Chapter 21 - Glossary

86 / To 86 a dish (86’ed) – Foodservice jargon meaning that an item or dish is sold out or temporarily removed from the menu (e.g. “We’re 86 on the salmon”). The term traces its roots to longstanding restaurant tradition and is still used daily in communication between kitchen and floor to prevent servers from selling something that is unavailable.

Supply chain (Aðfangakeðja) – The system or process that a product passes through from primary producer (e.g. farmer or fisherman) to the end consumer as finished food. Shorter supply chains reduce the carbon footprint and increase visibility of ingredient origin.

Segregation of duties (Aðskilnaður starfa) – A fundamental principle of internal controls to prevent fraud or theft. It requires that no single employee handles an entire goods or capital flow. For example, the person who orders and approves invoices for ingredients must not be the same individual who receives the goods.

Agile management – A modern management approach emphasising rapid feedback, collaboration and continuous improvement. In the kitchen, it often manifests as brief, focused daily stand-up meetings (alley rallies) with the team before a shift, to solve problems immediately rather than waiting for a monthly staff meeting.

Back of the House (BOH) – All spaces and staff that guests typically do not see. This includes the kitchen, dishwashing area, storage, refrigerators and offices. BOH management is entirely concerned with production, cost control and food safety.

American Service / Plated Service – The most cost-effective and most common service format today. Food is cooked, portioned and plated attractively in the kitchen before the server brings it directly to the guest. This ensures the food is hot and portions are consistent.

Stockout (Birgja brestur) – When a particular item or ingredient runs out of stock. This disrupts production, leads to lost revenue and damages the guest experience and loyalty if popular dishes must be removed from the menu.

Inventory turnover (Birgja veltuhrai) – A key metric showing how often the business’s inventory is utilised and replenished (sold through) over a given period. A high turnover rate indicates efficiency, ensures freshness and means capital is not unnecessarily tied up in storage.

COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) – The direct cost of all ingredients that go into the production of goods sold. COGS is one of the most important figures in the operation; if a dish is sold for ISK 2,000 and the ingredient cost is ISK 600, COGS is 30%. The industry benchmark is approximately 28–35%.

EBITDA – Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation. This shows how much the core operation of the restaurant (selling food and drink) is actually generating in profit, independent of how the business is financed or taxed.

Cooking loss (Eldunar rýrnun) – Weight loss that occurs during heat treatment (roasting, simmering, oven-baking) due to water evaporation and fat rendering. Example: a 250-gram raw beef steak may end up as 180 grams on the plate.

EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) – A formula or model from inventory management that determines the most cost-effective order quantity for an ingredient. It balances the cost of ordering (transport, etc.) against the cost of holding the item in stock.

FIFO (First In, First Out) – The golden rule of all inventory management and food safety. It requires that the oldest items are always placed at the front of shelves so they are used first, minimising yield loss and food waste from expiration.

Cross-training (Fjölþjálfun) – Training staff in more than one role (e.g. a sous-chef who also learns the dishwashing station, or a server who can step in at the bar). This makes it easier for managers to cover staffing gaps, reduces labour costs on quiet days and adds variety to the job.

Sales forecasting (Forspárgildi) – The use of historical data (sales, orders, weather forecasts, public holidays) to predict accurately how many guests (covers) will arrive and what the average spend will be. A direct prerequisite for accurate shift planning and purchasing.

Front of the House (FOH) – The area where guests spend their time, e.g. the entrance, the dining room and the bar. This space is characterised by direct service, interactions and experience (curbside appeal, acoustics, lighting and staff demeanour).

Contribution margin (Framlegð) – The amount remaining from the selling price after direct ingredient cost (COGS) has been deducted. This is the money that “contributes” towards paying rent, wages and electricity – and generating profit.

French Service – One of the most elaborate and refined forms of service, historically much used in classic fine dining. Food is brought semi-finished to the table, where the server completes it (e.g. sautéing, flambéing or carving) on a specialised trolley called a Gueridon, directly in front of the guest.

Prime cost (Frumkostnaður) – The restaurant’s two largest cost items combined, i.e. total ingredient cost plus all labour costs. Well-run kitchens aim to keep the prime cost below 60–65% of total revenue.

Covers (Gestafjöldi) – A term meaning the total number of guests who dine or receive service. “We have 150 covers tonight” means 150 guests are expected.

HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. An international and legally mandated quality-management system (seven core steps) based on prevention. It identifies where hazards can arise in food handling (e.g. an insufficient cooking temperature for chicken) and sets strict rules for monitoring and prevention.

Ghost / Dark kitchen – A foodservice operation without a dining room, where production is focused entirely on delivery or take-away. The brand often exists only on social media and food-ordering apps such as Wolt.

Mystery Guest / Spotters – An independent observer commissioned by management or consulting firms who visits the restaurant incognito. They evaluate everything from how quickly they are greeted, to the server’s sales technique, to whether there has been any register fraud.

JIT (Just-In-Time) – An inventory management system originating in Japanese manufacturing, aimed at receiving ingredients precisely when production requires them. This minimises the space needed for storage and reduces yield loss, but requires flawless logistics.

Suggestive selling and upselling (Krosssala og Uppsala) – The server’s most powerful sales tools. Suggestive selling is offering the guest something additional that pairs with their order (e.g. a coffee or cognac with dessert). Upselling is encouraging the guest to choose a more expensive option, e.g. asking for Hendrick’s instead of the house gin in a cocktail.

Gamification (Leikjavæðing) – Introducing game elements into daily operations to reward or motivate staff. Example: a shift competition to sell the most bottles of a particular wine, with the winner receiving a prize at the end of the shift.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) – A methodology for measuring the actual environmental footprint, carbon footprint and water consumption of an ingredient, all the way from production through transport and processing in the kitchen to disposal (from cradle to grave).

Food waste (Matarsóun) – When usable, edible food is discarded, for example due to over-ordering, incorrect cooking methods, oversized portions that guests do not finish, or because an ingredient was forgotten at the back of a refrigerator. Unlike yield loss (which is often unavoidable), food waste is always unnecessary and undesirable.

Menu Engineering – One of management’s most important analytical tools. It evaluates each dish on the menu based on two variables: popularity (sales) and contribution margin. The categories are four: Stars (high sales, high margin), Plow Horses (high sales, low margin), Puzzles (low sales, high margin), Dogs (low sales, low margin).

Average guest cheque (Meðaleyjðsla gesta) – A figure obtained by dividing total revenue by total number of guests over a period. If this figure rises (through suggestive selling and upselling), profit increases without the need to attract new customers.

Dashboard (Mælaborð) – A digital, visual overview where all key metrics (KPIs) are displayed on a single screen in real time. Managers can see the day’s labour percentage, sales figures, attendance and margin side by side in one place (often linked to the POS system).

NCO (Neat, Clean, and Organised) – An abbreviation applied to the working practices of all front-line staff. It refers to personal hygiene, demeanour and how tables and work stations should be maintained.

POS system (Point of Sale) – The register system and software through which all orders and payments pass. Modern POS systems do far more than record sales; they manage table overviews, send electronic tickets directly to the kitchen (KDS screens) and often integrate with accounting and inventory systems to track stock levels precisely.

True food cost (Raunkostnaður) – The price per kilogram or unit after all yield loss has been accounted for. If a kilogram cost ISK 1,000 at purchase but lost 50% in trimming, the true cost of the usable kilogram is ISK 2,000.

Russian Service – A classic, formal style of service (often used in the finest banquets). Food is fully cooked, carved and garnished on large, ornate platters in the kitchen. The server then walks between guests and portions the food carefully from the platter onto each guest’s plate using specialised spoon-and-fork technique or serving implements.

Yield loss / Shrinkage (Rýrnun) – The natural and largely unavoidable weight or mass loss of an ingredient during preparation or cooking. It is divided into trimming loss (e.g. boning and skinning) and cooking loss.

Truth in menu / Menu accuracy – An operational obligation to ensure complete accuracy in how the menu is written. If a menu promises “Fresh Icelandic Arctic char,” it must not have been frozen and must not originate from abroad. Sizes (e.g. “jumbo prawns” or a “200 g steak”) must meet statutory standards.

Franchise (Sérleyfisrekstur) – A business model in which an individual (the franchisee) pays for the right to open a restaurant under the banner of a well-known brand (e.g. Subway or Domino’s). Franchising provides ready-made marketing material, standardised recipes and operational security, but requires payment of a start-up fee and ongoing royalties on all revenue to the parent company.

The Servuction model – A theoretical model that maps the service experience and divides it into a visible front stage (interactions with servers, furnishings) and an invisible back stage (IT systems, baking and the kitchen). The guest only perceives the front stage, but it cannot be flawless unless the back stage is well-oiled.

SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) – Written, step-by-step operating procedures for the business. These rules ensure that everything from cleaning the coffee machine to handling guest complaints is always done in exactly the same way, regardless of who is on shift.

Standardised recipes (Recipe cards) – The heart of all kitchen cost control. A precise document showing all ingredients, their weights or quantities, cooking time, temperature, plating instructions and the final cost of the dish. It ensures the food is always the same, whoever the cook is, and that the food cost remains on target.

Employee turnover (Starfsmannavelta) – The rate or proportion of employees who leave the business over a given period and must be replaced through new recruitment. High employee turnover in foodservice is extremely costly because it reduces service quality and demands enormous time and expense for training new recruits.

Curbside appeal (Útlit og viðmót að utan) – The psychological impact that begins as soon as the guest approaches the venue. It concerns the upkeep of the car park, cleanliness of pavements, tasteful signage, flowers and even how a doorman greets guests. If the exterior is unkempt, the guest assumes the kitchen is the same.

Enlightened Hospitality (Upplýst gestrisni) – A celebrated business philosophy (often attributed to Danny Meyer). It is based on the fundamental principle that staff always come first, not the guest. The theory is that if the business shows its staff great care, respect and good terms, they will naturally become happier and provide guests with outstanding, sincere service.

Choice overload (Valkvíði / Valþreyta) – The condition that arises when a guest is presented with an overly long menu (multiple pages with dozens of options). The guest becomes overwhelmed, feels stress, spends too much time deciding and typically ends up ordering a cheaper, simpler dish just to end the decision process. This results in a lower average cheque for the business.

Product specification (Vörulýsing og gæðakröfur) – Strictly defined terms (on paper or in a computer system) specifying exactly what product the business wants to buy from a supplier. These include weight, fat percentage, size (e.g. salmon of a specified weight) and even the type of packaging. If the supplier fails to meet the “spec,” the goods are rejected at receiving.

Par stock / Reorder point (Öryggisbirgir) – The specified minimum quantity of a given item that must always be on hand to last, for example, until the next delivery without resulting in a stockout. When the quantity falls below this level, an automatic reorder is triggered.