Shared language
Hospitality operations glossary
Short definitions so kitchen, dining room, purchasing, and administration mean the same thing.
Glossary
Food cost
Food cost is the share of net sales represented by the ingredients used in the period. Divide the usable cost —what actually reaches the plate— by net sales to set prices, spot portion, substitution, or waste variances, and protect margin without blaming the team.
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Theoretical stock
Theoretical stock is the balance that should be in storage according to purchases, movements, recipes, and sales, before the physical count. Comparing it with actual stock reveals waste, recording errors, and shortages: when the variance repeats on one ingredient, there is a concrete operating cause worth investigating.
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Waste
Waste is the loss of weight, volume, or units an ingredient suffers between purchase and sale: trimming, cooking, expiry, portioning error, or discard. Control it by comparing the theoretical usage from the recipe with the actual usage of the period, and recording each variance with its cause, value, and owner before adjusting.
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Mise en place
Mise en place is the advance preparation that leaves each station ready for service: portioned ingredients, tools at hand, and coordinated timing. Without it the shift improvises; with it the kitchen meets peak demand without breaking pace or plate quality.
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Critical control point
A critical control point is the stage where a measurable control prevents, eliminates, or reduces a food-safety hazard: temperature, time, pH, or hygiene. Each point needs a limit, an owner, evidence, and a verifiable corrective action; without that record, measurement does not protect the business.
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Inventory turnover
Inventory turnover says how many times an ingredient was sold and restocked in a period. When turnover is high, stock moves; when it is low, money sits idle on the shelf.
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