For the number to help the shift, food cost is worked by comparing the recipe's theoretical cost with the actual from purchases minus inventory; the gap between them —portion, substitution, or waste— is investigated dish by dish before adjusting prices or procedures.
- Formula: usable cost divided by net sales of the period
- Compare the recipe theoretical with the actual from sales
- Set prices and catch variances before they erode margin
How it works
Wobistro preserves the source, identifies the exception, prepares an action within permissions, and records the responsible person's decision. Every result returns to the history so the next shift starts with context.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good food cost for a restaurant?
It depends on the format: a common hospitality range is 25% to 35% of net sales, lower for fast food and higher for fine dining. What matters is not a universal number but measuring the same way every period and reacting when it drifts from your standard.
Theoretical or actual food cost: which one to watch?
Both. The theoretical comes from your recipes and says what you should have spent; the actual comes from purchases minus inventory and says what you spent. The gap between them is where waste, portion errors, and unrecorded substitutions live.
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