What do you do when your delivery platform asks for a commission that almost wipes out your margin?
A pizzeria owner recently told me he was paying 32% commission to a delivery platform, leaving him with just €6 profit on a €25 order. It's a brutal choice: los...
What are your options if non-alcoholic drinks barely generate margin?
Non-alcoholic drinks often deliver little margin, but are important for your guests. Many hospitality entrepreneurs struggle with this balance: you want a good...
How do you manage lunch deals and charcuterie boards when you can't estimate food cost well?
Proper food cost control on combo deals prevents thousands in lost profit annually. Lunch deals and charcuterie boards create calculation nightmares since you'r...
What do you do if your menu has been almost the same for years while your costs have gone up?
Rising supplier costs while maintaining the same menu prices for years creates a silent profit killer. You're still charging €28 for that steak while meat costs...
How do you decide which dishes to use as margin drivers on your menu?
Your bestselling salmon dish rings up 200 times a week but barely covers its costs, while that humble chicken risotto quietly banks €18 profit per plate. Most r...
What do you do when you notice that your "cheap" dishes actually have high food costs due to waste?
Picture this: your €12 pasta dish looks like a profit winner on paper, but waste is secretly draining your margins. Excessive portions, spoiled ingredients, and...
What options do you have if your menu has too many different ingredients and your purchasing becomes expensive because of it?
Streamlining your ingredient list can cut purchasing costs by 15% and reduce food waste by 30%. Multiple ingredients force you into small-quantity orders, drivi...
How do you manage combination menus when you don't know the food cost per component?
Over the past decade, combination menus have become increasingly popular with restaurants. You sell a 3-course menu for €39, but don't know what each component...
What do you do when you see in the numbers that vegetarian dishes have lower margins than meat dishes?
Twenty years ago, most restaurants had one sad vegetarian option buried at the bottom of their menu. Today, plant-based dishes drive customer traffic—but they'r...
How do you decide if you should simplify a dish to bring down food cost?
Food cost management is like pruning a garden - sometimes you need to cut away the beautiful extras to help the core thrive. Simplifying a dish can slash your f...
What do you do when your "chef's special" consistently costs more than it brings in?
Think of a money-losing chef's special like a beautiful car with a gas leak - everyone admires it, but it's bleeding you dry with every mile. The dish draws com...
What are your options when selling fixed-price arrangements with fluctuating food costs?
Every restaurant owner faces this dilemma: you promise guests a fixed price, but ingredient costs shift with seasons and suppliers. Too high and you'll lose boo...
How do you manage seasonal products with heavily fluctuating purchase prices?
Seasonal products can cause your food cost to swing from 25% to 40% within a year. Asparagus costs €8 per kilo in May, €25 in August. Many restaurant owners don...
What do you do if your kids' menus have a much higher food cost than the rest of the menu?
High food costs on children's menus can quietly drain your restaurant's profitability while you focus on adult dishes. Most establishments charge €8-12 for kids...
How do you decide whether to make your side dishes cheaper or more expensive to improve your overall margin?
Side dishes can make or break your total margin. Most restaurant owners price them low to attract customers, yet completely miss the profit potential sitting ri...
What do you do when your signature dish is beloved, but you barely make money on it?
Your signature dish attracts customers, but you barely make money on it. This classic dilemma affects restaurants everywhere: the dish that puts you on the map...
What steps do you take when you see in KitchenNmbrs that your top 5 best-selling dishes have the lowest margins?
Restaurant De Hoek discovered their five most popular dishes all had food costs above 35% - killing their monthly profits. This scenario plays out in restaurant...
How do you decide when you need a new menu because food costs no longer add up?
Think of your menu like a financial dashboard - it should reflect the real-time health of your business. But rising ingredient prices can quietly sabotage your...
What do you do when your team makes their own variations on dishes and food cost becomes unpredictable?
A busy Friday night, your sous chef adds extra bacon to the carbonara "for better flavor" - instantly pushing your €7.20 dish to €9.40 without adjusting the men...
What are your options if you're giving lots of promotions and discounts and your food cost is getting out of hand?
A €32 pasta carbonara with 25% off drops your margin by €7.34 per plate. Fixed costs like rent and staff don't shrink with your discount, but many restaurant ow...
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