How Chef Pauly works
Chef Pauly takes 10 minutes to set up and starts saving you money on day one. Here's exactly how it works.
Create your account, name your business, and choose your mode — Restaurant, Catering, or Both. Chef Pauly adapts its tools based on what you do.
You can switch modes at any time from the sidebar. Nothing is locked in. If you add catering later, the job board appears automatically.
Not sure which mode? Start with Both — you can always narrow it down later.
Choose your mode
Business name
Add your dishes and recipes with their ingredients and quantities. Chef Pauly calculates your food cost percentage automatically and flags anything over 35% — your margin threshold.
Update an ingredient price once and every affected dish recalculates instantly. No more hunting through spreadsheets.
Start with your top 10 dishes — the ones that make up 80% of your revenue. You'll spot problems immediately.
| Dish | Sell | FC% | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osso Buco alla Milanese | $46 | 32% | ✓ |
| Garlic Prawn Linguine | $34 | 38% | Over limit |
| Tiramisu | $14 | 21% | ✓ |
Kitchen Pulse is your daily intelligence dashboard. Every morning it shows you confirmed revenue for the week, overdue invoices that need attention, dishes with dangerous food costs, and upcoming events.
No digging, no spreadsheets — it's all there. One glance tells you whether today is good or needs action.
Cash this week
$15,700
Overdue
$3,800
Upcoming jobs
3
Action required
Sarah Pearce — Invoice #47
Due 21 May · 24 days overdue
Create a job for every event — weddings, corporate lunches, private dining, mining camps. Add your client, date, headcount, and quote.
Chef Pauly tracks the full lifecycle from quote to confirmed to packed to invoiced. Every tab you need is in one place.
Use the run sheet tab on the day — it auto-generates your prep timeline from the headcount and menu.
Emma Thornton · 120 guests · Sat 14 June
Guest Register
Dietary requirements per guest, CSV import, printable register
Equipment List
36-item catalogue, packed checkboxes, progress bar
Run Sheet
Auto-generated day-before prep + day-of timeline
Chef Pauly's AI doesn't just answer questions — it takes action. Drop a supplier invoice into the chat and it recalculates your affected dishes.
Ask it to chase an overdue invoice and it writes the email. Ask what to buy for an event and it generates a costed shopping list.
Invoice Chaser
Sarah Pearce is 24 days overdue on $3,800. I've drafted a firm follow-up — want me to send it?
Hi Sarah,
This is a follow-up regarding Invoice #47 for $3,800, now 24 days overdue. Could you please confirm payment by Friday?
— The Harbour Table
Cost Shock Modeller
Chicken just went up 18%. Here's what it does to your menu:
| Dish | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Garlic Prawn Linguine | 38% | 44% |
| Osso Buco | 32% | 33% |
Content Ideas
Based on your best-margin dishes, here are 5 ideas for this week:
Chef Pauly looks at all your confirmed jobs and tells you exactly what's coming in over the next 30, 60, and 90 days.
If overdue invoices are at risk, they're factored in separately so you're never surprised — and never caught short before a big supply run.
Next 30 days
$15,700
2 jobs confirmed
Next 60 days
$15,700
2 jobs confirmed
Next 90 days
$28,200
4 jobs confirmed
Note: $3,800 overdue — shown separately and excluded from confirmed total
Every completed job needs to be paid. Chef Pauly tracks payment status, flags overdue invoices, and writes tone-matched follow-up emails.
Gentle for first-time late payers, firm for repeat offenders. One click to copy, one click to mark as paid.
The AI remembers which clients have been late before and adjusts the tone automatically — no settings to configure.
Hi Emma,
Hope all is well and that you're enjoying the memory from the Thornton wedding! Just a quick note — Invoice #52 for $12,500 was due on 7 June and we haven't received payment yet.
Could you let me know when to expect it? Happy to send through a new copy of the invoice if needed.
Warm regards, Paul · The Harbour Table
Works for every kitchen
Pricing
14-day free trial, no credit card required. Cancel anytime.
Common questions
Most chefs have their first dishes costed within 10 minutes. A full menu with recipes takes 1–2 hours — and you only do it once.
If you can use a smartphone, you can use Chef Pauly. It's designed for chefs, not accountants.
Yes — select "Both" mode and you get every tool on one platform. Switch views from the sidebar.
Yes. All data is encrypted, stored in Australian or US-based infrastructure, and you own it entirely. We never sell your data.
You'll be prompted to choose a plan. If you decide not to subscribe, your data is retained for 90 days before deletion.
14 days free. No credit card. No setup fee. Built by a chef who got tired of guessing.