Beyond the Plate by Chef Carlton

Beyond the Plate: The Numbers Behind a Profitable Restaurant

By Chef Carlton

Great food may bring guests through the door, but understanding the numbers is what keeps a restaurant profitable.

Beyond the Plate is a practical guide designed to help chefs, restaurant managers, culinary professionals, food-truck operators, caterers, and aspiring restaurant owners better understand the financial side of the food business.

Chef Carlton breaks restaurant finances down into simple, real-world concepts that can be applied to everyday operations.

Inside you'll learn how to:

• Calculate food cost and food cost percentage
• Determine the true cost of a menu item
• Price dishes for profitability
• Understand Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
• Calculate and control labor cost
• Understand prime cost
• Manage inventory effectively
• Reduce waste, spoilage, and shrink
• Understand restaurant overhead
• Calculate your break-even point
• Decide whether a new dish financially makes sense
• Improve purchasing and vendor management
• Forecast sales and build budgets
• Identify where restaurants commonly lose money
• Track the daily numbers every chef and manager should know
• Use menu engineering to improve profitability

The book also includes practical worksheets, restaurant scorecards, costing tools, and a quick-reference formula guide that you can use in your own operation.

Whether you're running a kitchen, preparing for a management position, planning to open your first restaurant, or simply want to understand the business behind the food, Beyond the Plate gives you the foundation to start thinking like an operator—not just a cook.

Chef Carlton's philosophy:

If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it. Know your numbers before your numbers manage you.

📘 Digital Download

👨🏾‍🍳 By Chef Carlton

📊 Restaurant Financials • Food Cost • Labor • Inventory • Pricing • Profit