Here's what I learned after watching too many restaurants bleed money through clueless staff decisions. Your team adds extra butter to the pan, gives larger portions, or forgets to clean up mise-en-place—without realizing this comes straight out of your profit. Most owners never connect the dots between daily kitchen habits and their monthly bank balance.
Why your team needs to understand the numbers
Your chef thinks: "I make delicious food, the rest isn't my problem." Your servers think: "I take care of happy guests, numbers are for the boss." Meanwhile, your profit leaks away through a thousand small decisions that nobody sees as costly.
⚠️ Watch out:
A chef who gives 20 grams extra meat per plate because "it looks better" costs you €1,200 per year in extra meat alone at 100 covers per day.
Make abstract numbers concrete
Food cost percentages mean nothing to your team. But euros per plate? That they get. So translate your numbers into their daily reality.
💡 Example - Translate food cost to euros:
Your steak has 32% food cost at the correct portion (200 grams):
- Selling price: €28.00 (€25.69 excl. VAT)
- Ingredient costs at 200g: €8.22
- Food cost: 32%
At 250g portion: €10.28 ingredients = 40% food cost
Difference per plate: €2.06. At 50 steaks per week: €5,356 per year.
Use visual aids
Hang a simple sign in the kitchen with the cost price of your most popular dishes. Not as a percentage, but in euros per portion.
- Steak: €8.22 per portion (at correct weight)
- Salmon fillet: €6.80 per portion
- Pasta carbonara: €4.10 per portion
This way everyone sees directly what each portion costs. And what it means if they add "a little extra."
Show the impact of small decisions
Explain how small choices have big consequences. Most kitchen managers discover too late that their team's "tiny" daily habits are costing thousands annually. People just don't see the cumulative effect.
💡 Example - Impact of waste:
You throw away an average of €15 per day in vegetables that have been sitting too long:
- Per week: €15 × 6 = €90
- Per month: €90 × 4.3 = €387
- Per year: €387 × 12 = €4,644
That's almost half a month's rent going into the trash.
Give everyone their own responsibility
Make numbers a team sport. Give each team member their own KPI they can actually influence.
- Chef: Food cost of the 5 most popular dishes under 33%
- Sous-chef: Waste under €10 per day
- Servers: Average check above €24 per person
- Dishwasher: Breakage under €50 per month
Discuss numbers in your briefing
Take 5 minutes each week in your briefing to discuss numbers. Not as criticism, but as team information.
💡 Example weekly briefing:
"Last week we did 847 covers with €18,200 in sales:"
- Average check: €21.50 per person
- Food cost: 31% (within target)
- Waste: €67 (a bit high)
"This week we'll pay extra attention to portioning and FIFO with vegetables."
Reward awareness, not just results
Acknowledge team members who think about costs, even if the numbers aren't perfect yet. Behavior change comes before results change.
⚠️ Watch out:
Never make numbers a punishment. If people feel stressed by KPIs, they'll hide numbers instead of improving them.
Use tools everyone can understand
Excel sheets full of formulas don't help. Your team needs to see at a glance whether they're doing well. Food cost calculators show cost per dish directly, so everyone can see what their choices actually cost.
How do you make numbers understandable for your team?
Calculate the cost price of your 5 most popular dishes
Add up all ingredients per portion, including garnish and sauces. Note this in euros per plate, not as a percentage. This way everyone can directly see what each portion costs.
Hang a cost price sign in the kitchen
Create a simple overview with dish name and cost price per portion. Update this monthly as supplier prices change. Place it where everyone sees it daily.
Discuss 3 numbers weekly in the briefing
Share last week's average check, food cost percentage, and waste. Explain what this means and what you'll focus on this week. Keep it short and positive.
Give everyone their own measurable responsibility
Chef gets food cost, servers get average check, dishwasher gets breakage costs. Choose KPIs they can directly influence. Discuss monthly how it's going.
Show the annual impact of small decisions
Calculate what 10 grams extra meat per plate costs on an annual basis. Or what €5 waste per day means. Big numbers make more of an impression than small ones.
✨ Pro tip
Track your team's cost awareness for exactly 3 weeks by posting daily ingredient costs on a kitchen whiteboard. Staff who ask questions about costs or suggest savings get their name on the board—you'll see cost consciousness spread naturally through peer recognition.
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
What if my team finds the numbers too complicated?
Start with just euros per portion of your 3 most popular dishes. No percentages, no formulas. Just: this dish costs €6.50 in ingredients. Build up gradually as they get used to it.
How often should I discuss numbers with the team?
5 minutes weekly in the briefing is enough. Daily gets annoying, monthly is too infrequent. Focus on 2-3 core numbers: sales, average check, and food cost or waste.
What if people feel controlled by KPIs?
Explain that numbers help you get better together, not to hold individuals accountable. Discuss results as team performance. Reward improvement, not just perfect numbers.
Which numbers are most important to share?
Start with cost price per portion of popular dishes, average check per guest, and daily waste in euros. Everyone can directly influence these numbers through their daily work.
⚠️ EU Regulation 1169/2011 — Allergen Information — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/oj
The allergen information on this page is based on EU Regulation 1169/2011. Recipes and ingredients may vary by supplier. Always verify current allergen information with your supplier and communicate this correctly to your guests. KitchenNmbrs is not liable for allergic reactions.
In the UK, the FSA enforces allergen regulations under the Food Information Regulations 2014.
📚 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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