Free tool · Food cost calculator
Food Cost Calculator
Cost a recipe line by line and get the cost per plate, the food cost percentage at your menu price, and the price that hits the food cost you are aiming for. Made for restaurants, dhabas, cafes and bakeries buying at changing market rates.
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Recipe
Quantity used in one batch, and the rate you buy it at (per kg, litre or piece).
Bones, spills, oil left in the pan.
The share of the price you plan to spend on ingredients.
Cost per plate
Rs 0
Add the menu price to see food cost %
- Ingredients for the batch
- Rs 0
- Plates
- 1
- Price for — food cost
- —
Food cost % = ingredient cost per plate ÷ menu price × 100. The rest of the price pays for staff, rent, gas and profit.
Short answer
Cost a recipe line by line and get the cost per plate, the food cost percentage at your menu price, and the price that hits the food cost you are aiming for. Made for restaurants, dhabas, cafes and bakeries buying at changing market rates.
Roman Urdu mein
Recipe ki har cheez ki Cost jor kar ek plate ki Cost nikalein. Menu price likhein to food cost % aur jitna % chahiye us ke hisaab se sahi price bhi mil jati hai.
Key facts
- Cost per plate
- Sum of (quantity × rate) × (1 + wastage) ÷ plates
- Food cost %
- Cost per plate ÷ menu price × 100
- Price for a target
- Cost per plate ÷ target food cost %
- Inputs
- Any number of ingredients, plates per batch, wastage %
How to use the food cost calculator
Step 1: List the ingredients of one batch
For each, the quantity used and the rate you buy it at, in the same unit: 1.5 kg chicken at the per-kg rate, 0.25 litre oil at the per-litre rate.
Step 2: Enter plates and wastage
How many plates the batch makes, and a wastage % for bones, trimming, spills and oil left in the pan.
Step 3: Enter the menu price
The food cost % appears, with what is left from each plate for staff, rent, gas and profit.
Step 4: Set a target food cost
Type the percentage you plan for and the calculator gives the menu price that meets it.
How it's calculated
- Batch cost = sum of (quantity used × purchase rate) for every ingredient
- With wastage = batch cost × (1 + wastage % ÷ 100)
- Cost per plate = batch cost with wastage ÷ plates from the batch
- Food cost % = cost per plate ÷ menu price × 100
- Price for a target = cost per plate ÷ (target % ÷ 100)
Count every ingredient, including oil, masala, garnish, the naan or rice served with the dish, and the takeaway box for delivery orders. Leaving out small items is the most common reason a dish earns less than expected.
Worked example
A chicken karahi batch, at example market rates:
| Ingredient | Used | Rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 1 kg | 750 per kg | 750 |
| Tomatoes | 0.5 kg | 160 per kg | 80 |
| Cooking oil | 0.25 litre | 600 per litre | 150 |
| Masala, ginger, garlic, chillies, yoghurt | 1 lot | 120 | 120 |
Batch cost = 1,100 rupees; with 5% wastage 1,155 rupees; the batch serves 4 plates, so 288.75 rupees a plate. At a menu price of 1,000 rupees, food cost is 28.9%. For a 30% target the price could be 963 rupees; if the chicken rate rises to 900, the plate cost becomes about 328 rupees and the same 1,000-rupee price runs at 32.8%.
Rates change weekly, so recipe costs go stale. In Nafaa's restaurant software, each menu item can carry its recipe; the app shows the plate cost and food cost % from current purchase rates and deducts the ingredients from stock as plates are sold.
Common questions
What food cost percentage should a restaurant aim for?
There is no single right number: it depends on your menu, prices and how much you spend on staff and rent. Dishes with expensive meat often run a higher food cost and earn on volume, while tea, drinks, bread and rice usually run much lower. Set a target per category, cost each dish against it, and check the overall figure every month from your purchases and sales.
Should wastage be part of food cost?
Yes. Bones and fat trimmed from meat, vegetables peeled, oil left in the karahi and food thrown away at the end of the day are all paid for. Add a wastage percentage to each recipe based on what you see in your kitchen, or weigh the usable yield once and use that weight in the recipe instead.
How often should I update recipe costs?
Whenever a main ingredient rate moves noticeably, which in Pakistan can be weekly for chicken, vegetables and oil. At minimum, recost your best-selling dishes every month. If you keep recipes in software that reads your latest purchase rates, the plate cost updates itself and you only need to review the prices.
Related
Glossary
Food Cost Percentage
Food cost percentage is the cost of the ingredients in a dish or in all food sold, divided by the selling price or food sales.
Glossary
Recipe Costing
Recipe costing works out the cost of one portion or batch of a dish by adding up the cost of every ingredient in the quantity the recipe uses.
Glossary
Menu Engineering
Menu engineering is the review of each dish by how often it sells and how much profit it earns, to decide which dishes to promote, reprice, change or remove.