yield. A product of €10/kg becomes €10 / 0.80 = €12.50/kg actual cost price.
What is an acceptable food cost for my top sellers?
For restaurants, a common food cost is between 28-35%. If your top sellers are above 35%, you're probably losing money on your best-selling dishes.
Should I calculate costs for slow-moving dishes too?
Focus on your top 5-8 sellers first since they drive most revenue. Once those are dialed in, you can tackle the slower movers, but don't let them distract from your main profit drivers.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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