Kitchen terms, defined
Clear, factual definitions of the terms every cook and restaurant operator should know. Each entry links to the Cucinovo feature that helps you apply it.
Food Cost Percentage
Food cost percentage is the ratio of a dish's total ingredient cost to its menu selling price, expressed as a percentage. It is the primary metric restaurants use to measure recipe profitability and set menu prices.
Read definitionMise en Place
Mise en place (French: "putting in place") is the practice of preparing, measuring, and organizing all ingredients and equipment before cooking begins. It is a foundational principle of professional kitchen workflow.
Read definitionYield Percentage
Yield percentage is the ratio of the usable (edible) portion of an ingredient to the total amount purchased, expressed as a percentage. It quantifies how much raw product is lost to trimming, peeling, deboning, or cooking shrinkage.
Read definitionBatch Cooking
Batch cooking is the practice of preparing large quantities of a dish or component in a single production run, then holding, portioning, or storing the output for service over an extended period. It is a core efficiency technique in commercial kitchens and meal prep workflows.
Read definitionRecipe Standardization
Recipe standardization is the process of documenting a recipe with precise ingredient quantities, preparation methods, cooking times, and expected yields so that it produces a consistent result every time, regardless of who prepares it. It is the foundation of quality control and cost management in food service operations.
Read definitionCost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is the total cost of all food and beverage ingredients consumed during a specific period. It represents the direct material cost of producing the dishes a restaurant sells.
Read definitionMenu Engineering
Menu engineering is the systematic analysis of a menu's items based on their profitability and popularity, used to optimize menu design, pricing, and item placement. It classifies every dish into one of four categories to guide strategic decisions.
Read definitionPortion Control
Portion control is the practice of serving consistent, pre-determined quantities of each ingredient and finished dish to ensure cost predictability, food quality consistency, and customer satisfaction across every plate that leaves the kitchen.
Read definitionPar Level
A par level is the minimum quantity of an ingredient or supply item that a restaurant must have on hand at any given time. It is the reorder threshold that ensures the kitchen never runs out of stock between deliveries.
Read definitionFIFO (First In, First Out)
FIFO is an inventory rotation method where the oldest stock (first in) is used or sold before newer stock (first out). In restaurant kitchens, it ensures ingredients are consumed in the order they were received to minimize spoilage and waste.
Read definitionPlate Cost
Plate cost is the total cost of all ingredients required to produce one finished, plated portion of a dish. It includes every component (protein, starch, vegetables, sauces, garnishes, and condiments) that appears on the plate when it reaches the guest.
Read definitionEdible Portion
Edible portion (EP) is the usable amount of an ingredient that remains after all trimming, peeling, deboning, and preparation waste has been removed. The edible portion cost is the true cost of the ingredient as it appears in the finished dish.
Read definitionContribution Margin
Contribution margin is the amount of money remaining from a dish's selling price after subtracting its food cost. It represents the per-plate contribution toward covering labor, overhead, and profit.
Read definitionStock Take (Inventory Count)
A stock take is the systematic physical counting and valuation of all food, beverage, and supply inventory held by a restaurant at a specific point in time. It is the foundation for calculating actual food cost and identifying variances between theoretical and real consumption.
Read definitionRecipe Yield
Recipe yield is the total quantity of finished product that a recipe produces, expressed as a number of portions, a total weight, or a total volume. It is the bridge between a recipe's ingredient list and the number of servings a kitchen can expect from one batch.
Read definitionFood Cost Variance
Food cost variance is the difference between the theoretical (expected) food cost and the actual food cost incurred over a given period. A positive variance means the kitchen spent more than it should have; a negative variance indicates spending came in under target.
Read definitionTheoretical Food Cost
Theoretical food cost is the cost a restaurant should have incurred based on the exact recipes and portions sold during a given period. It assumes zero waste, perfect portioning, and no theft, representing the ideal cost baseline against which actual performance is measured.
Read definitionPrime Cost
Prime cost is the sum of total food and beverage cost plus total labor cost, including wages, salaries, benefits, and payroll taxes. It represents the two largest controllable expenses in a restaurant and is the most important profitability metric for operators.
Read definitionBreak-Even Point
The break-even point is the level of sales revenue at which a restaurant's total income exactly equals its total costs, resulting in zero profit and zero loss. Any sales above this point generate profit; any sales below it mean the restaurant is losing money.
Read definitionRecipe Conversion Factor
A recipe conversion factor is the multiplier used to scale a recipe from its original yield to a desired yield. It is calculated by dividing the desired yield by the original yield, then applying that factor to every ingredient quantity in the recipe.
Read definitionAs-Purchased (AP)
As-purchased (AP) refers to the weight, volume, or quantity of an ingredient in the exact form it is received from the supplier, before any trimming, peeling, cleaning, or preparation. It is the starting point for all yield and cost calculations in professional kitchens.
Read definitionEdible Portion Cost (EP Cost)
Edible portion cost (EP cost) is the true cost per unit of usable ingredient after accounting for trim waste, peeling, butchering, or other preparation losses. It is calculated by dividing the as-purchased cost by the yield percentage.
Read definitionCross-Utilization
Cross-utilization is the practice of using one ingredient or prep item across multiple dishes and recipes to reduce waste, simplify inventory, and lower overall food costs. A well-cross-utilized menu maximizes the use of every ingredient purchased.
Read definitionKDS (Kitchen Display System)
A kitchen display system (KDS) is a digital screen mounted in the kitchen that replaces traditional paper ticket printers, displaying incoming orders in real time with color-coded timing, course sequencing, and automatic routing to the appropriate station.
Read definitionSous Vide
Sous vide (French for 'under vacuum') is a cooking technique in which food is vacuum-sealed in a plastic pouch and cooked in a precisely temperature-controlled water bath for an extended period. It produces highly consistent results by eliminating the temperature guesswork of traditional cooking methods.
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