The price of meat went up on Friday: what to do by Saturday

Friday afternoon. The supplier calls: from today a kilogram of meat costs more. The timing is awkward for two reasons. The weekend is the busiest time, and the next conversation with the supplier is on Monday at the earliest. Often at this point either nothing is done, or all the prices are rewritten on the idea that they will see how it goes later. Both approaches cost money.

This article is an example scenario. It shows what one calm hour might look like (in the example below, about 55 minutes), in which you decide what to change by Saturday. The numbers are assumed and are for illustration. They are not a forecast and do not say what your price should be.

Example scenario: Friday, 15:30

Example scenario. A restaurant with its own kitchen has four dishes on the menu whose main ingredient is meat: pork steak, chicken fillet, meatballs and veal stew. The supplier announces a higher price for pork and veal. The chicken stays the same. The menu is printed and is also available on a phone.

Step 1. Calculate the portion (15 minutes)

Do not start from the price on the menu but from the plate. How much meat goes into one portion, and what does it cost now?

Assumptions for the calculation: a portion of pork steak is 0.25 kg of meat; the price of pork goes up by €1.20 per kilogram, which makes €0.30 more per portion. A portion of veal stew is 0.20 kg of meat; the price of veal goes up by €2.50 per kilogram, which makes €0.50 more per portion. These numbers are assumed.

This shows something important: the pork steak has gone up by 30 cents and the stew by 50. You do not have to raise them by the same amount.

Step 2. Decide for each dish separately (15 minutes)

For each affected dish there are four ways forward. Each has a cost.

• New price: it covers the difference, but the guest sees it straight away.
• Smaller portion: the price stays, but some guests will notice.
• A different ingredient or side dish: the dish changes and the menu has to say so honestly.
• No change for the weekend: you accept a lower profit from the dish, knowing for how long.

In the example, the owner decides as follows: the stew goes up by €0.50, because the difference is the largest. The pork steak stays at the same price for the weekend, because the difference is small, and the steak is the most ordered dish and attracts guests. The meatballs and the chicken are left alone. Another owner in another venue may decide differently, and that is normal.

Step 3. Change the prices where the guest sees them (15 minutes)

This is where time is most often lost. If the menu is only on paper, one change means reprinting or writing it by hand on the sheet. If there is also a digital menu, you must be sure that the price is the same in both places. The worst thing is when they do not match.

Check at the end: the price on the menu on the table, the price on the phone, the price in the till and the price the guest will hear from the waiter. All four must be the same.

Step 4. Warn the staff (5 minutes)

Before the shift starts, a three-line message is enough: which dish has a new price, what the new price is and what to say if the guest asks. For example: “From today the stew has a new price. The supplier has put up the price of meat. If they ask, say calmly that the price of the raw ingredient is higher.” Do not make up explanations that you are not sure are true.

Step 5. Write down the assumptions (5 minutes)

This step is skipped most often, and afterwards it is missed the most. Write the following down in one place, for example in a notebook or in a shared file:

• the date and who you got the new price from;
• the old and the new price per kilogram;
• the old and the new price per portion on the menu;
• which dishes you decided not to touch, and why;
• a day for review, for example Monday.

This is not accounting. These are your assumptions: “I assume that a smaller profit from the steak for two days is acceptable.” After two weeks nobody remembers why the price is what it is and whether the decision was temporary.

What not to do on Friday evening

• Do not rewrite all the prices on the menu. The guest reads the whole menu and every change is a signal.
• Do not promise guests anything about future prices.
• Do not change anything before the portion has been calculated. Percentages guessed “by eye” are misleading.
• Do not let the staff find out about the change from the guests.

Monday: review

On Monday you are calmer and you have data. Look at how the affected dishes sold over the weekend, what the supplier has said about the next delivery and whether Friday’s decision is still right. A new price, a return to the old price or a new substitution are all normal outcomes. The aim of Friday’s plan is to avoid losing money while you find out more, not to set the price for good.

Where ISKA Menu helps

If your menu is in ISKA Menu, a dish’s price is changed from the portal or from a phone. Changes are drafts until you publish them, and the link to the menu stays the same, so the QR code on the table does not change. If you also have a paper menu, it remains a separate job, so decide in advance which dishes you show on paper too. Current plan prices are on the pricing page.

First, though, do the portion calculation. The tool only speeds up the change; the decision stays yours.