Let me tell you what goes wrong in most operations: food cost gets calculated at the end of the month — not controlled daily. That's like checking the speedometer after the journey is over.
30% food cost is the benchmark. Many don't hit it. And then come the excuses: food prices up, suppliers unreliable, staff wasteful. All true. But those aren't causes — they're symptoms of missing structure.
"If you don't know your food cost daily, you're running your business blind."
Lever 1: Daily stock checks on critical items
Not once a week. Not monthly. Daily. For the 10–15 items that carry the highest value. Meat, fish, premium ingredients. You don't need software for this — a notebook and discipline will do for starters. What gets measured, gets managed.
Lever 2: Recipe costing — properly
Most operations have recipes. Few have costed recipes with current purchase prices. If your salmon fillet has gone up 30% in procurement, your salmon dish is currently costing you more than you budgeted. Update purchase prices in your recipes at least once a quarter.
Lever 3: Portion control without control is nothing
You've costed a 180g portion of meat. What actually lands on the plate? In many kitchens there's a 20–40g difference per portion. Sounds small. Over 80 covers a day and 365 days a year, that's several thousand euros simply vanishing. Scales in the kitchen — non-negotiable.
Lever 4: Mise en place as cost control
Poor mise en place creates waste. Under pressure, too much gets prepped, too much gets cut, too much gets binned. Clean shift planning with realistic prep quantities based on bookings and historical sales data reduces waste drastically — without anyone going hungry.
Lever 5: Supplier benchmarking once a quarter
You've had the same poultry supplier for three years. Fine. But do you still know whether the price is competitive? Get comparison quotes for your top 10 items once a quarter. Not to switch suppliers — but to have a basis for negotiation. Loyalty is nice. But loyalty that costs you margin is expensive.
- Food cost is the chef's responsibility — not the accountant's
- Daily checks beat monthly reports every time
- Portion control and current recipe pricing are the quickest wins
- No tool needed — structure and discipline are enough to start
Which of these 5 points are you already doing? And where's your biggest gap? Write to me directly — I read every message.
