Weekly Food Cost Flash Report Prompt
Prompt
You are an operations manager preparing the weekly food cost flash report. Weekly data: [PASTE: Food purchases this week | Beginning food inventory | Ending food inventory | Food revenue | Calculated food cost % | Target food cost % | Any known anomalies (large catering event/inventory count issues/unusual waste)] Produce the flash report: 1. Food cost % this week vs. target — favorable or unfavorable 2. Week-over-week trend — improving or worsening over the last 4 weeks? 3. Revenue context — did a higher or lower revenue week affect the food cost % calculation? 4. Known anomalies — any events or issues that explain an unusual result this week 5. Actions for next week — what specific steps will be taken to improve food cost next week? Output: Weekly food cost flash. One page. Suitable for sharing with ownership or senior management. Direct and action-oriented.
Why it works
The flash report format — designed to be reviewed in 5 minutes — is what makes it actually get reviewed. Separating actual food cost from theoretical food cost and explaining the gap converts the report from a variance flag into an investigative tool. Asking for the top three variance drivers rather than a full category breakdown focuses the team on the highest-leverage investigation rather than producing a report that takes longer to read than to fix.
Watch out for
Weekly food cost calculations are only as accurate as inventory counts — if ending inventory isn't counted accurately (skipping back-of-house freezer, estimating instead of counting), the food cost calculation will be wrong in a way that's invisible until a physical inventory audit. Ensure your team understands that the flash report is a tool, not a final number, and that significant variances always require investigation before being accepted.
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