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Recipe Cost Card Calculator

Work out recipe cost card instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Recipe Cost Card Calculator

A recipe cost card divides batch ingredient cost by the portions actually achieved after preparation loss. Dividing that portion cost by the target food cost percentage gives the menu price — grossing up rather than adding a margin, which is the step most often got wrong.

Formulas

Net portions

Net portions = Portions per batch x (1 - Yield loss %)

Cost per portion

Cost per portion = Batch cost / Net portions

Selling price

Price = Cost per portion / Target food cost %

Worked example

With the default values below, Recipe Cost Card Calculator returns Cost per portion of $76.09. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Ingredient cost per batch
840
Portions per batch
12
Yield loss in preparation
8
Target food cost percentage
30

Results

Cost per portion
$76.09
Selling price at the target food cost
$253.62
Net portions after yield loss
11.04
Contribution per portion
$177.54

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Net portions
  3. 3Cost per portion
  4. 4Selling price
  5. 5Cost per portion= 76.09
  6. 6Selling price at the target food cost= 253.62
  7. 7Net portions after yield loss= 11.04
  8. 8Contribution per portion= 177.54

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should labour be in the cost card?

Not in the food cost percentage, which is ingredients only. Track prime cost — food plus labour — separately as the real viability measure.

Why does yield loss matter so much?

Because trim, peel and cooking loss can be 20% or more on fresh produce and meat, and ignoring it understates portion cost proportionally.

Related Calculators

Recipe Cost Card Calculator – Calculate Cost per portion