Chef’s OfficeAcademy
Financial Foundations · A six-week course for chefs

Better pay.
A more senior role.
Build your case.

Your cooking gets noticed. Your understanding of the business can help you go further. Build the financial skills to show your value, back your decisions and make a stronger case for your next step.

Start Module 1 · A$299

One payment · Lifetime access · 7-day money-back guarantee

Try a two-minute lesson first ↓
Ricardo Calderini, founder and teacher at Chef’s Office Academy
Ricardo Calderini

Chef. Business owner.
Your teacher.

6 weeksOne practical focus each week
2–3 hours a weekBuilt around a working kitchen life
Practise as you learn6 lessons, 6 workbooks, a Kitchen Lab
No employer data neededUse the supplied case venue
Your ambition deserves evidence

You already carry
the pressure.
Build your influence.

When the conversation turns to pay, promotion or running the kitchen, “I work hard” only tells part of your story.

Show that you can read a result, spot what needs attention and explain what you would do next. That gives the person making the decision more to recognise, trust and act on.

01
A stronger case for better pay

Connect your contribution to costs, decisions and value, with clear reasoning to support the conversation.

02
More confidence for a senior role

Practise the commercial thinking that comes with greater responsibility, before you need it under pressure.

03
A voice in the decisions that affect you

Question a menu cost, a labour result or a target with a useful explanation and a considered recommendation.

A taste of the teaching

What would you say
in the menu meeting?

Two dishes. Two food-cost percentages. Before you recommend which one to promote, what else do you need to know?

This is the kind of thinking you practise in M1: read the number, question the obvious answer, then explain your recommendation.

Illustrative teaching example. These are not student results or figures from a client venue.

Chef’s Office · Financial thinkingTry it yourself / 01

Which dish leaves more after ingredients?

Per dishDish ADish B
Selling priceA$20A$30
IngredientsA$5A$9
Food cost25%30%
Reveal the answer and the reasoning
Dish A · 20 − 5A$15
Dish B · 30 − 9A$21

Dish B leaves A$6 more per sale after ingredients, even with the higher food-cost percentage. That is not net profit. Labour, waste, other variable costs and demand still matter.

Your next question: “Does the extra A$6 justify the prep time, waste risk and customer demand?”

Now you have a reasoned contribution to the meeting, rather than a percentage on its own.

Skills you can put to work

Leave with something
you can explain.

Financial confidence comes from doing the work. You practise with a supplied venue, then apply the approach to your own kitchen where you have access and permission.

A clearer diagnosis

Read a kitchen P&L. Connect sales, food usage, labour and prime cost. Identify what has moved and investigate why.

Use it when: a result is questioned and you need to explain what is happening.

A cost you can defend

Work through stock movement, recipe costs, yield and labour productivity. Show the assumptions behind your calculation.

Use it when: you are costing a dish, reviewing a menu or discussing a labour target.

A reasoned action plan

Bring the numbers together. Prioritise a problem and support a practical recommendation with evidence.

Use it when: you want to demonstrate that you are ready to take more responsibility.

Inside Module 1

Six weeks.
A stronger financial foundation.

One lesson and workbook each week, a supplied Kitchen Lab, a final assessment and an optional live wrap-up with Ricardo.

M1 is structured into six weekly stages. Allow around 2–3 hours a week for each lesson and its exercises, with lifetime access to revisit what you learn.

Week 01See the business behind the kitchen

Financial awareness and the kitchen as a business engine. Understand the basic P&L and how daily decisions connect to the numbers.

Week 02Question the result before acting

Financial intervention and structural thinking. Explore revenue quality, margin versus markup and the effect of volume on a kitchen’s economics.

Week 03Find the truth in food cost

Stock movement, usage and cost. Work through opening stock, purchases and closing stock to understand what was used, not just what was bought.

Week 04Make sense of labour and productivity

Read labour percentages alongside labour dollars, sales and productivity. Investigate the cause before recommending a roster change.

Week 05Support a better menu decision

Menu strategy, profitability and engineering. Think beyond a food-cost percentage and consider what a dish contributes to the business.

Week 06Bring the numbers into an action plan

Full financial control and decision making. Bring the course together in a final assessment: diagnose, prioritise and explain your next move.

Meet your teacher

Kitchen experience.
A business education.
One practical approach.

Ricardo Calderini brings around twenty years in professional kitchens, a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance, and experience owning five businesses.

He explains financial ideas through the choices a working chef actually faces, from the stock count to the conversation about next month’s targets.

~20 yearsIn professional kitchens
5 businessesOwned across his career
A student’s perspective
I now think beyond cooking, and focus on running the kitchen as a successful business.

“It showed me where I was lacking knowledge, where I had become stuck in old ways of thinking, filled those gaps, and taught me how to take a more strategic approach to running a kitchen.”

Pradeep LimbuChef, Hotel ChadstoneBoth quotes describe his experience across Academy Modules 1 to 4, not Module 1 alone.
Is this your next step?

For the chef who
wants more say
in what comes next.

You do not need a senior title to start. You need the willingness to practise, question a number and explain your thinking.

  • You want to prepare for more responsibility, a pay review or a move into a more senior role.
  • You can run a service, but want more confidence with food costs, labour and the P&L.
  • You want practical exercises and a supplied case venue. Access to an employer’s confidential figures is not required.
  • You can make time for around 2–3 hours of learning and practice each week.

No ebook purchase is required. M1 builds financial competence; salary, promotion, bonuses and job opportunities depend on your experience, application and employer. They are not guaranteed course outcomes.

Make your next step a practical one

Build the skills.
Practise the thinking.
Then make your case.

Start with Financial Foundations. You can take M1 on its own, without committing to the full Academy.

Seven-day money-back guarantee.

If M1 is not right for you, email academy@chefsoffice.com.au within seven days of purchase to request a full refund under the course guarantee.

Chef’s Office Academy · Module 1

Financial Foundations

A$299

One payment · Lifetime access

  • 6 weekly lessons and 6 practical workbooks
  • Supplied Kitchen Lab for your exercises
  • Final assessment to bring it all together
  • Optional live wrap-up with Ricardo
  • 7-day money-back guarantee
Enrol in Module 1

Online learning · Secure checkout in Australian dollars

Before you decide

A few useful
answers.

Have a question about the course?
Ask the Academy

Will this help me get a pay rise or promotion?

M1 helps you build the financial knowledge and reasoning to support those conversations. You practise understanding costs, diagnosing results and explaining recommendations. It does not promise a pay rise, promotion, bonus or job placement. The full Academy continues into menu engineering, systems, leadership and career development.

Do I need access to my kitchen’s financial figures?

No. Every exercise can be completed with the supplied Kitchen Lab. If you have permission to use workplace figures, you can apply the same approach there too. You do not need to share confidential employer data.

Do I need the ebook or any finance experience?

No ebook purchase or finance background is required. M1 starts with the foundations. If you have read The Business Minded Chef, this is the practical next step: lessons, workbooks and applied exercises.

How does the six-week schedule work?

Week 1 is available after successful enrolment. Each later lesson unlocks seven days after the previous lesson becomes available. Allow around 2–3 hours a week for the lesson and exercises. Login instructions are sent after enrolment, and lifetime access lets you return to the material.

Is private coaching included?

The course includes an optional live wrap-up with Ricardo. Ongoing private coaching is not part of this offer.

What if I want to continue into the Academy?

M1 is the first of five Academy modules and stands on its own. The full Academy continues into menu engineering, operational systems, leadership and career development. Contact academy@chefsoffice.com.au for current Academy pricing and M1 upgrade options.

How does the seven-day guarantee work?

If the course is not right for you, email academy@chefsoffice.com.au within seven days of purchase to request the full refund offered under the M1 guarantee.

Module 1 enrolment terms

Module 1 is a standalone online course purchased through the checkout in Australian dollars. It is a one-off purchase, with no automatic enrolment or recurring payment for later Academy modules. No confirmation call is required. Week 1 is available after successful enrolment; later lessons release at seven-day intervals. You retain lifetime access to the course. The optional wrap-up is included; ongoing private coaching is not.

If M1 is not right for you, email academy@chefsoffice.com.au within seven days of purchase for a full refund. Completing Week 1 is not a condition of this guarantee. These Module 1 terms take precedence over older programme descriptions or non-refundable-module wording elsewhere on this website. Your rights under applicable consumer law are unaffected.

Be ready when the conversation
turns to your next step.

Start Module 1 · A$299
Chef’s Office AcademyPerth, Western Australia · Practical business education for chefs