Food & beverage consulting | Melbourne & Victoria
Food & Beverage Consultant Melbourne
Food and beverage is the engine room of most hospitality venues — and the area where profit is most easily lost. Covered Hospitality Services provides independent F&B consulting to Melbourne venues, helping operators build tighter cost controls, stronger beverage programs and more profitable menus.
What F&B consulting covers
Food and beverage consulting goes beyond menu design. It encompasses the full commercial and operational picture — how you cost and price your food and drinks, how you manage your suppliers and stock, how you control waste and portion sizes, and how you measure and report on F&B performance.
At Covered Hospitality Services, we take a holistic view of your F&B operation. All consulting is delivered personally by Shazon Perera, a Melbourne-based hospitality operations professional with direct experience across food, beverage, events and venue management.
Food & beverage consulting services we provide
Beverage program development
A well-structured beverage program can significantly improve your venue's revenue and margin. We help you build a drinks list that's commercially sound, operationally manageable and aligned with your venue's positioning and guest profile.
Food & beverage cost analysis
We conduct a detailed review of your food and beverage COGS — analysing recipe costs, portion standards, supplier pricing, wastage and variance — to identify where costs are running above target and build practical controls.
Menu profitability & engineering
We analyse your menu mix and contribution margins across both food and beverage to identify your most and least profitable items, and work with you on pricing, structure and presentation to drive better commercial outcomes.
Stock management & waste reduction
Poor stock management is one of the most common sources of F&B cost blowouts. We help you build stock-take processes, par levels, ordering systems and waste tracking that give you real control over your inventory.
Supplier review & negotiations
We review your current supplier relationships across food and beverage, assess your pricing against market benchmarks and help you build stronger supplier partnerships that deliver better value.
F&B KPIs & performance reporting
We help you identify the right F&B KPIs for your venue — food cost percentage, beverage cost percentage, revenue per cover, average spend — and build simple reporting habits that keep your team focused on what matters.
F&B consulting for Melbourne's diverse venue landscape
Melbourne's food and beverage scene is extraordinarily diverse — from specialty coffee and wine bars to hotel F&B operations, rooftop venues, members' clubs and large-scale event spaces. Each venue type has its own F&B challenges and opportunities.
What they share is the need for clear financial controls, well-structured menus and operational systems that support consistent delivery. An independent F&B consultant brings the commercial rigour and operational experience to help you build those foundations — without the overhead of a large consulting firm.
Ready to optimise your F&B operation?
Book a free 20-minute hospitality health check — no obligation, no jargon.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work on food, beverage or both?
Both. Most venues benefit from looking at food and beverage together, since they share cost structures, staffing and operational systems. We can also focus on one area if that's where the most pressing challenges lie.
Can you help with a beverage program that isn't performing?
Yes. Underperforming beverage programs are often a result of poor list structure, incorrect pricing, inadequate staff training or misalignment with the venue's guest profile. We can diagnose the issue and build a practical improvement plan.
Do you work with hotel F&B operations?
Yes. Hotel F&B has its own set of complexities — multiple outlets, room service, minibar, events and the need to serve a diverse guest mix. We have experience working across hotel F&B environments and can tailor our approach accordingly.
How do your digital packages work?
Our digital packages deliver detailed, personalised F&B analysis based on information you share with us — sales data, cost of goods, menus, supplier invoices and financials. You receive a clear, actionable report with specific recommendations.
What does the free 20-minute health check involve?
It's a short, no-obligation conversation to understand your F&B operation, your current challenges and where consulting support can add the most value. We'll recommend the most appropriate package or engagement from there.