Picture this: your chef adds just five extra grams of butter to each plate, thinking it'll make guests happier. That tiny addition drains €1,872 from your profits every year. Most chefs focus on flavor, not finances - but you can change that.
Why chefs are generous with portions
Chefs want every guest to be satisfied. They'd rather give too much than too little. That's good for taste, but bad for your margin. The problem: nobody calculates what those extras cost.
💡 Example:
Your chef adds 5 grams of extra butter per plate:
- Butter price: €12 per kilo = €0.012 per gram
- Extra cost per plate: 5 grams × €0.012 = €0.06
- At 100 covers per day: €6 per day
- At 6 working days: €36 per week
- Per year: €36 × 52 = €1,872 extra costs
Make it visible with concrete amounts
Don't talk about grams, talk about euros. Chefs understand money better than they admit. Always calculate through to annual amounts - those make an impact.
💡 Example:
10 grams of extra cheese per pasta (€18/kg):
- Extra per portion: €0.18
- 50 pastas per week: €9 per week
- Per year: €468
Say: "That extra cheese costs us €468 per year. That's almost a month's rent."
Use comparisons that hit home
Translate costs into things your chef understands. A monthly salary, a new machine, vacation days. That makes more of an impression than abstract amounts.
- €2,000 per year: "That's an extra weekend getaway for the whole team"
- €5,000 per year: "That's enough to buy a new combi-oven"
- €1,500 per year: "That's a month's gross salary for a kitchen assistant"
⚠️ Watch out:
Don't make it personal. Don't say "you cost me money", say "we're leaking money here". It's about the system, not the person.
Show them what it means for their own wallet
Link waste to what the team gets out of it. If there's more profit, better working conditions can follow. Or a team outing. Or new equipment that makes the work easier.
💡 Example:
"If we plug these 3 leaks, we save €4,000 per year. That means:"
- Better Christmas bonus for everyone
- New uniforms
- Extra team outing
- Investment in better equipment
Give alternatives, not prohibitions
Don't say "use less", say "use exactly enough". Help your chef portion consistently. Provide scales, measuring cups, or portion scoops.
- Weigh the first 10 portions of the day
- Use an ice cream scoop for consistent portioning
- Take photos of the correct portion size
- Train new staff with examples
Track the improvement together
Measure weekly how much you're saving. Celebrate successes. Show that it works. Based on real restaurant P&L data, operations that track portion costs monthly see 15-20% improvement in food cost ratios. Chefs are competitive - they want to see that their efforts have results. Food cost calculators can help you monitor these improvements consistently.
How do you show a chef what extra grams cost?
Calculate the cost per gram
Divide the purchase price per kilo by 1000. For example: butter €12/kg becomes €0.012 per gram. Write this down for all important ingredients.
Calculate through to annual amounts
Multiply extra cost per portion by number of portions per day, working days per week, and 52 weeks. Use your own figures for realistic impact.
Translate into familiar comparisons
Say what you can buy for that amount: new equipment, team outing, or monthly salary. That makes more of an impression than abstract euro amounts.
Provide tools for consistency
Provide scales, measuring cups, or portion scoops. Train the team to use the right amounts without guessing.
Measure and celebrate the improvement
Track weekly how much you're saving and share this with the team. Chefs want to see that their efforts have results.
✨ Pro tip
Weigh your chef's signature dish portions for 3 consecutive days without telling them. Show the variance - if portion weights range from 180g to 220g, that 40g difference costs real money over thousands of servings.
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 do I calculate what 5 grams extra per portion costs?
Divide your purchase price per kilo by 1000 to get the price per gram. Multiply by 5 grams and your number of portions per year. For example: €12/kg butter = €0.012/gram × 5 grams × 31,200 portions/year = €1,872.
What if my chef says quality is more important than costs?
Explain that it's not about less quality, but about consistency. Every guest should get the same thing. Too much variation in portions is actually poor quality.
Which ingredients have the biggest impact on portion costs?
Expensive ingredients that are used frequently: meat, fish, cheese, butter, cream. Start with your 5 most expensive ingredients and your 5 best-selling dishes. These create the biggest financial leaks.
📚 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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