Menu Engineering Per Dish Example
| Ingredient | Qty / portion | Unit | Price / unit (€) | Cost (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selling Price | pcs | — | ||
| Food Cost | pcs | — |
Cost per Portion
€0.00
Total Batch Cost
€0.00
Professional Tips for Accurate Costing
- Stars (high popularity + high margin) — promote heavily, lock them on the menu.
- Plowhorses (high popularity + low margin) — rework the recipe to lift margin.
- Puzzles (low popularity + high margin) — improve description, photography or position.
- Dogs (low popularity + low margin) — remove from the menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
A method developed at Cornell that classifies menu items into 4 quadrants based on popularity and profitability, then guides menu decisions to maximise overall margin.
For each repeat event menu, track which dishes sell and their margins. Reclassify quarterly and rebuild quotes around your Stars.
A high-popularity, low-margin dish — sells well but does not earn enough. Either lift the price 5–8% or substitute lower-cost components.