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Menu engineering calculator: find your stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs

Enter a month of sales and what each dish costs to make. You'll see which dishes sell, which ones earn, and what to do with the rest, using the classic Kasavana and Smith method.

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  • Paste straight from a spreadsheet
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Your dishes

Example figures · The Walnut Kitchen, one month
Menu prices
Food cost is per plate, without VAT.
Margin£8.15
Margin£7.39
Margin£8.28
Margin£7.18
Margin£7.86
Margin£8.93
Margin£3.20
Margin£4.01
Margin£2.62
Margin£2.59

Or paste from a spreadsheet

Copy the columns from Excel or Google Sheets. A header row is skipped.

Compare like with like

A naan will never earn what a main does. Pick a category to judge mains against mains.

Results: all dishes

Dishes analysed
10
Plates sold
2,365
Average margin (weighted)
£5.49
Popular from
7.0% mix
Total margin earned
£12,974
Puzzle4
High margin · not popularMixed grill, Lamb rogan josh, Paneer makhani, King prawn bhunaMove it up the menu, describe it better, or have staff suggest it.
Star2
High margin · popularChicken tikka masala, Chicken biryaniKeep the recipe and portion steady and give it the best spot on the menu.
Dog1
Low margin · not popularSamosa chaatChange it or take it off, unless it brings a regular in.
Plowhorse3
Low margin · popularGarlic naan, Onion bhaji, Mango lassiLook at the price or the cost of making it.
Margin against popularityDashed lines: average margin and the popularity line
Every dish, by margin earnedPrices and margins without VAT
DishCategorySoldMixPriceFood costFood cost %MarginMargin earnedGroup
Chicken tikka masalaMains42017.8%£9.96£1.8118.2%£8.15£3,422Star
Chicken biryaniMains31013.1%£10.38£2.1020.2%£8.28£2,565Star
Garlic naanSides52022.0%£2.92£0.3010.3%£2.62£1,361Plowhorse
Mixed grillGrill1405.9%£14.13£5.2036.8%£8.93£1,250Puzzle
Onion bhajiStarters38016.1%£3.75£0.5514.7%£3.20£1,216Plowhorse
Lamb rogan joshMains1606.8%£10.79£3.4031.5%£7.39£1,183Puzzle
Paneer makhaniMains954.0%£9.13£1.9521.4%£7.18£682Puzzle
Mango lassiDrinks2108.9%£3.29£0.7021.3%£2.59£544Plowhorse
King prawn bhunaMains602.5%£12.46£4.6036.9%£7.86£471Puzzle
Samosa chaatStarters703.0%£4.96£0.9519.2%£4.01£281Dog

In WalnutPOS

Menu Engineering runs this on your real salesPick the dates and it sorts every dish into the same four groups from your sales and each dish's recipe cost, with the chart and the table. Advanced looks at the last 30 days unless you choose others; the £0 plan's reports cover the last 24 hours. Dishes without a recipe cost are listed so you can add one.

£0 plan: 1 location · holds 10 recipes · reports show the last 24 hours · other limits apply. This calculator has no limits and needs no sign-up. See pricing

Start free

Method

How the dishes are sorted

price ex VAT = menu price ÷ 1.2 (if it includes VAT)
margin = price ex VAT − food cost
menu mix = plates sold ÷ all plates sold
popular if mix ≥ (1 ÷ number of dishes) × 70%
average margin = Σ(margin × sold) ÷ Σ sold
high margin if margin ≥ average margin

Method: Kasavana, M. L. and Smith, D. I. (1982), Menu Engineering: A Practical Guide to Menu Analysis. The 70% popularity line means a dish counts as popular if it sells at least 70% of an even share.

By Tahseen Dar, founder · Last updated

What to do

One move for each group

  • StarSells well and earns well. Keep the recipe and portion steady and give it the best spot on the menu.
  • PlowhorseSells well, earns less. Look at the price or the cost of making it: a smaller garnish or a small price rise.
  • PuzzleEarns well, doesn't sell much. Move it up the menu, describe it better, or have staff suggest it.
  • DogDoesn't sell much or earn much. Change it or take it off, unless it's the reason a regular comes in.

Questions

Menu engineering, answered

How much sales data should I use?

A full month is a good start: long enough to smooth out one busy weekend, short enough that prices and recipes haven't changed. Use the same dates for every dish.

Why is margin in pounds, not a percentage?

You bank pounds, not percentages. A £16.95 grill at 63% GP leaves more in the till per plate than a £3.50 naan at 90%.

Where do I get the food cost for each dish?

Cost each dish in the free GP calculator, then copy its plate cost here.

Is anything I type saved?

No. Everything is worked out in your browser and nothing is sent to us. Download the CSV to keep the results, or use "Copy link": your figures go in the link itself, and we don't store them.

Free toolGP calculatorCost a dish ingredient by ingredient and find the price that hits your target margin.Help centreWatch: cost a recipe in WalnutPOSMenu Engineering in WalnutPOS uses each dish's recipe cost. This short video shows how to build one.

Run it on your real sales

WalnutPOS sorts your dishes into the same four groups from what you actually sold and what each recipe costs. Start on the £0 plan, or WhatsApp us and we'll help.

Start free WhatsApp 07453 654669

£0 plan: 1 location · reports show the last 24 hours · other limits apply. See every limit