While some restaurants struggle with 20% food waste, others maintain just 4%. The difference isn't luck or better suppliers. It's having solid routines that catch waste before it happens.
The biggest waste culprits in your kitchen
Food waste doesn't only happen through spoilage. It starts at delivery and continues until you serve the plate.
💡 Example: Poor receiving at delivery
Monday morning, busy delivery. Your chef signs off on everything without checking.
- Ordered: 10 kg salmon
- Delivered: 8.5 kg (rest was out of stock)
- Invoiced: 10 kg × €18 = €180
Loss: €27 you won't get back
Temperature waste you don't see
Your cooler's set to 6°C instead of 4°C. Doesn't seem like much, but meat and fish spoil 2-3 days earlier because of it.
💡 Example: Cooler too warm
Cooler's set to 6°C. You buy €500 worth of meat and fish per week.
- Normal shelf life: 5 days
- At 6°C: 3 days shelf life
- Extra waste: 15-20%
Loss: €75-100 per week = €4,000 per year
⚠️ Watch out:
Many refrigerators don't have accurate thermometers. A 2°C difference you won't notice, but your wallet will.
Forgetting FIFO = throwing money away
First In, First Out. Sounds logical, but during busy service it's often forgotten.
- New stock gets placed in front
- Old products get forgotten
- After a week you find spoiled ingredients in the back
- This especially happens with vegetables and dairy
💡 Example: Poor FIFO with vegetables
You order vegetables 2x per week. New boxes always go in front.
- Vegetable purchases: €200 per week
- Forgotten products: 10% per week
- Loss from poor FIFO: €20 per week
Annual loss: €1,040 in forgotten vegetables
Portioning without control
Your chef gives generous portions. Guests are happy, but your margin disappears unnoticed.
- Recipe says 200g steak, chef gives 250g
- Sauce portion is guessed, not measured
- Garnish is served 'generously'
- Nobody checks the actual grams
💡 Example: Oversized steak portion
Steak on the menu for €32. Recipe: 200g, chef gives 250g.
- Meat price: €24 per kg
- Recipe cost: €4.80 (200g)
- Actual: €6.00 (250g)
- Extra cost: €1.20 per portion
At 30 steaks per week: €1,872 per year loss
No control during prep
During prep a lot gets lost due to poor techniques or lack of attention.
- Too much trim loss on fish and meat
- Vegetables peeled too generously
- Over-prepped (too much prepared)
- Sauces that go past their date
⚠️ Watch out:
An extra 5% trim loss costs you €2,600 per year on €1,000 weekly meat/fish purchases. Measure the yield occasionally - it's a pattern we see repeatedly in restaurant financials.
How do you prevent this waste?
You can prevent most waste with simple checks and routines:
- Measure temperatures daily - 2 minutes of work, thousands in savings
- Use FIFO labels - Date on every package, old ones in front
- Weigh portions - Check your top dishes at least 1x per week
- Control deliveries - Weight, quality, temperature upon arrival
- Prep planning - Don't prepare too much, keep track of leftovers
With digital systems you can track temperatures and HACCP checks centrally, so nothing gets forgotten.
How do you build an anti-waste routine? (step by step)
Start with temperature control
Measure the temperature of all coolers and freezers every morning. Write this down in a logbook or app. Set an alarm if temperatures deviate from the norm.
Check every delivery
Check weight, temperature and quality upon arrival. Only sign off on what's correct. Take photos of any issues and send them directly to your supplier.
Implement FIFO systematically
Put date labels on all packages. Always place new stock in the back. Train your team to always use the oldest products first.
Measure portions weekly
Weigh the portions of your 5 best-selling dishes 1x per week. Check if they match your recipes. Adjust where needed.
Record and analyze
Keep track of what you throw away and why. Look for patterns. If the same thing goes wrong every week, adjust your routine. Digital systems make this overview easier.
✨ Pro tip
Track what you throw away every Tuesday for 8 weeks straight. If the same 3 ingredients keep appearing, you've found your biggest money leak - usually it's over-ordering or poor storage rotation causing the waste.
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 much food waste is normal in a restaurant?
Standard is 3-8% of your total purchases. Above 10% is too much and costs you thousands per year. Measure it for a month to know your baseline.
What does it cost to measure temperatures daily?
About 5 minutes per day. A digital thermometer costs €20-50. Compared to thousands in losses from spoilage, this pays for itself quickly.
How do I prevent my team from giving oversized portions?
Put scales in the kitchen and check randomly. Explain why it matters: not to be stingy, but to stay profitable and keep jobs.
Do I need to track everything digitally or can it be on paper?
Paper works, but digital has advantages: easier to look back, automatic reminders, and overviews per week/month. For HACCP checks this saves time.
What if my supplier doesn't deliver well?
Document everything: photos, weights, temperatures. Send directly to your supplier. With repeated problems, find a new supplier - your quality depends on their reliability.
How do I calculate the actual cost of poor FIFO routines?
Track what you throw away for 2 weeks and multiply by 26. Most restaurants are shocked by the annual number. Vegetables and dairy show the biggest FIFO losses.
📚 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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