You can track dozens of waste metrics. Waste by day, by station, by ingredient, by meal period, by chef. Data is easy to generate; knowing which numbers actually matter is harder.
Here are the five KPIs that actually drive improvement.
1. Waste as Percentage of Food Purchased
This is the foundational metric. Take your total waste weight for the period, divide by total food purchased (by weight), multiply by 100.
Why it matters: This normalises for business volume. A busy week will have more waste in absolute terms, but if your percentage is stable or falling, you're doing fine. It also lets you benchmark against industry standards (8-12% is typical for hospitality).
Target: Best-in-class operations run at 4-6%. Getting below 8% is a reasonable first target for most kitchens.
Watch out for: Comparing percentages across very different operations. A fine dining restaurant will have different natural waste levels than a quick-service outlet. Compare against your own history and similar operations.
2. Waste Cost as Percentage of Food Cost
Similar concept, but in euros rather than kilograms. Total waste value divided by total food spend.
Why it matters: Weight percentages can be misleading because a kilo of lettuce and a kilo of beef have very different values. This metric highlights when you're wasting expensive ingredients versus cheap ones.
Target: Keep this in line with your weight percentage. If your cost percentage is significantly higher than your weight percentage, you're wasting disproportionately expensive items—a procurement or menu problem.
Watch out for: You need accurate costing data, which not every kitchen has. At minimum, you need to know what your waste contains in broad categories.
3. Waste by Category
Breaking waste into prep, plate, and spoilage tells you where to focus.
Why it matters: A kitchen with 60% prep waste needs different interventions than one with 60% plate waste. This metric directs your effort to where it'll have most impact.
Target: For most kitchens, prep waste should be the biggest category initially. As you improve, the proportions shift—often toward plate waste, which is harder to address.
Watch out for: Category definitions need to be consistent. Make sure everyone knows what counts as "prep" versus "spoilage." Grey areas (like prepped food that spoiled) should be classified consistently.
4. Top Wasted Items
A list of the specific ingredients or dishes that appear most frequently in waste.
Why it matters: There's usually a short list of items driving most of your waste. Pareto principle applies—20% of items often cause 80% of waste. Fixing those specific items delivers disproportionate results.
Target: Review this weekly. Each item on the list should have an explanation and a plan. If the same items appear week after week without change, something's broken.
Watch out for: Don't just track volume—track value too. Twenty kilos of onion trim is less concerning than two kilos of wasted steak.
5. Week-over-Week Trend
The direction of travel matters more than any single number. Are you improving, holding steady, or getting worse?
Why it matters: Absolute numbers are context-dependent—seasonal ingredients, business levels, menu changes all affect waste. The trend tells you whether your interventions are working.
Target: Sustained improvement over 12+ weeks indicates real behavioural change. Flat or rising trends after interventions suggest they're not sticking.
Watch out for: Seasonal effects. Q4 is often worse than Q2 due to holiday menus and variable demand. Compare year-over-year if you have the data.
The Dashboard Mistake
The temptation is to track everything and build elaborate dashboards. Don't. More metrics usually means less focus.
Start with these five. Review them weekly. When you can explain the story behind each number without hesitation, you've got the right level of visibility. Adding more metrics before you've acted on these ones just creates noise.
Making KPIs Actionable
Each KPI should trigger a specific question:
- Overall percentage rising? Look at the category breakdown—where's the increase?
- Cost percentage diverging from weight? Check your top wasted items—are expensive ingredients over-represented?
- Prep waste dominant? Focus on training and procedures.
- Plate waste growing? Look at portion sizes and menu changes.
- Same items on top list repeatedly? Those items need dedicated attention—ordering, recipe, or menu changes.
The goal isn't data for its own sake. The goal is numbers that lead to action.
Model what improvement could mean for your costs, or get a personalised assessment of your waste profile.