Restaurant Toolkit
Food Cost Calculator
Price every dish with precision. Know your food cost % before it hits the menu.
Ingredients
Cost per serving · adjust quantity and yield per ingredient
| Ingredient | Qty | Unit | Yield % | Cost / Unit | Line Cost |
|---|
Total ingredient cost per serving
$0.00
Pricing
Menu price & batch size
Menu Price
$18.00
$
Servings per Batch
1 serving
×
Cooking a batch? Costs divide across servings automatically.
Restaurant Type
Sets your food cost % benchmark
Cost Analysis
Enter ingredients to begin
Cost / Serving
—
ingredient cost
Food Cost %
—
of menu price
Gross Profit / Cover
—
menu price − ingredient cost
GP Margin
—
before labour & overhead
Batch Cost
—
total to produce
Daily GP (50 covers)
—
gross at 50 plates / day
Weekly GP (350 covers)
—
gross at 350 plates / week
Highest Cost Ingredient
—
Ingredient Count
—
items in this recipe
Cost Breakdown by Ingredient
Add ingredients above to see cost breakdown.
| Restaurant Type | Target Range | Your Food Cost % | Status |
|---|
What should I charge to hit my target?
Reading your food cost %
›Food cost % = ingredient cost ÷ menu price. It's the most-watched number in any kitchen
›Industry standard is 28–35% for most full-service restaurants — above 35% typically signals a pricing or waste problem
›Yield % accounts for trimming and cooking loss — a 6 oz portion from a bone-in cut may require 8–9 oz raw
›Gross profit per cover is what's left after food cost — labour and overhead come out of this number next
How to improve your food cost
›Focus on the highest-cost ingredient first — even a small substitution or yield improvement moves the number
›Portion control matters as much as purchasing price — standardise your recipe and train to the gram
›Repricing a dish by $1 on a 30% food cost item generates more GP than reducing ingredient cost by $0.50
›Track theoretical cost vs. actual weekly — the gap is your waste, theft, and over-portioning number
Ingredient costs and food cost percentages are estimates based on your inputs. Actual costs vary by supplier pricing, seasonal availability, portion accuracy, and kitchen yield. This calculator does not account for labour, overhead, or beverage cost. Review your numbers monthly as ingredient costs change.