Plow Horses are dishes that sell like hotcakes but barely make you any money. They pack your dining room but drain your profit margins. Understanding these menu items can transform your restaurant's bottom line within months.
What exactly are Plow Horses?
Menu engineering splits every dish into 4 distinct categories based on how popular they are and how much money they make:
- Stars: popular and profitable (keep them)
- Plow Horses: popular but not profitable (fix them)
- Puzzles: not popular but profitable (promote them)
- Dogs: not popular and not profitable (remove them)
Plow Horses represent your bestsellers that generate too little revenue per plate. They bring customers through the door but quietly chip away at your margins.
💡 Example:
You sell 150 pastas per week for €16.50 each:
- Ingredient cost: €7.20 per portion
- Selling price excl. VAT: €15.14
- Food cost: 47.6% (way too high!)
This dish draws crowds but loses money with every single order.
How do you spot Plow Horses?
A dish qualifies as a Plow Horse if it hits these markers:
- High volume: ranks in your top 5-10 bestsellers
- Thin margins: food cost exceeds 35% or profit per dish falls below average
- Customer favorites: guests request it regularly, servers recommend it often
⚠️ Watch out:
Most operators assume: "High sales equals high profits." That's one of the most common blind spots in kitchen management. Always calculate your actual food cost per dish.
4 tactics to fix Plow Horses
1. Bump up the price
The simplest fix: raise the price until food cost drops below 33%. For that pasta example, you'd need €19.50 to hit a 32% food cost.
2. Cut ingredient costs
Hunt for cheaper substitutes on expensive components. Swap organic mushrooms for standard ones, or use a less expensive cheese blend.
💡 Cost reduction example:
Pasta carbonara - original cost €7.20:
- Replace pancetta (€2.80) with bacon bits (€1.40) = -€1.40
- Use 80g pasta instead of 100g = -€0.30
- Reduce parmesan (40g → 30g) = -€0.60
New cost price: €4.90 → food cost drops to 32.4%
3. Trim portion sizes
Reduce portions slightly. Most guests won't notice the difference between 250g and 200g, but you'll save 20% on ingredients.
4. Reposition on menu
Move the dish to less prominent spots. Bury it at the bottom of sections instead of featuring it at the top. Coach your team to suggest other options.
Which approach works when?
Price increases work if:
- The dish is your signature item
- Customers visit specifically for it
- Competitor pricing supports higher rates
Cost cutting works if:
- You can substitute ingredients without quality loss
- Your vendor offers volume discounts
- Current portions are oversized
💡 Impact calculation example:
You sell 150 pastas per week with €2.30 too little margin per serving:
- Weekly loss: 150 × €2.30 = €345
- Annual loss: €345 × 52 = €17,940
Fixing this single dish saves nearly €18,000 annually!
How do you track results?
After making changes, you must monitor if your strategy delivers:
- Price increases: did volume drop? By how much? Is total profit still higher?
- Cost reductions: are guests still satisfied? Any quality complaints?
- Smaller portions: do customers ask for more? Are they ordering sides?
Track performance for at least 4 weeks post-change. Some impacts don't surface until after a full month.
Tools for menu analysis
Food cost calculators can reveal each dish's profitability instantly and model different pricing scenarios. These tools identify which items qualify as Plow Horses so you can prioritize fixes that generate the biggest profit gains.
How do you address Plow Horses? (step by step)
Identify your Plow Horses
Make a list of your 10 best-selling dishes and calculate the food cost of each one. Dishes with high sales but food cost above 35% are your Plow Horses.
Choose your strategy per dish
Decide for each Plow Horse whether you raise the price, lower costs, or adjust the portion. Calculate in advance what each option will bring in as extra profit per sale.
Implement changes and monitor
Change one thing at a time and measure the effect on sales and total profit for 4 weeks. This way you see which strategy works best for each dish.
✨ Pro tip
Check your top 3 highest-selling appetizers over the next 14 days - any with food costs exceeding 32% need immediate pricing adjustments. Most restaurants discover at least one hidden profit drain this way.
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
What if guests complain about a price increase?
Point to improved quality or rising supplier costs. Most customers accept €1-2 increases without issue if the food delivers value.
How many Plow Horses does a typical restaurant have?
Usually 2-4 dishes from your total menu. They're often the 'crowd pleasers' that taste great but lack built-in profit margins.
Should you ever remove Plow Horses completely?
Only as a final option. They do generate revenue and attract diners. Try price adjustments or cost reductions first before cutting menu variety.
How often should you analyze your menu engineering?
At least twice yearly, or whenever ingredient costs shift significantly. Also review during seasonal menu changes or after launching new dishes.
What sales decline is acceptable after raising prices?
Up to 20% fewer orders can still boost total profits. If sales drop 30% or more, consider rolling back part of the increase.
Can you turn a Plow Horse into a Star without losing customers?
Absolutely. Small price bumps of 8-12% combined with minor cost reductions often go unnoticed while dramatically improving margins.
📚 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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