Why is business management an essential part of cooking?

In Icelandic culinary education, the cook has long been defined primarily as a creative artisan, while his or her responsibilities within the operating environment of restaurants have received comparatively little attention in curricula. An analysis by Jónas Jónasson (2018) of education in the tourism and hospitality sector suggests that competencies related to business operations remain underdeveloped, despite growing demands from the labour market. In an international context, the OECD (2022) has underlined that competencies in data literacy, financial management and sustainability are critical for enterprises seeking to respond quickly to changing consumer habits and environmental requirements.

In Iceland, foodservice operations have the distinctive feature that labour costs and ingredient costs together constitute approximately 58% of the prime cost in medium-sized restaurants (27.4% for ingredients and 31.2% for labour). This ratio has risen steadily since 2019. When the labour ratio fluctuates by a single percentage point, it can translate into millions of krónur in additional operating costs on an annual basis. The cook must therefore understand well-reasoned pricing models and ingredient utilisation to ensure both a quality guest experience and financial performance.