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Gostino books

Books written at the pass, not in a library.

Practical books for restaurant owners, chefs and managers: the numbers, the rules and the forms — from thirty years of work in kitchens, dining rooms and on cruise ships.

8books in the shop
134forms ready to print
2languages: English and Serbian
30titles planned for the library

Checkout through Gumroad opens soon. Every book already has its own page with the contents, sample pages and prices.

The shop

Topic
Language

Showing 8 of 8

  • Money & numbers

    Restaurant Code

    Ten mistakes that cost restaurants money — and the system that stops them.

    Plate cost, waste, stock, staffing, consistency, daily numbers, selling on the floor, visibility, cash reserve and the owner’s own week — each mistake with the number that shows it, the form that fixes it and a worked example from Acacia, a restaurant we made up so the arithmetic can be shown in full. The 2026 edition adds a monthly P&L after every chapter, a self-assessment and a 10-week plan.

    204 pages21 forms to print

    Every package: fill-in forms and two Excel tools. Master adds 10 workbooks, Word templates, 28 AI prompts and 13 video guides; Empire adds team manuals and the wall pack

    3 packages · from€29€20.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

  • Food safety & rules

    HACCP Code

    Restaurant food safety under EU and US rules — seven principles, three processes, one plan.

    Every regulation read in the original and every number given with its source and legal force: EU law next to the FDA Food Code, all temperatures in °C and °F, a complete plan for one restaurant and 28 forms to print. Comes with an editable Word HACCP plan template.

    327 pages28 forms to print

    Word HACCP plan template

    €39€27.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

  • Guests & sales

    The Choice Algorithm

    Menu psychology and architecture: what research actually proves — and how a menu leads guests to the dishes that earn you most.

    Book 1 of the Menu Trilogy. Menu engineering that counts the cook’s minutes, price formats and order, layout, names and labels, defaults and the wine list — every claim graded from STRONG to MYTH, with its source. One restaurant, Acacia, with every number shown, and a method to test any change in your own dining room.

    191 pages19 forms to print

    One product, everything included: fill-in forms, Excel workbooks, Word templates, AI prompts, menu audit kit, wall posters and video guides. All three books of the trilogy together: €99

    €39€27.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

  • Money & numbers

    The Code Equation

    Menu maths: food cost, standard recipes, pricing and stock — and exactly where the money goes.

    Book 2 of the Menu Trilogy. The recipe card to the cent, yield tests, sub-recipes, portions at the pass, purchasing and ABC, pricing with VAT, the bar, stock and the monthly reconciliation with a variance tree that gives every euro of the gap a name — every claim graded from STRONG to MYTH, with its source. One restaurant, Acacia, with every number shown.

    191 pages20 forms to print

    One product, everything included: fill-in forms, Excel workbooks, Word templates, AI prompts, monthly review kit, wall posters and video guides. All three books of the trilogy together: €99

    €39€27.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

  • Food safety & rules

    The AI Ecosystem

    QR menu, allergen matrix, POS and KDS as one system — a source for every rule, an owner for every datum and a human for every critical decision.

    Book 3 of the Menu Trilogy. The allergen matrix as live data, recipe versions, cross-contact on the line, the QR menu as a digital host, one order id from table to kitchen to report, delivery platforms as channels, what AI may propose and what it may never decide, vendor contracts with a data exit — and a daily, weekly and monthly review. Every claim labelled by its source: EU, US, standard, practice, the author’s proposal or the example. One restaurant, Acacia, before and after.

    122 pages18 forms to print

    One product, everything included: fill-in forms, Excel workbooks, Word templates, AI prompts, monthly review kit, wall posters and video guides. All three books of the trilogy together: €99

    €39€27.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

  • Recipes & the grill

    Cult of Fire

    The Serbian BBQ Bible: 50 recipes from the Leskovac ćevap to the grill board — with the method behind every one.

    Thirty years at the grill, written down. Eleven chapters and 50 recipes: ćevapi from Leskovac, Sjenica and Užice, pljeskavice and šteps, steaks and vešalice, ražnjići and chicken, sausages and the old school, then ajvar, urnebes, kajmak, salads and grilled vegetables — each with prep, resting and grilling times, a difficulty rating and the reason behind every step. Ends with a safe-temperature table in °C and °F and a quick guide that finds the right recipe for the occasion.

    147 pages

    One product: 50 recipes, safe internal temperatures in °C and °F, a quick guide by occasion and a clickable table of contents.

    €29€20.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

  • People & service

    The Staff Operations Manual

    How we work here — a 30-day onboarding plan for a new hire, from the first day to closing the shift.

    Fifteen chapters, 33 procedures and 28 forms for the kitchen, the dining room, the bar and safety — written as the first thirty days of a new hire at Acacia, a restaurant we made up so every rule can be shown being used. Each rule is marked EU, USA or good practice, with the section number and the source; where a rule is set by each state, the book says so instead of inventing one. Temperatures in °C with °F. Appendices A–E hold the allergen matrix, the handover sheet, the cleaning plan, the first-aid check and the thirty-day review.

    261 pages28 forms to print

    Printable and fillable forms (A4 and Letter), seven Excel tools, wall posters, Word versions, AI prompts and video guides.

    €39€27.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

  • Recipes & the grill

    Tastes of Power

    The secret tables of world leaders through history: 36 tables, 37 recipes, and what the archives actually record.

    From Jefferson’s macaroni and Lincoln’s oyster stew at the 1865 inaugural ball to the hot dog Roosevelt served a king, the Peking duck at Zhou Enlai’s banquet for Nixon, the cold noodles carried to Panmunjom in 2018 and the umngqusho Mandela’s cook of 22 years made for him. Thirty-six leaders in four chapters, each dish with servings, ingredients, numbered steps and a note on cooking it today. The book also says what it cannot prove: 18 dishes have a written record, 16 have no documented link to the leader and say so on the page, and 2 stand on a printed menu card with no evidence the leader ate them. All 87 sources are listed at the back.

    85 pages

    One product: 37 recipes, servings on every recipe, a clickable table of contents and 87 sources grouped by chapter.

    €39€27.30−30% for early buyers

    Editions: English · Srpski

How buying works

One payment, no subscription. The bigger books come in packages, so you only pay for the tools you will use.

  1. Open the book pageContents, sample pages, every package and what is in it.
  2. Pay once through GumroadA one-time payment. Early buyers get 30% off.
  3. Download straight awayThe download link arrives by email right after payment: PDF, Excel and Word files.

The library grows

Around 30 titles are planned, in six areas. New books appear in this shop first.

Money & numbers2 books
Food safety & rules2 books
People & service1 book
Guests & sales1 book
Venue typesin the works
Stories from the kitchenin the works
Recipes & the grill2 books

What these books are not

  • They are not legal or tax advice. They point at the rule; whether it applies to your business is a question for someone qualified in your country.
  • The restaurant in the examples, Acacia, does not exist. Its numbers show the method; they do not promise a result.

Who writes them

Srđan Mihailović has spent more than thirty years in hospitality — top hotel kitchens, restaurants and cruise ships, on four continents — on both sides of the business: at the stove and at the owner’s desk. He founded Gostino to put that experience into tools and books.

Not sure which book to start with?

Tell us how your venue runs and where the money or the time goes. We will tell you plainly which book — and which package — is worth it.

Restaurant Code · Sample pages

Acacia’s monthly profit, chapter by chapter: from €408 to €5,940
Acacia’s monthly profit, chapter by chapter: from €408 to €5,940
Acacia’s P&L after Chapter 7: +€1,089 a month from selling on the floor
Acacia’s P&L after Chapter 7: +€1,089 a month from selling on the floor
Chapter 7: a menu that sells
Chapter 7: a menu that sells
The self-assessment: a map of your restaurant
The self-assessment: a map of your restaurant
Form 7.2: weekly sales by server
Form 7.2: weekly sales by server
Open the book page

HACCP Code · Sample pages

The wall card: every temperature and time, EU and US, in °C and °F
The wall card: every temperature and time, EU and US, in °C and °F
The Codex decision tree for critical control points
The Codex decision tree for critical control points
Acacia’s plan: the flow diagrams
Acacia’s plan: the flow diagrams
Form O-15: allergen matrix
Form O-15: allergen matrix
Open the book page

The Choice Algorithm · Sample pages

Acacia’s monthly profit after every chapter — from menu changes alone
Acacia’s monthly profit after every chapter — from menu changes alone
Chapter 2: ten menu myths and what research actually measured
Chapter 2: ten menu myths and what research actually measured
Chapter 3: the menu matrix with the cook’s minutes per portion
Chapter 3: the menu matrix with the cook’s minutes per portion
Chapter 6: Acacia’s main courses before and after the new layout
Chapter 6: Acacia’s main courses before and after the new layout
Chapter 9: the second-cheapest-wine myth and Acacia’s wine list
Chapter 9: the second-cheapest-wine myth and Acacia’s wine list
Open the book page

The Code Equation · Sample pages

Acacia’s monthly profit after every chapter — from €408 to €905
Acacia’s monthly profit after every chapter — from €408 to €905
Chapter 1: the variance tree from the recipe card to the books
Chapter 1: the variance tree from the recipe card to the books
Chapter 2: one recipe card, three readers — kitchen, inspector, tax office
Chapter 2: one recipe card, three readers — kitchen, inspector, tax office
Chapter 2: the recipe card for Wiener schnitzel with fries, to the cent
Chapter 2: the recipe card for Wiener schnitzel with fries, to the cent
Chapter 7: one dish, seven pricing methods
Chapter 7: one dish, seven pricing methods
Open the book page

The AI Ecosystem · Sample pages

Chapter 25: Acacia’s metrics before and after, honestly labelled
Chapter 25: Acacia’s metrics before and after, honestly labelled
Chapter 1: the tool pile versus an ecosystem with one source of truth
Chapter 1: the tool pile versus an ecosystem with one source of truth
Form A-03: the allergen matrix, 14 allergens, version and owner
Form A-03: the allergen matrix, 14 allergens, version and owner
Chapter 17: three lanes for AI — what it may propose and never decide
Chapter 17: three lanes for AI — what it may propose and never decide
Chapter 25: Friday at Acacia, 18:55 — the same order before and after
Chapter 25: Friday at Acacia, 18:55 — the same order before and after
Open the book page

Cult of Fire · Sample pages

Recipe 1: Leskovac ćevap, the authentic knife-cut
Recipe 1: Leskovac ćevap, the authentic knife-cut
Recipe 9: Zlatibor stuffed pljeskavica
Recipe 9: Zlatibor stuffed pljeskavica
Recipe 30: the Leskovac Train, a grill board for four to six
Recipe 30: the Leskovac Train, a grill board for four to six
Appendix: safe internal temperatures in °C and °F
Appendix: safe internal temperatures in °C and °F
The master’s manifesto: the art of the grill
The master’s manifesto: the art of the grill
Open the book page

The Staff Operations Manual · Sample pages

Chapter 5 opening, “Personal hygiene and health,” with the number to remember: 48 hours
Chapter 5 opening, “Personal hygiene and health,” with the number to remember: 48 hours
Procedure P 5.2, “A cut during your shift”: who, when, what you need, the steps
Procedure P 5.2, “A cut during your shift”: who, when, what you need, the steps
Figure 6.1, the thermometer: chilling, storage and hot-holding limits side by side
Figure 6.1, the thermometer: chilling, storage and hot-holding limits side by side
At Acacia · Day 18 · Four tables — the rule on a guest waiting for a table
At Acacia · Day 18 · Four tables — the rule on a guest waiting for a table
Form 8.2, the monthly first aid and extinguisher check
Form 8.2, the monthly first aid and extinguisher check
Open the book page

Tastes of Power · Sample pages

The dark opening page of Chapter 1, “American Presidents,” with the list of dishes in the chapter
The dark opening page of Chapter 1, “American Presidents,” with the list of dishes in the chapter
Dish 2, George Washington’s hoecakes, with the ingredients and the method in two columns
Dish 2, George Washington’s hoecakes, with the ingredients and the method in two columns
The framed aside on the sentence that set ten tons of broccoli in motion
The framed aside on the sentence that set ten tons of broccoli in motion
The contents page, listing all 37 dishes by chapter with their page numbers
The contents page, listing all 37 dishes by chapter with their page numbers
The first page of the sources, with the notes on opening lines, access and attributed statements
The first page of the sources, with the notes on opening lines, access and attributed statements
Open the book page