Most restaurant owners believe they've got a handle on their food costs until they see the actual numbers. That bestselling steak you're proud of? It might be bleeding money at 38% food cost. Your "expensive" risotto could be your biggest profit driver at 22%.
The first shock: what you'll probably see
Most restaurant owners think they know their margins roughly. Until they see it in black and white.
💡 Example: First insights
Restaurant De Smaak sees these figures for the first time:
- Steak (bestseller): 38% food cost - loss-making
- Risotto: 22% food cost - highly profitable
- Salmon fillet: 41% food cost - major loss-maker
Their bestseller cost them €3,200 per month in missed profit.
Typical first findings:
- Bestsellers are often loss-makers - popular because you're selling them too cheap
- Side dishes are more profitable than main courses - this is often where your real margin lives
- Vegetarian options have lower food cost - meat and fish cost more than you realized
- Sauces and garnishes add up - those "little bits" stack up fast
Prioritize your actions: start with the biggest impact
You can't adjust everything at once. Start with what makes the most difference.
💡 Example: Impact calculation
Steak: 38% food cost, 80 portions per week
- Target: 30% food cost
- Difference: 8 percentage points on €29.36 = €2.35 per portion
- Per week: €2.35 × 80 = €188
- Per year: €188 × 52 = €9,776
Adjusting one dish generates almost €10,000 per year.
Rank your dishes by impact:
- High food cost × high volume = biggest impact
- Start with your top 5 bestsellers
- Leave dishes with low sales for later
Three options per problem dish
For each dish with excessive food cost, you've got three moves:
Option 1: Raise the price
- Fastest solution
- Test small increases: €1-2 at a time
- Monitor if sales drop
⚠️ Watch out:
Don't raise everything at once. Guests will notice and feel cheated. Spread it over 2-3 months.
Option 2: Adjust portion size
- 200 grams of steak to 180 grams
- Compensate with more vegetables (cheaper)
- Guests often don't notice a 10-15% difference
Option 3: Replace ingredients
- Expensive cut of meat for cheaper alternative
- Seasonal vegetables instead of imported ones
- Homemade sauces instead of pre-made
This is the kind of thing you only learn after closing your first month at a loss - every ingredient matters, and small changes compound quickly.
Monitor the results of your adjustments
Making adjustments is one thing. Checking if it works is just as important.
💡 Example: Before and after
Steak adjustment after 1 month:
- Price: €32.00 → €34.50
- Food cost: 38% → 31%
- Sales: 80/week → 72/week
- Total margin: €1,248/week → €1,728/week
Fewer sales, but €480 more profit per week.
Check weekly:
- Sales numbers - is popularity dropping too much?
- Total margin per dish - not just food cost percentage
- Guest feedback - are they complaining about portions or prices?
- Total revenue - is it increasing despite lower sales?
From chaos to control: your new routine
Now that you've tackled the big problems, keep control of your margins.
Weekly checks (10 minutes):
- Food cost of your top 5 dishes
- Purchase prices of main ingredients
- Sales mix: which dishes are selling well?
Monthly review (30 minutes):
- Total food cost percentage of your restaurant
- Profitability per dish category
- Add new dishes or remove poor performers
⚠️ Watch out:
Suppliers regularly raise their prices. Check at least every 3 months to make sure your cost prices are still accurate.
From insight to more profit
The real profit isn't in adjusting once, but in consistently monitoring your numbers.
Restaurants that consistently monitor their food cost:
- Have 15-25% higher margins
- Make faster decisions about menu adjustments
- Are less surprised by rising purchase prices
- Can better adapt to seasons
Tools like KitchenNmbrs keep track of these numbers automatically, so you can see where you stand in 5 minutes each week. No spreadsheets, no manual calculations.
How do you tackle your first KitchenNmbrs insights? (step by step)
Analyze your top 5 bestsellers
Look at the food cost of your 5 most sold dishes. Note which ones are above 35% - these are your priorities. Calculate the impact: food cost × number sold per week.
Choose your approach per dish
For each problem dish, choose: raise the price, reduce the portion, or replace the ingredient. Start with the dish with the biggest impact (high food cost + high volume).
Test and monitor your adjustments
Make one adjustment at a time. Monitor for 2 weeks: does sales drop too much? Does your total margin increase? Adjust if it works, revert if it doesn't.
✨ Pro tip
Focus on your top 3 bestsellers first - even if one seems profitable at 32%, dropping it to 28% over 8 weeks can add €15,000 annually to your bottom line.
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
Do I need to adjust all dishes at once if food cost is too high?
No, guests will notice that immediately. Start with your biggest loss-maker and adjust one dish every 2-3 weeks. This way you also see per dish if the changes work.
What if my bestseller turns out to be a loss-maker?
Then you have two options: raise the price or make the dish profitable with different ingredients. Often you can raise it €1-2 without losing much sales.
How do I know if a price increase is too much?
Monitor your sales numbers closely. If you sell 10% less but have 15% more margin, you're better off. More than 20% drop in sales is usually too much.
Can I still save a 40% food cost without compromising quality?
Yes, but it takes creativity. Replace expensive ingredients with cheaper alternatives, reduce portions and compensate with vegetables, or raise the price in €2 increments.
How often should I check my cost prices?
Weekly for your top 5 dishes, monthly for the rest. Suppliers regularly raise prices, so check at least every 3 months to make sure your purchase prices are still correct.
What's the maximum food cost percentage I should accept for any dish?
Generally, stay under 32% for main courses and 28% for appetizers. But high-volume dishes can work at 35% if they drive traffic to profitable items like drinks and desserts.
Should I remove dishes that consistently lose money despite adjustments?
If a dish still loses money after trying all three options and sells fewer than 10 portions per week, yes. Replace it with a profitable alternative that uses similar ingredients you already stock.
📚 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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