How to reduce food cost in your restaurant
If your food cost is consistently above 35%, the cause is usually one of four — and all four are measurable.
1) Measure theoretical vs. actual
Theoretical usage = what the recipes say was used based on sales. Actual = what stock went down by on a count. The gap is the waste: spoilage, theft, over-portioning, prep errors.
2) Control portions
An extra 10–15 grams on each protein portion looks small, but across thousands of dishes a month it is a large cost difference. Use scales and portioning tools, and train the kitchen on the standard recipe.
3) Count regularly and buy smart
A weekly count of the top 10–15 items is enough to catch problems early. Watch supplier prices, order in sizes matched to your usage rate to cut spoilage, and track seasonal items.
4) Re-price or remove weak items
Rank menu items by sales and by margin. A low-sales, low-margin item is a candidate to remove or re-price. A high-sales, low-margin item is the most dangerous — review its recipe first.
How the system helps
When recipes are linked to inventory, every sale deducts the ingredients automatically, so the theoretical-vs-actual gap becomes a number you can see instead of a guess. Available on RAWA's Integrated plan.
Try RAWA in your restaurant
A 100% Arabic-first cloud restaurant system — an offline-capable POS, kitchen display, QR menu, inventory & recipes, and accounting with e-invoicing (JoFotara) on both plans.
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How fast do improvements show?
Portion control and counting show effect within one or two inventory cycles (2–4 weeks).
What is a 'good' food-cost percentage?
28–35% for most restaurants; it varies by type, location and menu.