A miniature clay restaurant: the owner stands at the pass, kitchen behind him on one side, a full dining room on the other.

Restaurant software
built on the line.

Six tools for the problems independent restaurant operators deal with every day.

Find the tool you need Meet The Restaurant Consultant

Built by a restaurant operator. Tested in a restaurant. Free to start.

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Built by an operator, not a VC·36 years in independent restaurants·2 restaurants of his own·9 apps·free to start
01 — The Apps

What’s costing you time today?

The restaurant apps each solve a real problem I hit on a Friday night with a short crew. The newest three take the same idea to other trades. Free to install. Pricing lives inside each app.

→Review Responder app icon.

Reviews are piling up.

Review Responder

iOS · Android →VendorWatch app icon.

Your vendor quietly raised the price.

VendorWatch

iOS · Android →MyCookbook app icon.

Your recipes are everywhere.

MyCookbook

iOS · Android →ChefScale app icon.

You need 75 portions, not 12.

ChefScale

iOS · Android →MenuCraft app icon.

Your menu looks like a price list.

MenuCraft

iOS · Android →The Restaurant Consultant app icon.

You can’t see what’s actually hurting the restaurant.

The Restaurant Consultant

Flagship →PourWatch app icon.

The job went to whoever called first.

PourWatch

iOS · Web →Pool Guy Pilot app icon.

Your route lives in a notebook on the dash.

Pool Guy Pilot

iOS · Android · Web →PoolLevels app icon.

Your pool test is a wall of numbers.

PoolLevels

iOS · Android
02 — Flagship

Replace chaos with systems.

  • Labor is high.
  • Chicken went up 9%.
  • Food cost moved two points.
  • Someone called out.

The Restaurant Consultant connects what’s happening across the restaurant and tells you what needs your attention.

Run the restaurant. Don’t let it run you.

Explore The Restaurant Consultant → Get it on the App Store

Free to install · $9.99–24.99/mo inside the app

The Restaurant Consultant screenshot Review Responder screenshot VendorWatch screenshot MenuCraft screenshot MyCookbook screenshot ChefScale screenshot
Line cook working a station mid-service.
03 — Why

Built by an operator, not a VC.

I spent 36 years in independent restaurants — first behind a dish pit, then on the line, then 14 running two of my own. The apps on this page exist because I needed them first.

Every tool here was built to solve a problem I hit on a Friday night, with a crew short-staffed and a P&L sheet that wouldn't balance. No investors. No consultants billing me $2,000+ a day. Just software that works the way operators actually work — in the kitchen, on the floor, on a phone, between tickets.

Read my full story →

04 — Consulting

Need more than an app? Some problems still need a human.

Direct operator consults for P&L fixes, concept resets, and launch playbooks — from someone who's hired hundreds of people, managed millions in food cost, and survived everything from health inspections to COVID shutdowns.

i.

The Restaurant Consultant

AI-powered platform covering 12 operational domains — kitchen ops, staffing, HR compliance, crisis management, financial insights, menu engineering, training programs, SOPs, social media, and more. restaurantai.consulting →

ii.

Operational Audits

I'll walk your operation and tell you what's working, what's bleeding money, and what to fix first. Food cost, labor, systems, training — the stuff that keeps you up at night.

iii.

Menu Engineering

Contribution margin analysis, pricing strategy, menu layout optimization. Stop chasing food cost percentages and start chasing dollars.

iv.

Staff Training Systems

Build a training program that actually works. SHADOW, PERFORM, CERTIFY frameworks. The best hires aren't always the most experienced — they're the ones who want to learn.

Rates and services →Talk to Ben →
05 — Cookbooks

From Mouton's Bistro & Bar.

Restaurant-tested cookbooks from the kitchen where every ALSTIG app was built and tested. Mouton's Bistro & Bar sold in March 2026. The in-house training manual, a home edition for guests who want to cook the food themselves, and the bar's cocktail playbook.

Cookbook & Training Guide

Cookbook & Training Guide

In-house kitchen training manual · on Amazon

 Home Edition

Home Edition

Scaled-down recipes for at-home cooking · on Amazon

 Drink Recipes

Drink Recipes

Cocktail recipes from the bar · on Amazon
06 — FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Is it really free?+
Yes. Every app on this page is free to start — no credit card, no trial clock. Some have paid tiers inside the app for advanced features, billed through the App Store. Use them as long as you want on the free tier, upgrade only if you need to.
Do I need all six apps?+
No. Pick the one that solves your current problem. A lot of operators start with Review Responder (because every restaurant has reviews) or The Restaurant Consultant (because it covers the widest ground) and add others as pain points come up. The apps work independently — there's no bundle to buy.
Why would I trust software over hiring a real consultant?+
You probably shouldn't, for strategic work. A good consultant is worth $1,500–3,000+ a day when they're the right one for your problem. But a lot of what most consultants do is repeatable: review responses, invoice audits, recipe scaling, menu updates, food-cost math. That's what these apps do — cheaper, on your schedule, and the answer is in your pocket during a dinner rush instead of a week out on someone's calendar.
Is my restaurant's data secure?+
Yes. The apps store data locally on your iPhone by default (iOS sandboxing). Anything sent to a server (review drafting, invoice OCR, recipe scanning) is processed and returned — we don't build profiles, we don't sell data, and there's no cloud sync enabled unless you turn it on. If that changes, you'll know in writing before it does.
How long before I see results?+
Minutes. Review Responder drafts your first reply in under 30 seconds. VendorWatch catches its first overcharge on the first invoice you scan. The Restaurant Consultant starts giving answers the moment you finish onboarding. These are tools, not platforms — they work on first use, not after a rollout.
What if I run more than one restaurant?+
They work across locations. The Restaurant Consultant can run several locations from one account. Review Responder connects one Google Business location at a time. The others are per-user, so if you have a GM at each unit you'll want them each to install — still free.
07 — Contact

Let's talk.

Whether you need a full operational audit or just want to know which number on your P&L is killing you — reach out.

Email
ben@alstiginc.com
LinkedIn
/in/benmouton
Platform
restaurantai.consulting