Pricing a menu without knowing your food costs is like driving blindfolded. Learn how to calculate plate costs, set target food cost percentages, and price every dish for sustainable profitability.
Prime cost -- food plus labor -- represents 55-65% of sales and is the most controllable factor in restaurant profitability. Operators who track it weekly improve their bottom line by 2-5%. Here is how to manage both components systematically.
The most expensive pricing errors restaurant operators make — from guesswork markup to ignoring contribution margin — and the systems that fix them.
How to build and use a recipe costing spreadsheet that calculates accurate per-dish costs, tracks yield losses, and feeds directly into profitable menu pricing.