Food Cost Calculator

Cost any recipe in minutes. Add each ingredient with its purchase price, pack size, the amount used and usable yield; the calculator totals the recipe, divides by portions, and shows food cost percentage at your menu price — or suggests a price for your target food cost.

How to calculate food cost

1. List every ingredient in the recipe, including oil, seasoning and garnish.
2. For each, note the purchase price and the pack size in a unit you can measure — grams, millilitres, ounces or each.
3. Enter the amount the recipe uses in the same unit.
4. Enter the yield percentage: the usable part after trimming, peeling, bones or cooking loss.
5. The calculator works out each line’s cost as price ÷ pack size × amount used ÷ yield.
6. Divide the recipe total by the number of portions and add any per-portion extras such as sauces, garnishes or takeaway packaging.

Food cost percentage is plate cost divided by menu price. A $5.40 plate cost on an $18 dish is a 30% food cost.

Why yield matters

You pay for the whole ingredient, but you only serve the usable part. A kilo of whole chicken thighs might give 850 g of trimmed, deboned meat — an 85% yield — so each usable gram costs more than the purchase price suggests. Vegetables lose peel and trim, meat and fish lose bones, skin and cooking moisture, and herbs lose stems. Measure yields in your own kitchen: weigh an ingredient before and after preparation a few times and average the results.

These are rough examples; your own tests are more accurate for your suppliers and prep methods.

Target food cost percentages

These are common industry ranges, not rules. A dish with a high food cost can still be profitable if it sells in volume or has a high cash margin; a low-cost dish that nobody orders earns nothing. Look at both percentage and gross profit per plate.

Pricing a dish from food cost

To find a menu price for a target food cost, divide the plate cost by the target percentage. A $4.60 plate cost at a 30% target gives $15.33, which you might price at $15.50 or $15.95 depending on your menu style. Then sense-check against competitors, perceived value and the rest of your menu. Many operators use a mix: high-margin starters, sides and drinks balance mains with higher food cost.

Worked example: chicken curry

A chicken curry for four uses 700 g of thighs from $9.50/kg packs at 85% yield ($7.82), 300 g of rice from a $12 5 kg bag ($0.72), one onion at $0.60 with 90% yield ($0.67), 100 g of curry paste from a $4.20 400 g jar ($1.05), one $1.80 can of coconut milk and half a $1.20 bunch of coriander at 70% yield ($0.86). The recipe costs about $12.92, or $3.23 per portion, plus $0.25 for garnish and naan crumbs, giving $3.48. At an $18 menu price that is a 19.3% food cost; to hit 30% the price could be as low as $11.60.

Keeping costs accurate

• Update ingredient prices when invoices change — especially proteins, dairy and produce.
• Standardise recipes and portion sizes so the costing matches what is served.
• Include small items: oil, salt, spices and garnishes add up.
• Track waste and spoilage; they raise actual food cost above theoretical.
• Compare theoretical food cost with actual (opening stock + purchases − closing stock ÷ food sales) each month.

Theoretical vs actual food cost

The calculator gives theoretical food cost — what a dish should cost if made exactly to recipe. Actual food cost comes from your stock and sales: opening inventory plus purchases minus closing inventory, divided by food sales for the period. A gap of more than a couple of percentage points usually points to over-portioning, waste, theft, pricing errors or recipes that are not followed.

Beyond food cost: prime cost

Food cost is one part of a restaurant’s costs. Prime cost — food and beverage cost plus labour — is often used as a key measure, and many operators aim to keep it around 60–65% of sales. Rent, utilities, marketing and other overheads come out of what remains. A dish that is labour-intensive may need a lower food cost to be profitable.

Privacy

All calculations happen in your browser. Your recipes and prices are not uploaded or stored; use the paid workbook to keep a permanent costing file.