Sample menu profitability analysis
This is what an audit hands back, shown on a fictional restaurant: every dish costed, scored on cash margin and sales mix, and ranked by where to act first. The Oak & Ember is an independent contemporary British restaurant in Leeds, and the analysis covers its main courses and sides over four weeks.
Illustrative example using fictional data. The Oak & Ember is not a client and none of these figures is a result delivered by this practice.
The four weeks at a glance
All figures are net of VAT. Seven dishes, 590 plates sold.
£8,670.00
Revenue
590 plates across seven dishes.
£2,828.50
Ingredient spend
Plate costs multiplied by plates sold.
£5,841.50
Gross profit
Revenue less ingredient spend, before labour.
32.6%
Food cost
Ingredient spend as a share of revenue.
Every dish, costed
Gross profit per dish is selling price less ingredient cost. Food cost is ingredient cost divided by selling price. Total gross profit is gross profit per dish multiplied by plates sold.
| Dish | Price | Ingredient cost | Gross profit per dish | Food cost | Plates sold | Revenue | Ingredient spend | Total gross profit | Share of gross profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Beef Burger | £15.50 | £4.65 | £10.85 | 30.0% | 120 | £1,860.00 | £558.00 | £1,302.00 | 22.3% |
| Chicken Parmesan | £17.50 | £5.25 | £12.25 | 30.0% | 90 | £1,575.00 | £472.50 | £1,102.50 | 18.9% |
| Wild Mushroom Risotto | £16.00 | £4.80 | £11.20 | 30.0% | 35 | £560.00 | £168.00 | £392.00 | 6.7% |
| Beer-Battered Fish & Chips | £18.50 | £7.40 | £11.10 | 40.0% | 110 | £2,035.00 | £814.00 | £1,221.00 | 20.9% |
| Truffle Parmesan Fries | £7.50 | £1.50 | £6.00 | 20.0% | 160 | £1,200.00 | £240.00 | £960.00 | 16.4% |
| 28-Day Aged Steak Frites | £24.00 | £9.60 | £14.40 | 40.0% | 45 | £1,080.00 | £432.00 | £648.00 | 11.1% |
| Seasonal Garden Salad | £12.00 | £4.80 | £7.20 | 40.0% | 30 | £360.00 | £144.00 | £216.00 | 3.7% |
| Menu total | £9.90 | 32.6% | 590 | £8,670.00 | £2,828.50 | £5,841.50 | 100.0% |
Green gross profit per dish is at or above the menu's average of £9.90 a plate. Amber food cost is above the menu's overall 32.6%. The largest gross profit contributor is shaded. Read the amber and the green together: a high food cost percentage does not mean a poor earner.
Where each dish sits
Two thresholds sort the menu. A dish is popular if it takes at least 70 percent of an equal share of orders, which for seven dishes is 10.0% of plates. It is high margin if its cash margin is at or above the menu's average of £9.90 a plate.
| Dish | Share of orders | Cash margin per plate | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Beef Burger | 20.3% | £10.85 | Star |
| Beer-Battered Fish & Chips | 18.6% | £11.10 | Star |
| Chicken Parmesan | 15.3% | £12.25 | Star |
| Truffle Parmesan Fries | 27.1% | £6.00 | Plowhorse |
| 28-Day Aged Steak Frites | 7.6% | £14.40 | Puzzle |
| Wild Mushroom Risotto | 5.9% | £11.20 | Puzzle |
| Seasonal Garden Salad | 5.1% | £7.20 | Dog |
28-Day Aged Steak Frites
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Earns well when it sells. Fix the position and the wording before touching the recipe.
Classic Beef Burger
Beer-Battered Fish & Chips
Chicken Parmesan
Protect it, spec it tightly, and test whether it will carry a price rise.
Seasonal Garden Salad
Costs prep time and menu space for little back. Rebuild it or remove it.
Truffle Parmesan Fries
Pulls people in and gives the margin back. Engineer the plate cost, not the popularity.
What the numbers say
Beer-Battered Fish & Chips looks expensive and earns well
Its food cost is 40.0%, the joint highest on the menu, and a percentage report would mark it down. It still earns £11.10 a plate and £1,221.00 over the four weeks, the second largest contribution on the menu, behind Classic Beef Burger. Percentage ranks the dishes one way and cash ranks them another.
Truffle Parmesan Fries is the busiest dish and the weakest earner among the popular ones
It takes 27.1% of all plates, more than any other dish, with the lowest food cost on the menu at 20.0%. It earns £6.00 a plate, which is below the menu average of £9.90, so it is a plowhorse. The popularity is already there. The price and the plate cost are the levers.
28-Day Aged Steak Frites has the highest cash margin and 7.6% of orders
At £14.40 a plate it earns more than any other dish, and only 45 were sold. That makes it a puzzle: the economics are right and the guests are not choosing it. Wild Mushroom Risotto is in the same position at £11.20 a plate. Position and wording are the first things to test, and they cost nothing.
Seasonal Garden Salad is the dog
It takes 5.1% of orders and earns £7.20 a plate, at a 40.0% food cost. It is small, but it takes menu space, prep time and a place in the guest's decision. It is the first dish to rebuild or replace.
Where to act first
Each lever is a single change worked on the four weeks of data above. They are arithmetic on this example, not a forecast, they are not additive, and they take no account of labour, cannibalisation or how guests will react.
| Dish | Lever | Arithmetic | Effect over the four weeks if volume holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truffle Parmesan Fries Plowhorse | Add £0.50 to the price | 160 plates × £0.50 | +£80.00, and orders could fall by about 12 before it earns less than today |
| Beer-Battered Fish & Chips Star | Take £0.50 out of the plate cost through the portion specification | 110 plates × £0.50 | +£55.00, with the price and the menu untouched |
| 28-Day Aged Steak Frites Puzzle | Move the position and the wording, so 20 orders switch from an average dish | (£14.40 − £9.90) × 20 | +£90.00 |
| Seasonal Garden Salad Dog | Replace it with a dish earning the menu average, at the same volume | (£9.90 − £7.20) × 30 | +£81.00 |
What this example leaves out
The prices, costs and plates sold are invented to show the method, and the restaurant is fictional. Costs here are plate costs, which in a real audit are built on yielded weight from your own specifications and invoices, and every price is net of VAT.
Four weeks keeps this readable. A real analysis uses at least eight weeks of sales, because a shorter window misclassifies anything seasonal, and it is run by menu section, not across main courses and sides together. Gross profit is before labour, which the labour guide covers, and drinks are excluded.
The thresholds are the standard ones: 70 percent of an equal share of orders for popularity, and the sales weighted average cash margin for margin. The food cost calculator runs the same test on one dish, and the menu engineering guide explains the method.
Want this on your own menu?
Send your menu and last quarter's food GP. A menu audit returns this analysis for every dish, built on your real invoices and your own sales mix.