Enter what you pay for each ingredient and how much the recipe uses. You get plate cost, cost per serving, food cost percentage and the price that hits your target — instantly, in your browser.
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| Total recipe cost (incl. waste) | — |
| Cost per serving | — |
| Gross profit per serving | — |
| Price to hit your target food cost | — |
Each line converts a pack price into a unit price, then multiplies by the amount the recipe actually uses: (pack cost ÷ pack quantity) × quantity used. Use one consistent unit per row — if the pack is 5 lb, enter the quantity used in pounds; if it is 3200 g, enter grams. The units never leave the row, so any unit works as long as the two numbers in that row agree.
Waste is applied to the whole recipe, not per line. A 5% figure means you buy $1.05 of product for every $1.00 that reaches the plate — trim, spoilage, spills and over-portioning. Most kitchens that have never measured it are nearer 8–12%, and pretending it is zero is the single most common reason a costed menu still loses money.
Food cost percentage is cost per serving ÷ menu price. Full-service restaurants usually target 28–35%; bars and pizzerias run lower, steakhouses and seafood higher. The percentage is a guardrail, not the goal — you bank the gross profit in dollars, so a $9 margin at 38% beats a $4 margin at 25% on the same ticket.
Any unit, as long as the two numbers in a row agree. If the pack is 5 lb, enter the quantity used in pounds; if the pack is 3200 g, enter grams. Each row converts pack cost to a unit price independently, so different rows can use different units.
Full-service restaurants typically target 28–35%. Pizzerias and bars run lower, steakhouses and seafood higher. The percentage is a guardrail — you actually bank gross profit in dollars, so a $9 margin at 38% beats a $4 margin at 25%.
Yes. Trim, spoilage, spills and over-portioning are real costs. Kitchens that have never measured it usually run 8–12%, not the 0% an uncosted recipe assumes, and that gap is why a costed menu can still lose money.
No — plate cost is ingredients only. Labor is measured against total sales rather than per dish; use the labor cost percentage and prime cost calculators for that side.