Calculate recipe cost per serving and the margin at a given selling price.
Food cost percentage compares ingredient cost against selling price and excludes labour, which is why it is not the same as margin. Waste is applied to ingredients because that is where it occurs. Pricing from food cost percentage alone ignores labour intensity, which is why a cheap-ingredient dish requiring hours of preparation can be the least profitable item on a menu.
Recipe Cost
Food cost percentage = ingredient cost per serving ÷ selling price
Food cost percentage = ingredient cost per serving ÷ selling price Food cost percentage compares ingredient cost against selling price and excludes labour, which is why it is not the same as margin. Waste is applied to ingredients because that is where it occurs.
Pricing from food cost percentage alone ignores labour intensity, which is why a cheap-ingredient dish requiring hours of preparation can be the least profitable item on a menu.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Total ingredient cost, Servings produced, Trim and waste allowance, Labour cost, Selling price per serving. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.