Your recipe card says one thing. Your line does another. The space between them is money you already spent. Five dishes and three minutes gets you the number.
What the dish costs when it's built right. Take your recipe card, price every ingredient at today's invoice — not last year's — and add it up. Include sauce, cheese, and the side.
What it actually costs on a Friday at 6pm. Pull three plates off the line mid-rush before they go out. Weigh the protein, the cheese, the sauce. Average the three, cost it the same way.
Don't tell the line you're doing it. The moment a cook knows the scale is out, portions get honest and your number lies to you.
Portion drift is the fastest leak to fix and almost never the biggest. Traffic, ticket, margin, machine — most independents are bleeding on three of the four and only watching one.
Send me the word GAP and your number. I'll tell you which of the other three is costing you more than this one, and what to check first. No call, no pitch deck — just a reply.
DM me the word GAP →