The person beside you.

Variance helps independent restaurants in Southwestern Ontario know their food cost every Monday. Joel Spitse installs the counting.

I was a line cook for most of my twenties. I started in the prep room and worked up to the line. By the time I left I’d done it all — fryers, grill, pans, expo, the occasional board call.

On fryers, if we needed four orders of fries and we were slammed, I’d throw down two baskets. On the broasters, if we needed a hundred wings, I’d drop a hundred and ten. On pans — how much cream was I using, against how much I should have been? On salads, were mine overweight? Too much cheese? Were my staff meals a little too big? Nobody ever showed me those numbers. I wasn’t stealing. I just never saw them. Every cook I know is me.

Here’s the thing about food cost. The cook needs the food moving. You need the food used well. Those aren’t the same job. Telling Randy “be more careful with fries on Friday” might get you there — for that Friday. Without a number, the discipline slides. You might already know that.

Variance gives you the number every Monday. For the 90 days, I sit down with you to turn it into one fix, named, that changes something on the line. I handle the setup, count beside your team, and make sense of the result with you.

I’ve watched owners work hard, day in, day out, and leave with pennies. Your restaurant deserves to survive. Let me help you stop the bleeding.

Joel SpitseOwner, Variance, Southwestern Ontario