VAT : The Relief Buys You Three Years
If the VAT cut arrives, cost inflation eats it by the third year. What you do in the meantime decides whether it mattered.
Beyond the Pass
Kitchen economics for independent restaurant and pub operators. Written by a Michelin-trained head chef. The numbers, the decisions, what to change first.
Latest episodes
France Has The Rate We Want. Its Restaurants Are Failing Faster
The UK wants 10% VAT because Europe has it. France has had it since 2009. French restaurants are now failing faster than ours.
The Beverage Diagnostic
Three numbers and twenty minutes that tell you whether your wet side is genuinely carrying the business or just looks like it.
Wet-Led vs Food-Led: The Honest Version
Why adding food to a drinks business is far harder than adding drinks to a food business, and the volume threshold that decides whether a kitchen earns its place.
The Wine Margin Myth
Why pricing wine by percentage leaves cash on the table, and the difference between the margin you quote and the money that actually reaches the till.
Wastage, Over-Pour and the Invisible 8%
The single biggest controllable leak on a bar, the gap between what you bought and what you sold, and why it quietly equals your entire net profit.
The Real Cost of a Cocktail Menu
Why the highest-GP drinks on your bar can have the worst real margin, and the labour-and-wastage maths that proves it.
Why the Bar Isn’t As Profitable As You Think
The headline GP that looks beautiful and hides a labour and wastage problem, and why the gap between your bar and your kitchen is usually half what you believe.
The Break-Even Most Street Food Traders Never Calculate
Rain risk, event costs, and the single number that tells you whether a market day was ever going to be worth attending.
Why £8 Feels Cheap and £9 Kills You
The psychological price bands in street food, the gap between what a number feels like and what it costs you, and the pricing move that almost always backfires.
Portion Size Is the Real Pricing Lever
Why a fifteen-gram protein reduction is invisible to the customer and decisive for your margin, and the grams-to-cash maths that turns a small portion change into £6,000 a year.
Why Busy Street Food Traders Still Make Nothing
The unpaid prep hours, the silent break-even, and the maths that turns a sold-out Saturday into a £180 day.
Three Numbers and Fifteen Minutes to Check a Struggling Pub
The complete diagnostic. Everything from the last four posts, pulled into one sitting at a table with a calculator and last week’s numbers.
The £12 to £15 Pub Main Trap
Why most pub operators are leaving £70,000 a year on the table because they believe a price ceiling that doesn’t exist.
Menu Size vs Skill Reality
Why most pub menus are too big for the team that has to cook them, and the technique bandwidth math that tells you when you've crossed the line.
Pub Labour Math Nobody Checks
Why most pub kitchens are running at structural loss during their busiest service of the week, and the two numbers that prove it.
Why Pub Food "Looks Profitable" But Isn't
The structural reasons pub kitchens lose money even when they're full, and why the bar always seems to carry them.
The Full Kitchen Viability Checklist
The 15-minute test that tells you whether your kitchen model actually works.
When to Cut Labour (And When Not To)
Why cutting one shift can quietly reduce your capacity.
When a Full Restaurant Still Loses Money
A full dining room looks like success.