GGB Toolkit · Control
22 June 2026
The Weekly Food-Cost Control Sheet
Food cost rarely drifts in one big jump — it leaks a point at a time through portioning, waste and yield. This weekly cycle catches the drift while it is still cheap to fix.
Fill-in control sheet · GGB framework
The weekly cycle
- Count opening and closing stock on the same day each week
- Record purchases for the week from supplier invoices
- Calculate actual food cost: (opening + purchases − closing) ÷ sales
- Compare to theoretical food cost from your costed recipes
- Investigate the biggest variance line — portioning, waste, yield or theft
Theoretical vs actual tracker
| Week | Theoretical % | Actual % | Variance | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 |
A persistent gap above ~2 points between theoretical and actual is worth a hard look. Typical food cost runs 28–35% — indicative only.
Where the variance usually hides
- Over-portioning on high-volume dishes
- Prep and trim waste not measured or yield-tested
- Wastage and spoilage from over-ordering perishables
- Comps, staff meals and breakages not recorded
- Supplier price creep not re-costed into the menu