Most venues know their theoretical food cost. Very few know their actual food cost. There’s a massive difference between what a dish should cost and what it costs during live service.
Portion control, waste, over-prepping, substitutions, and inconsistent plating quietly destroy margin every shift and every service.
If your food cost keeps moving unexpectedly, the issue usually isn’t the spreadsheet — it’s the execution.
Inside the free Recipe Costing Basics module, we break down how to tighten food cost control before profit disappears.