Ever wonder if your bestsellers are actually making you money? Most restaurant owners can't tell you which dishes bring profit and which ones drain cash. A focused 30-minute session with your team reveals exactly where your money goes.
Preparation: gather the right figures
Effective margin sessions need hard data, not guesswork. Real numbers prevent arguments and give everyone the same foundation.
- Last month's sales data for your 5 top-selling dishes
- Current ingredient costs for each dish
- Menu prices (excluding VAT)
- Actual portion sizes you serve
⚠️ Note:
Use real portion sizes, not what's written down. If your chef serves 250g steaks but you calculate with 200g, your numbers will be wrong.
The session: 30 minutes of focused review
Pick a quiet time between service periods. Include your chef, sous-chef, and maybe your manager. More than 4 people makes it chaotic.
30-minute structure:
- 5 minutes: explain the purpose
- 20 minutes: calculate margins for each dish (4 minutes per dish)
- 5 minutes: decide on actions
💡 Example session setup:
"We're checking our top 5 dishes to see if they're profitable. If food cost hits 35% or higher, we need changes."
- Dish 1: Ribeye steak (120 sold last month)
- Dish 2: Pan-seared salmon (95 sold)
- Dish 3: Carbonara pasta (85 sold)
- Dish 4: House burger (75 sold)
- Dish 5: Caesar salad (60 sold)
Per dish: the 4-minute check
Run through identical steps for each dish. Keep it straightforward so everyone follows along.
Step 1: Total all ingredient costs (don't forget garnish, sauces, cooking oil)
Step 2: Calculate food cost percentage: (ingredient costs ÷ selling price excl. VAT) × 100
Step 3: Compare against your benchmark (28-35% works for most restaurants)
💡 Example steak calculation:
Menu price: €32.00 incl. VAT → €29.36 excl. VAT
- Ribeye 250g: €8.50
- Seasonal vegetables: €1.20
- Roasted potatoes: €0.80
- Red wine jus: €0.60
- Butter/oil: €0.40
Total ingredients: €11.50
Food cost: (€11.50 ÷ €29.36) × 100 = 39.2%
Too high! Needs fixing.
Determine immediate actions
Dishes over 35% food cost need immediate fixes. Pick your solution right now - "we'll discuss it later" never happens, and that's the kind of thing you only learn after closing your first month at a loss.
Options for high food costs:
- Increase menu price (€2-3 bumps often go unnoticed)
- Trim portion size (200g steak instead of 250g)
- Source cheaper ingredients (different supplier or cut)
- Swap expensive sides (replace priciest vegetable)
- Drop the dish entirely (nuclear option)
⚠️ Note:
Make decisions immediately for each dish. "We'll think about it" means bleeding money for months while you procrastinate.
Follow-up: when to check again
Book your next margin session before this one ends. Food costs aren't a one-and-done task - suppliers raise prices constantly without warning.
Review schedule:
- First 3 months: monthly reviews
- After that: quarterly checks
- Major supplier price hikes: immediate review
- New menu items: before they go live
💡 Practical tip:
Snap photos of your calculations and store them on your phone. You can compare results at your next session to see if changes worked.
Food cost calculators like KitchenNmbrs handle these calculations automatically, showing live food cost percentages without manual math during team meetings.
How do you organize a margin check session? (step by step)
Gather all required figures in advance
Pull the sales figures of your 5 best-selling dishes from your POS system. Note the current purchase prices of all ingredients and measure the actual portion size your chef serves.
Schedule 30 minutes with your core team
Choose a quiet moment between services. Invite a maximum of 4 people: yourself, chef, sous-chef and possibly your partner. More becomes too crowded for an effective session.
Calculate food cost per dish in 4 minutes
Add up all ingredient costs, divide by the selling price excl. VAT and multiply by 100. Compare with the 28-35% benchmark and immediately decide what action to take if it's too high.
✨ Pro tip
Always calculate your #1 bestseller first during the 20-minute review phase. If it shows healthy margins, your team feels confident. If it's bleeding money, everyone immediately grasps why this session matters.
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 often should I run margin check sessions like this?
Monthly for your first quarter, then every three months. Add extra sessions immediately when suppliers announce price increases.
What if my team can't agree on actual portion sizes?
Weigh every portion leaving the kitchen for one full week. Use that average for calculations. Facts beat opinions every time.
Should I check more than 5 dishes if I have other popular items?
Stick to your absolute top 5 by volume sold. These likely represent 70-80% of your food revenue, so fixing them solves most problems.
What if every single dish shows food costs above 35%?
You've got a systemic pricing problem. Attack your #1 seller first, then work down the list. Your menu prices are probably too low across the board.
Can I include beverages in this same session?
No, keep it food-only. Drinks use pour cost calculations and different margin targets. Run a separate beverage session to stay focused.
What's the minimum team size needed for an effective session?
You need at least your head chef plus one manager or owner. Having the person who plates the food is crucial for accurate portion discussions.
Should I share these margin numbers with front-of-house staff?
Generally no - servers don't need to know food costs. But do share which dishes you want pushed harder after you fix their 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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