Which dishes keep your business profitable and which ones cost you money? Many restaurant owners cling to popular dishes that secretly drain profits. Smart operators use hard data to make objective menu decisions.
Gather the key numbers for each dish
You need three critical numbers per dish: actual earnings, sales frequency, and kitchen workload.
💡 Example: Analysis of 5 dishes
Bistro with 5 main courses, numbers from last month:
- Steak: 32% food cost, 45 sold, 8 min prep time
- Salmon: 28% food cost, 38 sold, 6 min prep time
- Pasta carbonara: 24% food cost, 52 sold, 4 min prep time
- Duck breast: 35% food cost, 12 sold, 12 min prep time
- Vegetarian curry: 22% food cost, 28 sold, 8 min prep time
Calculate the absolute profit per dish
Food cost percentages mislead you. A 35% food cost dish can generate more profit than a 25% food cost dish if the selling price is higher.
Formula for absolute profit:
Profit per portion = Selling price excl. VAT - Ingredient costs
💡 Example: Calculate absolute profit
Steak vs. Pasta carbonara:
- Steak: €32.00 incl. VAT = €29.36 excl. VAT, ingredients €9.40
- Steak profit: €29.36 - €9.40 = €19.96 per portion
- Pasta: €16.50 incl. VAT = €15.14 excl. VAT, ingredients €3.63
- Pasta profit: €15.14 - €3.63 = €11.51 per portion
Steak generates €8.45 more per portion, despite higher food cost.
Analyze popularity and kitchen workload
A profitable dish that sits unsold won't help your bottom line. And a popular dish that overwhelms your kitchen can cost you other sales.
- Monthly sales volume: Track how many portions moved
- Prep time: Minutes required during peak service
- Complexity level: Number of techniques and ingredients involved
- Error rate: How often remakes are necessary
⚠️ Note:
A 15-minute dish during rush hour prevents your chef from preparing three 5-minute dishes. Factor in these opportunity costs.
Create a decision matrix
Organize all data into a clear overview. Score each dish 1-5 on three factors: profitability, popularity, and kitchen efficiency.
💡 Example: Decision matrix
Score per dish (1=poor, 5=excellent):
- Steak: Profit 5, Popularity 4, Efficiency 3 = Total 12
- Salmon: Profit 4, Popularity 4, Efficiency 4 = Total 12
- Pasta: Profit 3, Popularity 5, Efficiency 5 = Total 13
- Duck breast: Profit 2, Popularity 2, Efficiency 2 = Total 6
- Curry: Profit 4, Popularity 3, Efficiency 3 = Total 10
Duck breast scores lowest and becomes a removal candidate.
Test your decision on a small scale
Before permanently cutting a dish, test the impact. Mark it 'unavailable' for one month and monitor results.
- Do customers order alternatives? Revenue stays stable
- Does kitchen flow improve? Other dishes get prepared faster
- Do customers complain? The dish might have hidden value
- Does average food cost increase? This dish balanced weaker margins elsewhere
After 30 days you'll have concrete data for your final decision. From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, dishes with total scores below 8 rarely justify their menu space. Tools like a food cost calculator can automatically track how removing dishes affects overall profitability.
How do you analyze which dishes to keep? (step by step)
Gather numbers for each dish
Note for each main course: selling price excl. VAT, ingredient costs, number sold last month, and average prep time. These numbers are the foundation for your analysis.
Calculate absolute profit and total contribution
Subtract ingredient costs from selling price excl. VAT for profit per portion. Multiply by number sold for total monthly contribution per dish.
Score each dish on three points
Give each dish a score 1-5 for profitability, popularity, and kitchen efficiency. Add up the scores and rank from high to low.
Test the impact of removal
Mark the lowest-scoring dish as 'unavailable' for a month. Measure whether customers order alternatives and whether your kitchen becomes more efficient.
Make a final decision
Permanently remove the dish from the menu if customers easily order alternatives and your kitchen becomes more efficient. Replace it with a new dish with better numbers.
✨ Pro tip
Analyze your 3 lowest-selling appetizers and desserts over the past 90 days - these categories often hide profit drains that get overlooked while you focus on main courses. Remove the bottom performer and watch your overall margins improve within 60 days.
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 keep popular dishes with poor margins?
Not automatically. First try improving the margin through portion adjustments, ingredient substitutions, or price increases. If improvements fail and the dish demands excessive kitchen time, removal makes sense.
How often should I analyze my menu?
Conduct thorough analyses quarterly, but monitor food cost percentages monthly. Seasonal operations should analyze by season rather than fixed calendar periods.
What if customers miss their favorite dish?
Test removal for 30 days first. True favorites generate complaints and reduced visit frequency. Often owners overestimate dish popularity compared to actual customer behavior.
Can I improve dishes instead of removing them?
Absolutely try improvements first. Reduce portion sizes, substitute cheaper ingredients, or increase prices. Only remove dishes after improvement attempts fail to deliver acceptable margins.
How many dishes should my menu include minimum?
Most restaurants operate efficiently with 6-8 main courses. Fewer options improve purchasing power, reduce inventory costs, speed up prep work, and sharpen kitchen focus.
Should seasonal variations affect my analysis?
Yes, analyze summer and winter periods separately. A salad scoring poorly in November might dominate July sales. Distinguish between truly weak performers and seasonal fluctuations.
📚 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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