Every multi-site operator has eaten the same dish at two of their own restaurants and been served two different dishes. Same name on the menu, different portion, different garnish, different margin. Guests notice the inconsistency; finance notices that site A runs three points more food cost than site B on an identical menu and nobody can explain which site is right.
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Most recipe costs are wrong in the same direction. The spreadsheet prices a kilogram of salmon at the invoice price, the kitchen loses a fifth of that kilogram to trim and skin, and every portion sold quietly costs more than the menu believes. Multiply that by batch preps costed on guesswork and portions that drift with whoever is on the pass, and a menu that promises 68 per cent gross profit delivers 63 and nobody can say why.
