Ask hospitality owners what food and drink should cost and you will hear plenty of confident percentages. The problem is that a bakery, cocktail bar, speciality cafe, pub and tasting-menu restaurant do not share the same economics. A single industry benchmark can be a useful warning light, but it cannot tell you whether your menu is correctly priced. THE BETTER QUESTION Does each product create enough cash contribution to cover labour and overheads, reward the owner and leave

The tables are full. The coffee machine has not stopped all morning. The till keeps pinging and the team are rushed off their feet. From the outside, the cafe looks successful. But at the end of the month, the bank balance is still uncomfortable and the owner is wondering where all the money went. That is one of the most common traps in hospitality: mistaking activity for profit. Sales are only the starting point Revenue is visible. Profit is what remains after the less visib