Honestly didn't think I'd ever see 1000 orders of my signature dish

Tbh, I just ran the numbers from our kitchen's point-of-sale system and we hit 1000 orders of my braised short rib pappardelle since we put it on the menu six months ago. It's a simple dish, just a 12-hour braise with a red wine reduction, but it's the one I fought to keep on the menu when the owner wanted to rotate it out. Seeing that number hit four digits, especially after a slow winter, just felt solid. It's not about being fancy, it's about that one dish people keep coming back for. I think the key was sticking to my guns on the braising time, even when we got busy. Has anyone else had a menu item that just quietly became a workhorse like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

rubyw701mo ago

Yeah, but I gotta disagree with rowanellis about the reorder rate being the real number. That's just more data for the owner to pick apart. The real win is that 1000 people chose your dish, period. It means you built something that stands on its own. Chasing reorder percentages turns food into a spreadsheet, and then you start changing the braise time to save costs because the "data" says you can. The number is just proof you were right to fight for it.

rowanellis1mo ago

Hit 1500 orders on our mushroom risotto last year, same deal. That quiet confidence from a solid dish is better than any review. We track reorder rates now, helps prove a dish's worth when management gets twitchy. Your short rib probably has a 30% reorder rate, easy. That's the real number to show the owner.