Tracking waste after each shift is crucial to keep control of your food cost. Many kitchens forget to do this or don't make clear agreements about it. In this article you'll learn what concrete agreements you can make so the waste overview gets filled in every day.
Why tracking waste is so important
Waste can drive up your food cost without you noticing. A little here, a little there - and at the end of the month you wonder where your profit went.
💡 Example:
A bistro throws away daily:
- 2 portions of steak: €12.00
- 1 kg vegetables: €4.50
- Leftover sauces: €3.20
Total per day: €19.70 = €7,200 per year
Without registration you don't know where things go wrong and you can't do anything about it.
Concrete agreements for the team
Make clear agreements about who, what, when and how to register. Vagueness means it won't happen.
Who is responsible?
- Head chef: Final responsibility for checking and approval
- Sous chef: Fills in during evening shift
- Kitchen assistant: Notes what gets thrown away during prep
- Manager: Checks totals weekly
When to register?
- During the shift: Immediately when something gets thrown away
- After the shift: Check what's left and can be discarded
- Before closing: Final check and total count
- Next morning: Chef checks and signs off
⚠️ Note:
Don't register only at the end of the day. Then you'll forget half of it and it becomes an estimate instead of facts.
What exactly to register?
The more specific you are, the better you can steer. Register at least these categories:
Main waste categories
- Spoilage: Products past date or spoiled
- Overproduction: Made too much, not sold
- Cooking errors: Failed dishes, wrong preparation
- Guest returns: Dishes sent back
- Trim loss: Unusable parts during processing
💡 Example registration:
Tuesday, February 18:
- Spoilage: 500g salmon (past date) - €9.00
- Overproduction: 3 portions risotto - €7.50
- Cooking error: 1 steak (overcooked) - €6.00
- Return: 1 pasta (hair found) - €4.20
Total waste: €26.70
Practical work agreements
Make it as easy as possible to track, otherwise it won't happen.
Digital vs. paper
- Digital (app): Enter immediately, auto-calculate, easy to search
- Paper (form): Always available, but risk of losing it
- Whiteboard: For during shift, transfer to system later
Keep time investment realistic
- During shift: 30 seconds to note per item
- After shift: 5 minutes to check everything and total
- Weekly: 15 minutes to analyze patterns
💡 Example weekly planning:
Monday through Sunday:
- Daily: Sous chef fills in waste list
- Tuesday: Chef checks Monday
- Sunday: Manager reviews week total
- First Monday of month: Discuss patterns
Consequences and follow-up
Registering without follow-up is pointless. Make agreements about what happens with the information.
Weekly analysis
- Total waste: How much money per week?
- Biggest waste items: Which products come back often?
- Causes: Why did it go wrong?
- Action points: What will we do differently?
Improvement actions
- Too much ordering: Adjust order lists
- Lots of spoilage: Apply FIFO more strictly
- Cooking errors: Extra training or instructions
- Overproduction: Better estimate demand
⚠️ Note:
Don't use waste registration to blame people, but to improve the system. Otherwise nobody will track it honestly.
Digital support
An app like KitchenNmbrs can make tracking waste much easier. You can enter data immediately, have it auto-calculate, and see patterns over time.
Benefits of digital registration:
- No paper lists that get lost
- Automatic cost calculation
- Overviews per week, month, year
- Easy to search for specific days
- Share with whole team without extra work
Setting up waste registration (step by step)
Determine responsibilities
Assign someone per shift who is responsible for tracking. Make this explicit and ensure everyone knows who registers when.
Choose your registration method
Decide whether you'll track digitally (app), on paper or on a whiteboard. Make sure the system is always available during the shift.
Create categories and form
Divide waste into categories: spoilage, overproduction, cooking errors, returns. Create a simple form with date, product, quantity, costs and reason.
Train the team
Explain why it's important and how to register. Emphasize that it's not about finding blame, but about improving.
Start checking and following up
Check daily the first few weeks whether it's being tracked. Discuss patterns weekly and come up with improvement actions together with the team.
✨ Pro tip
Hang a whiteboard in the kitchen where everyone can immediately note what gets thrown away. Type it into your system at the end of the day. That way you won't forget anything and it takes minimal time.
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 long does it take to track waste?
During the shift 30 seconds per discarded item. After the shift 5 minutes to check everything and total it. Maximum 10 minutes per day in total.
What if my team forgets to fill it in?
Make it part of the closing procedure. Nobody can go home until the waste list is filled in and checked by the chef or manager.
Do I also need to register small things like herbs?
Focus first on items over €1.00. Small herbs cost more time to track than they're worth. You can always expand later.
How do I calculate the cost of wasted dishes?
Use the ingredient cost of the dish, not the selling price. A wasted steak worth €32.00 costs you for example €8.50 in ingredients.
What do I do with waste from guests (not eaten)?
You don't need to register leftovers on plates, that's normal. Do register: dishes that come back completely or that you have to remake.
Can I prevent waste by serving smaller portions?
Yes, but watch your guest satisfaction. Better is to look at overproduction and spoilage. You can prevent those without guests noticing.
How often should I analyze the waste data?
Check the totals weekly and look for patterns. Analyze more deeply monthly and think of structural improvements.
What is an acceptable level of waste?
For restaurants 2-4% of your total purchases is normal. Above 5% is high and requires action. Below 2% is excellent.
📚 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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