I'll admit it - I used to think menu engineering was just fancy restaurant jargon. But Stars are actually the dishes that are both popular and profitable, making them the true goldmines of your menu. You analyze each dish on two factors: how often it sells and how much profit it generates, with Stars scoring high on both counts.
What are Stars in menu engineering?
Menu engineering divides all dishes into four categories, based on popularity and profitability:
- Stars: Popular + profitable (the winners)
- Plowhorses: Popular + not profitable (popular but too cheap)
- Puzzles: Not popular + profitable (expensive but nobody orders it)
- Dogs: Not popular + not profitable (candidates for removal)
Stars are your menu's MVPs. They sell consistently, generate solid returns, and keep guests happy.
How do you calculate popularity?
You measure popularity as a percentage of your total sales per dish.
💡 Popularity example:
Last month you sold 1,000 main courses total:
- Steak: 280 portions = 28%
- Salmon: 180 portions = 18%
- Pasta: 220 portions = 22%
- Chicken: 150 portions = 15%
- Other: 170 portions = 17%
Steak and pasta dominate your sales.
Popularity formula:
(Number of portions sold / Total portions sold) × 100
How do you calculate profitability?
You measure profitability by the gross profit per dish. That's selling price minus ingredient costs - and here's where many restaurants lose EUR 200-400 monthly by miscalculating their true food costs.
💡 Profitability example:
Per dish (prices excl. VAT):
- Steak: €29.36 - €9.50 = €19.86 profit
- Salmon: €25.69 - €8.20 = €17.49 profit
- Pasta: €16.51 - €4.80 = €11.71 profit
- Chicken: €22.02 - €6.10 = €15.92 profit
Steak delivers the highest profit per portion.
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate with the selling price excl. VAT. Your menu price includes 9% VAT for food.
Determining the four quadrants
You divide your dishes into four groups by calculating the average popularity and profitability:
- Average popularity: Add all percentages and divide by number of dishes
- Average profitability: Add all gross profits and divide by number of dishes
Dishes that score above both averages earn Star status.
💡 Classification example:
Average popularity: 20% | Average profit: €16.25
- Steak: 28% popularity, €19.86 profit = STAR
- Salmon: 18% popularity, €17.49 profit = Puzzle
- Pasta: 22% popularity, €11.71 profit = Plowhorse
- Chicken: 15% popularity, €15.92 profit = Dog
Only steak beats both averages.
What do you do with Stars?
Stars deserve VIP treatment on your menu:
- Prime real estate: Top right placement, boxes, photos
- Server training: Teach your team to recommend Stars first
- Stock priority: Never run out of Star ingredients
- Strategic pricing: Stars can often handle small price increases without losing popularity
Your goal? Guide more guests toward Stars, since they maximize your revenue per customer.
Menu engineering in practice
Reanalyze your menu every 3-6 months. Popularity and profitability shift with seasons, supplier costs, and dining trends.
A food cost calculator like KitchenNmbrs automatically tracks your ingredient costs and gross profit per dish. You just need sales data from your POS system to complete the analysis.
How do you identify Stars? (step by step)
Gather sales and cost data
Pull from your POS system how many portions of each dish you sold last month. At the same time, calculate the exact ingredient costs and gross profit per dish.
Calculate popularity and profitability
For each dish, calculate the percentage of your total sales (popularity) and the gross profit per portion (selling price excl. VAT minus ingredient costs).
Determine averages and classify
Calculate the average popularity and average profitability of all your dishes. Dishes that score above both averages are your Stars.
✨ Pro tip
Track your top 8 dishes over the past 90 days using your POS system's sales reports. Calculate their profit margins to spot potential Stars you might be underpricing.
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 many Stars should I have on my menu?
Aim for 2-4 Stars per category (appetizers, mains, desserts). More than that confuses guests, fewer means you're leaving money on the table.
What if I don't have any real Stars?
Then you've got a menu crisis. Your dishes are either too expensive (killing popularity) or too cheap (destroying profit). Start by analyzing your Plowhorses - often a small price bump transforms them into Stars.
Can a seasonal dish be a Star?
Absolutely, but analyze only the months it was available. Your asparagus special might be a Star during its May-June run, even though it's not year-round.
Should I account for preparation time per dish?
Basic menu engineering focuses on ingredient costs only. But for advanced analysis, you can factor in prep time as a labor cost - especially for complex dishes that tie up your kitchen.
📚 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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