GGB The operator’s dictionary · 32 governed terms
Words are cheap. These ones carry numbers.
Every term below is defined the way GGB uses it on a working P&L — the formula where there is one, a worked example, and the instrument where the term does real work.
Open
the open cluster →
Break-even point The revenue at which the operation stops losing money: fixed costs divided by contribution margin ratio. BOQ (bill of quantities) An itemised, measured list of every fit-out work and material. It is what makes contractor quotes comparable. CAPEX One-time capital spent to build and equip the restaurant before it trades. Recovered only through years of profit. OPEX The recurring cost of running the operation: rent, utilities, salaries, supplies. What revenue must clear every month. Working capital The cash that runs the day-to-day: current assets minus current liabilities. Runway, in plain operator terms. Fit-out Converting a bare shell into a working restaurant: civil works, MEP, kitchen, joinery and finishes. MEP Mechanical, electrical and plumbing: power, ventilation, gas, water and drainage. The invisible half of a kitchen build. Snag list The defect list from handover inspection that the contractor must close before final payment is released.
Control
the control cluster →
Prime cost Food and labour cost combined. The two controllable giants of the P&L, typically held inside a 60–65% ceiling of revenue. Food cost percentage Cost of food consumed as a share of food revenue. Typically 28–32% in a controlled operation. Labour cost percentage The full cost of people as a share of revenue, typically 25–30%. The second pillar of prime cost. Contribution margin What a menu item leaves behind after plate cost. You bank dirhams, not percentages. Menu engineering Reworking menu mix, pricing and placement so the items that earn the most sell the most. Theoretical food cost What food cost should be, from costed recipes and the actual sales mix. The benchmark actual cost answers to. Food cost variance The gap between theoretical and actual food cost. Where waste, portioning drift and shrinkage hide. Yield (kitchen yield) The usable share of what you buy, after trim, prep and cooking loss. It quietly re-prices every ingredient. Par level The set quantity a station or store holds between deliveries: expected usage plus a safety buffer. Covers The number of guests served in a period. The volume side of every revenue equation in the building. Average check Revenue divided by covers. The spend a typical guest actually leaves behind. Table turn How many times a seat is resold in a service. Same rent, more covers. RevPASH Revenue per available seat hour. The honest measure of how hard the dining room actually works. P&L (profit and loss statement) The periodic statement of revenue, costs and profit. The scoreboard a disciplined operator reads line by line. COGS Cost of goods sold: opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock. What you consumed, not what you bought. Operating profit What remains after COGS, labour and operating expenses. The number the whole operating system exists to defend. Mise en place Everything prepped, portioned and in place before service begins. The discipline that decides how the rush goes. Eighty-six (86'd) The kitchen call that an item is unavailable. Every avoidable 86 is contribution walked away from.
Grow
the grow cluster →
Systems
the systems cluster →
Delivery commission The percentage an aggregator takes per order, typically 15–30% in the GCC. It rewrites the economics of every dish. Cloud kitchen A delivery-only production unit with no dining room. Lower capex in, aggregator economics out. HACCP The food-safety system that identifies hazards and sets measurable critical limits at every control point. SOP (standard operating procedure) A written standard for how a task is done, so the result stops depending on who is on shift.