What is a healthy prime cost for an independent...
I've watched too many Dutch restaurant owners fail because they never understood prime cost. This single number - combining your food and labor expenses - shoul...
How can I use numbers to motivate my team?
Transform your kitchen staff from cost-conscious to profit-proud by sharing the right financial metrics. Numbers become motivational tools rather than criticism...
How can I use margins in conversation with my chef?
Margins are the language of profit, but many chefs don't speak this language fluently. While you focus on euros and cents, your chef thinks in flavors and prese...
How do I handle staff discounts in my food cost?
Staff discounts can wreck your food cost calculations if handled incorrectly. Many restaurant owners forget to factor these discounts into their cost calculatio...
How do I handle tiered discounts in my food cost?
Most restaurants use the wrong price for tiered discount ingredients, while successful operations adjust their recipe costs based on actual volume purchases. Yo...
How do I calculate the financial loss if my chefs are...
Oversized portions drain restaurant profits faster than most owners realize. A 10% overportion across your menu can cost thousands annually - money that should...
How do I start building a financially healthy kitchen?
Building a financially healthy kitchen means taking control of your numbers before they control you. Too many restaurant owners work tirelessly with packed dini...
How can you tell from your numbers that your prices are...
Every quarter, restaurant owners miss thousands in profit because their prices haven't caught up with rising costs. Suppliers bump their rates 2-3 times yearly,...
How can I reposition dishes on your menu to make more...
Menu placement drives 60% of customer ordering decisions within the first 30 seconds of scanning. Strategic repositioning of high-margin dishes can increase pro...
How do I know if my menu prices match my purchase prices?
Picture this: your pasta carbonara flies off the menu every night, but your bank account isn't growing. The problem? You priced it by instinct instead of math....
How do I calculate the margin impact if I reduce my...
Most restaurant owners think a 5% portion cut won't move the needle financially. That's dead wrong. A 5% reduction with typical 30% food costs drops your cost p...
How do I account for portion size differences in my food...
Many restaurant owners think they've nailed their food costs, only to discover their kitchen serves completely different portions than what's on paper. If your...
How do I know if I'm making structural losses on certain...
78% of restaurants fail within their first five years, often because owners don't spot loss-making days until it's too late. You're busy, the place feels full,...
How do I know if I can make more profit with a smaller menu?
Most restaurants waste 40% of their potential profit on unpopular menu items. You might serve 30+ dishes, but customers generate most revenue from just 5-7 favo...
How do I calculate the margin on a package with food and...
67% of restaurants underestimate their true package costs by ignoring VAT differences between food and alcohol. Food carries 9% VAT while drinks get hit with 21...
How do I determine a minimum margin to cover my fixed costs?
Most restaurant owners obsess over peak dinner service while their quiet Tuesday lunch slowly bleeds money. Your rent, insurance, and core staff wages don't car...
How do I calculate trim loss for fish, meat and...
A restaurant buying whole salmon at €18/kg discovers they're actually paying €32.73/kg for usable fillet after trim loss. If you don't know how much product rem...
How do I use a kitchen scale systematically for portion...
Most kitchens weigh meat but ignore the €20 worth of garnishes walking out the door daily. A systematic scale approach controls every gram on the plate, not jus...
How do I calculate the margin on an all you can eat concept?
Most restaurant owners get burned by all-you-can-eat margins because they calculate them wrong. Unlike regular dining, you're not pricing individual dishes—you'...
How do I calculate the margin when selling combination...
A €42.50 three-course menu with 39.5% food cost is bleeding money. Most restaurant owners know their individual dish costs, but combination menus create a blind...
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