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Menu intelligence: stars, puzzles, plowhorses, dogs

Every item plotted by popularity and real profitability — and what to do about each quadrant.

Updated July 4, 2026

The Menu tab in Analytics answers the question gut feel gets wrong: which items actually make you money? Every item is plotted on two axes — how often it sells, and how much margin it carries based on its recipe cost — and lands in a quadrant:

  • Stars — popular and profitable. Protect them: watch portions, keep quality.
  • Puzzles — profitable but overlooked. Promote them, feature them, or nudge the menu placement.
  • Plowhorses — popular but thin-margin. Small price moves or portion tuning pay off here — volume amplifies every cent.
  • Dogs — neither. Retire them or rework them; every menu has a few.
  • Needs recipe — no verdict possible because the item's recipe isn't costed yet. Finish the recipe and it joins the matrix.

Profitability here comes from your actual ingredient costs via recipes — not a guessed food-cost percentage. The more complete your recipes, the more honest this matrix gets. Sizes are broken out too, so you can see that the large is carrying margins the small isn't.

Recipes: connect your menu to inventoryTrack your inventory
Frequently asked questions

Questions about menu intelligence

Practical answers about menu intelligence in KitchenRush.

What makes an item a star, puzzle, plowhorse, or dog?

Stars — popular and profitable. Protect them: watch portions, keep quality.

Puzzles — profitable but overlooked. Promote them, feature them, or nudge the menu placement.

Plowhorses — popular but thin-margin. Small price moves or portion tuning pay off here — volume amplifies every cent.

Dogs — neither. Retire them or rework them; every menu has a few.

Why does a menu item show Needs recipe?

Needs recipe — no verdict possible because the item's recipe isn't costed yet. Finish the recipe and it joins the matrix.

Profitability here comes from your actual ingredient costs via recipes — not a guessed food-cost percentage. The more complete your recipes, the more honest this matrix gets. Sizes are broken out too, so you can see that the large is carrying margins the small isn't.