FORKS247 SERVICES
Restaurant Consulting
A restaurant can look successful and still be financially broken.
Full dining rooms, good reviews and great food do not automatically create a healthy restaurant.
I help restaurant and food-business owners find the disconnect between what's happening on the floor, what's happening in the kitchen and what's showing up on the financial statements.
THE REALITY OF RESTAURANT OWNERSHIP
The problem you see isn't always the problem causing it.
High food cost may actually be a purchasing problem. Slow service may be a prep-system problem. Poor profitability may be hiding inside pricing, labor, inventory, waste or portion control.
Restaurant consulting should do more than point at the symptom. The work is figuring out what is causing it, what matters most and what should be fixed first.
WHAT I HELP RESTAURANTS SOLVE
Problems that rarely exist in just one part of the business.
Busy, but not profitable.
Revenue looks healthy, but food cost, labor, purchasing, waste or pricing are consuming too much of what comes through the door.
A menu that has become too complicated.
Too many ingredients, excessive prep, weak sellers, low-margin items and dishes that create more work than value.
Food cost that keeps creeping upward.
Recipe yields, portions, purchasing, spoilage, vendor pricing and menu pricing all need to be reviewed together.
An operation that depends on the owner.
If you have to personally solve every problem, the restaurant needs stronger systems, procedures and accountability.
A strong concept that isn't translating into profit.
The concept still has to support labor, rent, purchasing, pricing and customer volume required to make the business viable.
You're simply too close to the operation.
Sometimes the greatest value is another experienced set of eyes looking at problems you've gotten used to seeing.
SIGNATURE RESTAURANT SERVICE
Restaurant Performance Review
A focused review of the areas that determine whether your restaurant is operating efficiently and earning what it should.
Instead of treating menu, kitchen and financial problems separately, the Restaurant Performance Review looks at how those areas affect one another.
The exact scope is customized to the restaurant, but a review may include:
WHAT YOU WALK AWAY WITH
A clearer picture of what deserves attention first.
SPECIALIZED RESTAURANT SERVICES
Sometimes you don't need the whole review. You need one problem solved well.
Menu Development & Engineering
Build or refine a menu that is appealing to the guest, manageable for the kitchen and financially responsible.
- Menu development
- Menu simplification
- Item profitability
- Product mix analysis
- Menu pricing
- Ingredient cross-utilization
Recipe Costing & Food Cost
Know what each dish actually costs, what the portion should be and whether the selling price supports the business.
- Recipe costing
- Yield analysis
- Portion-cost review
- Food-cost percentage
- Vendor-cost impact
- Waste analysis
Kitchen Operations
Create systems that improve consistency, workflow and communication without relying on one person to remember everything.
- Kitchen workflow
- Prep planning
- Station organization
- Production systems
- SOP development
- Training procedures
Inventory & Purchasing
Tighten the areas where profit can quietly disappear through inconsistent ordering, storage and product control.
- Inventory systems
- Ordering procedures
- Vendor review
- Product usage
- Spoilage controls
- Purchasing practices
Restaurant Financial Review
Use the financial statements to understand how the operation is actually performing — not simply record what happened.
- Profit & loss review
- Prime-cost analysis
- Labor-cost review
- Food-cost review
- Break-even analysis
- Margin review
Restaurant Startup & Development
Work through the operational and financial questions that should be answered before opening day.
- Concept review
- Menu planning
- Opening budgets
- Operational planning
- Kitchen systems
- Catering/private-chef concepts
WHY THE PERSPECTIVE MATTERS
I've been responsible for both the plate and the P&L.
I understand restaurant decisions from more than one seat.
I've been responsible for customers, employees, purchasing, vendors, payroll, inventory, marketing, accounting, kitchen operations and food cost.
That matters because a solution that works in a spreadsheet still has to work during a Saturday-night service.
“The recommendation has to work in the real restaurant, not just on paper.”
— Chef David
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
The engagement should match the problem.
FOCUSED
Restaurant Strategy Session
One focused conversation about a specific restaurant decision, challenge or question.
Ideal for menu decisions, pricing, food-cost concerns, operating questions, expansion or situations where you simply need another experienced perspective.
Schedule a Strategy Session →COMPREHENSIVE
Restaurant Performance Review
A broader review when several parts of the operation may be contributing to the problem.
We evaluate the areas most relevant to your restaurant and identify where attention should be focused first.
Discuss a Performance Review →PROJECT
Restaurant Development Project
Hands-on consulting for a clearly defined project.
Menu redesign, costing, startup development, SOP creation, kitchen systems, inventory or another specific operational project.
Discuss Your Project →QUESTIONS
Before we get started.
Do I need a full Restaurant Performance Review?
Not necessarily. If you have one clearly defined problem, a Strategy Session or focused project may be enough. The Performance Review is most useful when several parts of the operation may be connected to the issue.
Can you help with a restaurant that hasn't opened yet?
Yes. Startup consulting can include menu planning, recipe costing, budgeting, purchasing structure, kitchen workflow, operational procedures and opening preparation.
Do you work with catering or private-chef businesses?
Yes. Costing, pricing, purchasing, production systems and profitability are just as important in catering and private-chef operations.
Can you also provide restaurant bookkeeping?
Yes. Bookkeeping is offered separately through Forks247 and is available to restaurants as well as other small businesses.
RESTAURANT CONSULTING
You already know something needs attention.
Tell me what's happening. We'll figure out where to start.
Start the Conversation