2/15/26
COGS VS Food Cost
Whether it’s a restaurant manager, a shift supervisor, or an employee who volunteered to “fill in the gaps” with suppliers — everyone can agree on one thing: no one enjoys manually typing data into a system.
That’s exactly why we developed our new feature, Zestt’s smart scanning tool. It’s a solution that turns one of the most tedious processes — goods receiving — into one of the simplest and most efficient.
So how does it actually work, and why can it change the way you manage your restaurant?
What is Food Cost?
While COGS takes into account all the expenses necessary to prepare the food, food cost is more of a connoisseur, using tweezers to pick out only the cost of ingredients for each specific dish. Calculating the food cost for every dish ensures that all menu items are priced to perfection, balancing taste and profitability.
Does it make a difference? For sure!
Every dish that leaves the kitchen must maintain a delicate balance between creativity and economics. Food cost serves as our guiding line for pricing each dish, while COGS ensures we maintain overall profitability in the restaurant’s food production.
To sum up, just as we don't skip prep work or ordering supplies to keep the restaurant running, we need to be prepared and know exactly how much producing each dish costs and whether it is profitable.
Because the ultimate secret ingredient is knowledge. Bon appétit!