Every month, thousands of restaurants serve their signature dishes at a loss without realizing it. That truffle pasta or dry-aged steak might draw compliments, but it's quietly bleeding your margins dry. Most owners discover this damage only after running the numbers—often too late.
First, calculate the real damage
Before you make drastic decisions, you want to know how much this dish really costs you. Not just the ingredients, but also the impact on your overall profitability.
💡 Example:
Chef's special 'Dry aged ribeye with truffle' for €45.00 (incl. 9% VAT):
- Selling price excl. VAT: €41.28
- Ingredient costs: €22.50
- Food cost: 54.5%
- Sold: 8 portions per week
Loss per portion: €22.50 - (€41.28 × 0.30) = €10.12
Total loss per year: €10.12 × 8 × 52 = €4,210
Analyze why it doesn't work
There are usually three reasons why a chef's special is too expensive:
- Too expensive ingredients: Truffle, dry aged meat, fresh oysters
- Too generous portions: Chef wants to impress with large cuts of meat
- Too low price: Afraid to scare guests away with 'high' prices
- Lots of waste: Ingredients have short shelf life, you sell too few of them
⚠️ Note:
Many entrepreneurs think: 'It attracts customers, so it's marketing.' But marketing that costs €4,000 per year is better spent elsewhere.
Here's something most kitchen managers discover too late: their 'signature' dishes often become profit killers because they're emotionally attached to recipes that made sense five years ago, before ingredient costs skyrocketed.
You have four options
Depending on how popular the dish is and how attached you are to it, you can choose from:
Option 1: Raise the price
Calculate what the price needs to be for a healthy food cost of 30%:
💡 Calculation:
Ingredient costs: €22.50
Desired food cost: 30%
Minimum price excl. VAT: €22.50 ÷ 0.30 = €75.00
Menu price: €75.00 × 1.09 = €81.75
From €45 to €82 is a big jump. But maybe you can go to €65-70 and accept that your food cost becomes 35%.
Option 2: Adjust ingredients
Keep the concept, but make it more affordable:
- Replace fresh truffle with truffle oil or truffle paste
- Replace dry aged ribeye with regular ribeye of good quality
- Simplify the garnish
- Reduce portion size (200g instead of 250g)
Option 3: Limited availability
Make it a real 'special':
- Only on weekends
- Maximum 6 portions per evening
- Seasonal (during ingredient peak seasons)
- Advance reservation required
This creates scarcity and justifies a higher price.
Option 4: Remove from menu
Sometimes this is simply the smartest choice. Replace it with a dish that:
- IS profitable (food cost under 32%)
- Has the same 'special' appeal
- Is easier to prepare
- Generates less waste
Test your new approach
Whatever you choose, monitor the results:
- With price increase: How many portions do you still sell? Is the total margin per week higher?
- With ingredient adjustment: Do guests stay satisfied? Does the new food cost add up?
- With limited availability: Does it become truly special? Does price acceptance increase?
- With new dish: Does it sell better? Is the food cost healthy?
💡 Example of successful approach:
Restaurant De Koning replaced their loss-making 'Wagyu steak' (food cost 52%) with 'Black Angus with bone marrow sauce' (food cost 28%).
Result after 3 months:
- Sales increased from 8 to 12 portions per week
- Margin per portion increased from -€8 to +€14
- Guests equally satisfied (same online rating)
Extra profit per year: €13,728
Prevent this in the future
For new specials, always calculate in advance:
- What are the exact ingredient costs per portion?
- At what selling price do you have 30% food cost?
- Is that price acceptable to your guests?
- How many do you need to sell per week to make it profitable?
A food cost calculator like KitchenNmbrs helps you calculate this in advance, so you don't get any unpleasant surprises.
How do you tackle a loss-making chef's special?
Calculate the real damage
Add up all ingredient costs and calculate the food cost. Multiply the loss per portion by the number of portions sold per year to see the total impact.
Analyze the cause
Determine whether the problem is too expensive ingredients, too large portions, too low price, or too much waste. This determines which solution works best.
Choose your strategy
Raise the price, adjust ingredients, limit availability, or remove the dish from the menu. Calculate in advance what each option means for your profitability.
Test and monitor the results
Implement your chosen solution and keep an eye on sales figures and guest satisfaction. Adjust if necessary after 4-6 weeks.
✨ Pro tip
Track your three most expensive dishes weekly for 30 days—you'll often find one consistently underperforming. Most operators check monthly, but weekly tracking catches problems before they compound into serious losses.
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
Can I keep a loss-making dish for marketing purposes?
Only if you know exactly what it costs you and are willing to pay that price for marketing. €4,000 per year can often be spent more effectively on other marketing activities.
How do I communicate a price increase to guests?
Be honest about quality and seasonality. For example: 'Due to rising prices of premium ingredients, we've adjusted our specials.' Most guests accept this if you frame it around quality.
What if my chef gets upset because his signature dish is being removed?
Explain that it's about the financial health of the restaurant. Ask him to help think of a profitable variant that keeps his creativity but is more affordable.
Do I need to remove all dishes above 35% food cost?
Not necessarily. If a dish is very popular and attracts guests who also order profitable items, it can be part of your mix. But keep it limited to a maximum of 1-2 dishes.
How often should I recalculate food costs for specials?
Monthly at minimum, especially for dishes with volatile ingredient prices like seafood or premium cuts. Supplier price increases can turn profitable specials into loss leaders overnight.
What's the maximum food cost percentage I should accept for any dish?
Generally, stay under 35% for individual dishes. Anything above 40% should be temporary or serve a specific strategic purpose like attracting high-value customers.
Should I factor in labor costs differently for complex specials?
Absolutely. Dishes requiring extensive prep time or specialized skills cost more than just ingredients. Factor in the extra labor when calculating true profitability.
📚 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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