Free guides made for real businesses like yours.
Food waste is profit walking out the door. Tight margins leave no room for bins full of prep offcuts, over-ordered stock, or oversized portions. Here’s how to tighten control, cut waste, and protect gross profit — without sacrificing quality or guest experience.
For one week, weigh or log everything binned: prep trim, plate waste, spoilage, over-production. Tag each entry with a reason (overportioned, out-of-date, prep error, no sales). You’ll quickly see patterns that quietly erode GP%.
Set realistic PAR levels by daypart and season. Use FIFO and colour-dated labels so older stock moves first. Schedule quick cycle counts (15 minutes per section) to catch slow movers before they expire.
Cost dishes using real prep yields (trim, cook loss, plate garnish) — not supplier weights. Consolidate SKUs: the same herb, sauce, or garnish should work across multiple dishes. Rotate seasonal specials to use up surplus before it spoils.
Standardise spoons, ladles and scales on the pass. If plate waste is common, reduce portion by 10% and make it look abundant with plating. Offer paid add‑ons and sides so value perception stays strong while food cost drops.
Turn roast veg ends into soups, stale bread into crumb, herb stems into oils, bones into stock. Create a weekly “zero-waste special” to move surplus legitimately. Document HACCP-safe reuse rules so the team stays compliant.
A shared sheet or simple app for prep lists, expected covers, and waste logs is enough to start. Snap photos of bins, label reasons, and review weekly. Small habits, big savings.
Waste isn’t just food. Overuse of energy and water inflates costs too. Switch to energy‑efficient kit, fix leaky taps, and train staff to run equipment only when needed. Utility savings fall straight to the bottom line.
Waste reduction isn’t about perfection — it’s about rhythm: buy right, prep right, portion right, review weekly. Do that, and your kitchen protects margin and keeps quality high.
💡 Want help turning waste into profit? Our Hospitality Advisory and Bookkeeping Plans give you clear stock controls, menu GP insights, and weekly reporting that actually gets used.
Run a 7‑day waste audit and fix the biggest offender first. It’s usually over-portioning or over-ordering. Reduce portions by 5–10%, tighten PAR levels, and rotate a “use‑it” special to clear slower stock. Expect an immediate lift in GP%.
FIFO ensures older stock gets used first, cutting expiry losses and emergency rebuys at higher prices. Consistent rotation alone can shave 1–2 points off food cost in busy UK kitchens.
Start simple with a shared sheet and photos. If the team uses it weekly and you see savings, step up to an app for real-time dashboards and alerts. Tools help — but habits win.
Use menu engineering to push dishes with stronger yield and shared ingredients. Retire low‑selling items, consolidate SKUs, and spotlight seasonal produce. You’ll reduce waste and improve UK restaurant profit margins at the same time.
Pair restaurant seasonal menu planning with weekly waste reviews. Build dishes around high‑yield, in‑season produce, then set PAR levels that match forecast covers. Track plate waste and prep trim to update specs. This is hospitality cost control UK operators can action fast: fewer SKUs, better F&B seasonal budgeting, stronger UK restaurant profit margins. Add light supplier negotiation for restaurants (surplus buys, short‑dated deals) to move the needle further.
Book a free consultation. We’ll help you install simple systems for stock control, waste tracking, and menu engineering that pay back fast.