★ StarsPlowhorses ◆ PuzzlesDogs
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Type the week's numbers — the chart sorts your menu into stars, workhorses and dead weight.
The horizontal line is your menu's average contribution margin (price − plate cost); the vertical line is the popularity threshold — 70% of an even share, the standard Kasavana–Smith cutoff. Every dish lands in one of four quadrants, and each quadrant has exactly one right move:
| Quadrant | Margin | Sales | The move |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★ Star | High | High | Protect it — keep quality, feature it, test small price ups |
| Plowhorse | Low | High | Raise price gently — demand is already proven |
| ◆ Puzzle | High | Low | Sell it harder — menu placement, server push, better name |
| Dog | Low | Low | Retire it — free the prep time and inventory |
Price a single dish: Menu Pricing Calculator. Check one dish fast: Food Cost %. No sales counts handy? The Menu Profit Sheet flags pricing risks from costs alone. Put the re-priced menu on paper: Menu Maker.
A method from restaurant economics that scores every dish on profitability and popularity, then prescribes an action per class: protect Stars, reprice Plowhorses, reposition Puzzles, retire Dogs.
Any representative period works — a typical week or a full month. What matters is that every dish uses the same period, because popularity is compared against your own average.
Usually yes, in small steps. Plowhorses already have proven demand; a modest price increase typically survives. Watch sales for two weeks after the change and stop if volume drops sharply.