Singularly focused on maximizing BOH financial performance.
I am Michael O’Halloran, founder and principal of Variance Consulting. In my 25 years as a chef I have owned and operated my own restaurant, opened a bunch for others, and turned around a few along the way. My cuisine won some accolades, got good reviews, and I even beat Bobby Flay. I also hold an mba in finance, and was once a senior financial analyst for the worlds largest pharmaceutical consulting firm. I now combine my restuarant and finance experience to consult and coach chefs and restaurauters on the analytical side of BOH operations.
I am not here to change your concept. I am not here to refocus your marketing. I am not here to help with decor.
I am here to fix your numbers. Here’s how:
A detailed, line by line P&L analysis to see where your business is: trends, variances, deviations from projections and industry standards.
An exhaustive menu audit, determining actual costs per dish, including both food cost and labor dollar attribution.
An comprehensive observation of prep and line work flows to maximize operational efficiencies.
Negotiations with vendors for best pricing and establishment of payment terms.
The development of a realistic budget, designed to be a useful tool for managing and predicting costs and cash flows for both chef and owner.
Some consultants do numbers, some do food. We do both.
OPERATIONS
I started in a pizza shop in high school, cooked my way through college, and spent 25 years in some truly great kitchens. I oversaw a number of restaurant openings, opened and operated my own, and helped a good number of restaurants get their businesses in order. In 2023 I beat Bobby Flay on ‘Beat Bobby Flay’. I have the experience to know where things are going wrong in a kitchen, and the credibility to get chefs and cooks to take my insights seriously.
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
I recieved an MBA in Finance from Drexel’s Lebow College of Business, was a Senior Financial Analyst for IMS Health (worlds largest pharma consulting firm), and have developed an advanced analytical approach to running a kitchen. I know my way around a P&L, can spot troubling variances and trends, and have used my quantatve skills to create realistic and useful budgets and forecasts. In short, I can provide numbers that truly matter to your bottom line.
IMPLEMENTATION
Solutions are useless if they aren’t used. Kitchens don’t change if there isn’t buy in from staff. As a chef, i know what matters to a kitchen crew. As an ex-owner, I know what matters financially. I am uniquely positioned to coach a chef and their team to see what changes are necesary, and why. I also give them the tools to both make and measure their progress.