Nearly 60% of restaurants fail within their first three years, often from the exact same combination of issues. High food costs, excessive waste, and packed dining rooms that somehow generate zero profit. These problems feed off each other until your kitchen becomes a money pit.
Why these problems are connected
High food cost, waste and busy service without margin aren't separate issues. They share the same root cause: zero visibility into your actual numbers.
💡 Example:
Restaurant with 120 covers per day, but no profit:
- Food cost: 38% (should be 30%)
- Waste: €150 per week
- Revenue: €8,000 per week
- Profit: €0 (break-even)
Problem: 8% too high food cost = €640 per week loss
That €150 in waste looks small compared to the €640 bleeding from food costs. But both stem from identical issues: no control over portions and purchasing decisions.
The priority order
Don't attack everything simultaneously. You'll fail. Follow this sequence:
- First: Food cost of your 5 best-selling dishes
- Then: Portion control during prep
- Finally: Optimize waste and purchasing
Why this order? Your top 5 dishes generate 60-70% of revenue. Fix those, and you've sealed the biggest leak.
Food cost first: the 80/20 rule
Pull last week's POS report. Which 5 dishes got ordered most? Those are your targets.
💡 Example calculation:
Steak (sold 50 times last week):
- Menu price: €32.00 incl. VAT = €29.36 excl. VAT
- Ingredients: meat €8.50 + sides €2.20 = €10.70
- Food cost: (€10.70 / €29.36) × 100 = 36.4%
Too high! Should be 30% = max €8.81 ingredients
Calculate every ingredient for each top dish. Everything: protein, sides, sauce, oil, butter, garnish. Divide by selling price excluding VAT. Above 35%? Money's hemorrhaging there.
Portion control: into the kitchen
High food costs usually mean oversized portions. You budget for 200g steak, but the chef plates 250g. It's the kind of thing you only learn after closing your first month at a loss.
⚠️ Watch out:
50g extra steak per portion = €2.40 extra cost. At 50 portions weekly, this costs €6,240 annually.
Spend one evening in the kitchen. Weigh 10 portions of your top dish. What's the average? Does it match your calculations?
- Too heavy? Set exact portion standards
- Inconsistent? Get a proper kitchen scale
- Chef gives extra deliberately? Show them the annual cost
Tackle waste
Only after controlling food cost and portions should you address waste. Waste has three sources:
- Purchasing: Over-ordering, poor forecasting
- Preparation: Mise-en-place that doesn't sell
- Guests: Plate returns
💡 Measuring waste:
Track what you discard for 1 week:
- Day 1: €23 vegetables (expired)
- Day 2: €15 fish (over-ordered)
- Day 3: €8 sauces (over-prepped)
Week total: €150 waste = €7,800 annually
The quick win: one system
Three interconnected problems need one solution: systematic control. Spreadsheets, notebooks and guesswork fail when problems multiply.
A food cost calculator (like KitchenNmbrs) lets you:
- Auto-calculate food cost per dish
- Document recipes with precise portions
- Track supplier prices and catch increases
- Get overview without manual math
Results after 4 weeks
Follow this sequence, and you'll see changes within a month:
💡 Before and after:
Same restaurant after 4 weeks:
- Food cost: from 38% to 31%
- Waste: from €150 to €80 per week
- Revenue: €8,000 per week (unchanged)
- Extra profit: €630 per week
Result: €32,760 additional profit annually
How do you tackle multiple problems systematically?
Identify your 5 best-selling dishes
Check your cash register report from last week. Which dishes were ordered most? These make up 60-70% of your revenue and have the biggest impact on your food cost.
Calculate the exact food cost of these 5 dishes
Add up all ingredients: main product, sides, sauce, oil, butter. Divide by selling price excl. VAT and multiply by 100. Above 35% is too high.
Check portions in the kitchen
Spend an evening in the kitchen and weigh 10 portions of your top dish. Is the average higher than your calculation? Then money is leaking here due to generous portions.
Measure waste for 1 week
Keep track of what you throw away and why. Note the value per day. This gives insight into where you can improve your purchasing and planning.
Implement one system for everything
Stop using separate Excel sheets and estimates. Use one system to keep track of recipes, prices and food cost. This prevents problems from coming back.
✨ Pro tip
Focus on your #1 bestseller for the first 72 hours. Get that single dish's food cost and portion control perfect before touching anything else. One dish done right can save €400+ monthly and gives you momentum to tackle the rest.
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
Which problem do I tackle first?
Always start with food cost on your best-selling dishes. These drive the biggest profit impact. Waste and other issues come later.
How do I know if my food cost is too high?
Restaurant food costs typically run 28-35%. Above 35% means you're losing money on that dish. Always calculate using selling price excluding VAT.
What if my chef deliberately gives larger portions?
Calculate the annual cost and discuss it directly. An extra 50g of protein per portion can cost €6,000+ yearly. Most chefs don't realize the financial impact.
How much waste is normal for a restaurant?
Typical waste runs 5-15% of total purchasing. Above 15% indicates over-ordering or poor planning. Track for one full week to establish your baseline.
Should I change my menu prices if food costs are too high?
Not immediately. First optimize portions and purchasing to hit your target food cost percentage. Price increases should be your last resort, not your first move.
How long before I see results from these changes?
Food cost improvements show up immediately in your margins. Portion control takes effect within 1-2 weeks. Waste reduction becomes routine after 3-4 weeks of consistent tracking.
📚 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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