FAQ

The Pass HQ is where Chef Michael Lockard's food cost and kitchen leadership training lives: tools, a complete food cost system, and a six-month program for sous chefs growing into the chef's job. It is built on his book, The Food Cost Formula.

• You want the free forms: they come with the book. The Toolkit link is printed inside it.
• You want to know how your kitchen scores: take the free Leadership Readiness Check at thepasshq.com/readiness (10 questions).
• You want to fix plate cost and menu mix this week: Plate Cost & Menu Engineering Kit, $49.
• You own a food cost number and want the whole install: The Food Cost Formula System, $297.
• You're a sous chef (or about to be) and want to learn the numbers side of the chef's job: the Kitchen Leadership Program. Self-Study, Sponsored, or Guided.

Compare everything side by side at thepasshq.com/compare.

Four Excel forms (Standard Recipe Card, Recipe Cost Sheet, Yield Test Form, Menu Engineering Worksheet) and a playbook that walks you through a 7-day setup: cost every active item, spec portions by weight, and rank the menu by contribution margin and popularity. The four forms are the same ones in the book's free Toolkit; the Kit adds the day-by-day sequence.

Seven install modules (including six written walkthroughs), three annexes (Inventory & Period Close, Prep Production, Banquet Food Cost), and 26 Excel tools: the book's 18 figures plus eight System-only tools (Order Guide, Vendor Contact Sheet, Prescription Card, One-Page P&L Narrative, Your Operating Plan, Lever Map, Open-Credit Register, Delegation Map). Everything downloads at once.

No. The System's walkthroughs are written, step by step, and you work them with the forms open on your own screen.

Twelve units on the numbers side of running a kitchen: food cost, labor, purchasing, the P&L, and building a case your GM will act on. It takes about an hour a day, five days a week, for six months. It includes The Food Cost Formula System, the Weekly Schedule & Labor Planner (40-hour weekly overtime and daily-overtime versions), the Lever Inventory, and a capstone project.

• Self-Study ($549 paid in full, or $97 a month for six months): you work on your own, using a teaching property (Stonebridge Club) or your own numbers. You check yourself against model answers. The capstone is a self-scored exercise.
• Sponsored ($1,495): you work on your own property's numbers, and your chef or GM sponsors you, meeting for 30 minutes every other week (12 sessions). The capstone is a real project your chef chooses and signs.
• Guided ($4,995): everything in Sponsored, plus three conversations with Chef Lockard: a 30-minute kickoff, a 30-minute midpoint, and a 45-minute capstone review with written notes.

About 20 minutes of prep and a 30-minute session every other week. Each unit has a one-page sponsor guide. The Sponsorship Packet explains it all and is free at thepasshq.com/sponsorship.

No. It's professional training with a real capstone your chef signs, not a credential.

No. This is the business side of the kitchen: costs, labor, purchasing, and the P&L.

Guided seats are limited. When a seat is open, you confirm four things at checkout (your role, that your chef or GM knows, your time, and that you won't send us your property's financials) and enroll directly. When seats are full, you join the waitlist instead. There's no application or approval. Right now Guided is waitlist-only; enrollment opens soon.

First come, first served. Seats open when a trainee finishes the program. About a month before a seat opens, the next few people on the list get a heads-up. When it opens, the person at the top gets a link that holds the seat for 72 hours; if it isn't used, it goes to the next person. Nothing is charged until you enroll.

Yes. That's the Head Start. Buy Self-Study or Sponsored now, and every dollar you pay counts toward Guided when your seat offer arrives. Your place in line doesn't change. If you don't take the seat when it's offered, the credit ends and you keep what you bought.

You get a welcome email with a short onboarding form (about 15 minutes, resume optional) and a link to book your kickoff. Chef Lockard reads your form before you talk.

Guided includes the three conversations above. It isn't open-ended email or phone access. That keeps your chef as the person running your development.

Yes. Sponsored team enrollment is $1,495 for the first seat and $997 for each additional, up to 6 online. Guided team enrollment is $4,995 for the first seat and $2,495 for each additional, up to 4 online. For larger groups, use the Inquire page.

At checkout you name each person and their email. Each person gets their own enrollment and materials and owns their own work. You get the receipt and a roster. Unnamed seats stay reserved with a link to fill them later. Once someone claims a seat, it's theirs and can't be moved to someone else.

Choose "My property is paying" at checkout. An itemized receipt goes to your accounts-payable email with your PO number.

By card through Gumroad, our checkout partner. Everything is paid in full except Self-Study Monthly. We don't take invoices, ACH, or checks.

$97 a month for six months (total $582), then it ends on its own. Two units release each paid month. If a payment fails, new units pause until it's current; anything already released stays yours.

In the receipt email from Gumroad, and in your Gumroad library. Check spam or promotions if you don't see it within a few minutes. Still missing? Email yeschef@thepasshq.com with the email you used at checkout.

No. These are digital downloads delivered in full at purchase, so all sales are final. The product pages list exactly what's included. See thepasshq.com/purchase-terms.

Yes. What you paid counts toward a higher product if you upgrade within 30 days of purchase (Guided waitlist members with a Head Start keep their credit until their seat offer). The credit comes by email.

They're licensed to the person who bought them, for use in their own operation. For several people, use team enrollment.

Never. Your numbers stay on your own systems. Nothing in any product asks you to upload or send them, and please don't.

Your name, email, and purchase details (through Gumroad) and, if you join, our email list. Guided onboarding forms and resumes are deleted after 90 days. See the privacy policy on the site.

No. It's an educational planning model. Confirm pay and overtime rules with your payroll provider.

A $97 kit for using AI to plan staff schedules around availability, labor rules, and budget. It's coming soon. Get notified at thepasshq.com/scheduling. It will also be included in the Kitchen Leadership Program.

yeschef@thepasshq.com. We answer within two business days.