How many dishes on your menu are quietly draining profits while you focus on the obvious winners? Most restaurant owners spot underperforming dishes but never tackle them systematically. A focused weekly routine changes this—you'll identify problem products and fix them one at a time.
Why one product per week?
Fixing everything at once sounds logical but creates chaos. You'll get overwhelmed and abandon the effort halfway through. But targeting one product each week? That creates steady progress without disrupting your kitchen operations.
💡 Example:
Restaurant The Duck runs 25 main courses. Eight dishes show food costs above 35%.
- Week 1: Steak (food cost 38%)
- Week 2: Salmon fillet (food cost 41%)
- Week 3: Lamb rack (food cost 36%)
After 8 weeks, every problem dish gets resolved.
The weekly margin check routine
Every Monday, spend 15 minutes before placing orders on this check:
- Pull up your complete dish list with food cost percentages
- Sort from highest food cost downward
- Pick the worst-margin dish you haven't addressed yet
- Block out 30 minutes this week for deep analysis
⚠️ Note:
Skip your bestsellers initially. Target dishes selling 5-10 portions weekly so you can master this process without risking major revenue streams.
Analyze the problem product
After selecting your weekly target, dig into the numbers. From tracking this across dozens of restaurants, margin problems typically stem from these four areas:
- Oversized portions: Kitchen staff serves 250g meat when you've calculated for 200g
- Premium ingredients: You're using brand-name products where generic alternatives work fine
- Hidden expenses: Garnishes, sauces, or cooking fats missing from your calculations
- Stale pricing: Supplier costs increased but menu prices stayed flat
💡 Example analysis:
Steak shows 38% food cost. Breaking it down:
- Entrecote: €32/kg → €6.40 for 200g
- Garlic butter: €0.30
- Fries: €0.85
- Salad: €0.45
Total: €8.00 on €21.10 excl. VAT = 38% food cost
Root cause: meat quality exceeds price point.
Choose your solution
Four pathways can restore healthy margins:
- Increase selling price: Bump from €25.50 to €27.50 (drops food cost to 32%)
- Source cheaper: Find alternative suppliers or different cuts
- Control portions: Scale back from 200g to 180g meat
- Modify recipe: Swap expensive garnishes for cost-effective alternatives
⚠️ Note:
Run a one-week trial first. Monitor guest reactions to price adjustments or recipe modifications before making permanent changes.
Measure the result
After implementing your solution for one week, evaluate the outcome:
- What's the updated food cost percentage for this dish?
- How do this week's sales compare to previous weeks?
- Did you receive any customer complaints?
- What's your additional margin per portion?
💡 Result example:
Steak price increased from €25.50 to €27.50:
- New food cost: 32% (down from 38%)
- Sales: 18 portions (versus 20 previously)
- Additional margin per portion: €1.30
- Zero complaints
Weekly gain: 18 × €1.30 = €23.40 extra margin
Annual impact: €1,217 additional profit from one dish
Keep it up
Consistency drives results. Each Monday brings another problem product closer to profitability. Within months, you'll have eliminated every margin drain.
Many operators rely on tools like KitchenNmbrs to automatically flag dishes with poor margins, eliminating manual calculations and sorting.
How do you tackle one bad product every week?
Create an overview of all your dishes
List all main courses with their current food cost percentage. Sort from high to low. Dishes above 35% food cost are your priority.
Choose one dish for this week
Pick the dish with the worst margin that you sell 5-10 times per week. Not your bestseller (too risky) and not your flop (too little impact).
Analyze why the margin is poor
Add up all ingredient costs, including garnish and sauces. Compare with your selling price excl. VAT. Find the biggest cost item.
Choose your solution and test for one week
Raise the price, reduce the portion, buy cheaper, or adjust the recipe. Test for one week and measure the result before you make it permanent.
✨ Pro tip
Target dishes selling 8-12 portions weekly during your first month. This volume provides meaningful profit impact while you perfect the routine, without risking your revenue drivers.
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 much time does this routine take per week?
About 30 minutes total. Fifteen minutes for product selection and analysis, another fifteen to develop your solution. Implementation happens during regular operations.
What if guests complain about the price increase?
Run a one-week test first. If complaints pile up, revert to original pricing and try different approaches like portion adjustments or ingredient substitutions. Always have a backup plan.
How do I keep track of which dishes I've already tackled?
Create a simple tracking sheet with date, dish name, original food cost, new food cost, and results. This shows your progress and helps you replicate successful strategies across similar dishes.
📚 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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