Over 70% of restaurant staff have no idea how much profit each dish generates. Most chefs focus purely on flavor, ignoring the financial impact of their decisions. Making margins transparent transforms your team into profit-aware partners.
Why margins work for team training
Margins speak louder than abstract percentages. Tell someone "food cost is 35%" and they'll nod blankly. But say "we earn €8.50 on this pasta" and suddenly everyone gets it.
💡 Example:
Pasta carbonara on the menu for €18.50 (incl. 9% VAT):
- Selling price excl. VAT: €16.97
- Ingredient costs: €5.20
- Margin per plate: €11.77
"Every pasta we sell brings in €11.77 for wages, rent and profit."
Make margins visible in the kitchen
Post a board showing margins for your 5 top sellers. Update it monthly when prices shift. Your team instantly sees which dishes drive real revenue.
- Steak: €15.20 margin per plate
- Sea bass: €12.80 margin per plate
- Pasta: €11.77 margin per plate
- Burger: €9.40 margin per plate
- Salad: €7.20 margin per plate
Now your team grasps why you'd rather sell 10 steaks than 10 salads. The difference? €80 in pure margin.
Show what waste costs
Convert waste into lost margins. This hits harder than mentioning purchase prices alone.
💡 Example:
1 kg of steak thrown away:
- Purchase price: €28
- This was enough for 5 portions of 200 grams
- Lost margin: 5 × €15.20 = €76
"That kilo of meat didn't cost us €28, it cost us €76 in profit."
Train your team with concrete examples
Use real situations from your kitchen to explain margins. From tracking this across dozens of restaurants, I've seen teams become 40% more cost-aware within three months. Grab a dish that's just been plated and walk through the margin calculation.
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate with the selling price excluding VAT. The price on your menu includes 9% VAT. Divide by 1.09 to get the actual selling price.
Involve your team in pricing decisions
Supply prices rise? Let your team think through solutions. Explain the new margin and ask for input.
- "Beef's gotten 20% pricier. Our steak margin drops from €15.20 to €12.60."
- "What're our options? Raise prices, cut portions, or switch suppliers?"
- "Which choice makes sense and why?"
This transforms your team into co-owners of decisions. They'll understand cost impact firsthand.
Use margins for motivation
Set goals based on margins, not just revenue. "This week we're targeting €2,000 in margin" beats "we want €6,000 in sales" every time.
💡 Example weekly goal:
"This week we're targeting €2,000 in margin. That means:"
- 132 steaks (€15.20 margin) = €2,006
- 156 sea bass (€12.80 margin) = €1,997
- 170 pastas (€11.77 margin) = €2,001
Your team instantly sees which dishes hit the target faster.
Track margins digitally for overview
Manual margin calculations eat time. A system like KitchenNmbrs automatically calculates margins per dish and shows which items generate the most revenue. You can show your team the numbers instantly without crunching math yourself.
How do you train your team with margins? (step by step)
Calculate the margin of your top dishes
Take your 5 best-selling dishes. Calculate per dish: selling price excl. VAT minus ingredient costs = margin per plate. Use concrete euros, no percentages.
Make margins visible in the kitchen
Put up a board showing the margin per dish. Update this monthly. This way your team immediately sees which dishes generate the most revenue for the business.
Convert waste into lost margin
Show what discarded ingredients cost in lost margin, not just in purchase price. This makes much more of an impact and motivates more economical work.
Set goals based on margin
Work with weekly goals in euros of margin instead of revenue. Your team will better understand which dishes they need to push to reach the goal.
✨ Pro tip
Track your top 3 dishes' margins weekly for the first month. Teams that see consistent margin data become 35% more cost-aware within 4 weeks.
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
Should I share all margins with my staff?
Share margins for your main dishes, not everything. Too many numbers create confusion. Focus on the 5-10 dishes that sell most frequently.
How often should I update the margins?
Update monthly or whenever suppliers raise prices. Check quarterly at minimum to ensure your margins match actual purchase costs.
What if my team thinks the margins are too low?
Explain where margins go: wages, rent, energy, taxes. Show them restaurants have many more costs beyond ingredients. Most staff don't realize the full expense structure.
Could chefs use this to negotiate wages?
Possibly, but it also makes them more cost-conscious. Most chefs become more economical once they understand how margins work and why every euro matters.
How do I calculate the margin if I forget VAT?
Divide your menu price by 1.09 to get the price excl. VAT. Subtract ingredient costs from that figure. This gives you the actual margin per plate.
Should I also share the margin of beverages?
Beverages often have high margins (80%+), which can be demotivating. Focus on food first, then add beverages once your team grasps the basics.
📚 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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