Food cost percentage is the number that quietly decides whether a busy restaurant makes money. Here is how to work it out per dish, and how to stop it drifting.
Step 1: cost the recipe
List every ingredient in the dish with the quantity used and the cost per unit, at what you actually pay your supplier:
| Ingredient | Qty used | Cost per unit | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 0.25 kg | 320 / kg | 80.00 |
| Butter | 0.03 kg | 500 / kg | 15.00 |
| Cream | 0.05 l | 200 / l | 10.00 |
| Spices and onion | — | — | 12.00 |
| Plate cost | 117.00 |
If the recipe makes several portions, divide by the number of portions.
Step 2: food cost percentage
Food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price (without tax) × 100
At a menu price of 380 before tax: 117 ÷ 380 = 30.8%.
Where menu prices include VAT (the UK, the UAE, Thailand), take the tax out of the price first, or the percentage looks better than it is.
Step 3: price for your target
Most restaurants aim for roughly 28–35% food cost. To find the price that hits a target:
Menu price (without tax) = plate cost ÷ target %
For a 30% target: 117 ÷ 0.30 = 390 before tax.
Step 4: keep it true
A costing done once is wrong within a month. Supplier prices move, portions creep and wastage goes unrecorded. Three habits keep it honest:
- Update ingredient costs from real purchase prices, not last year's list.
- Draw stock from recipes as dishes sell, so the stock count and the sales agree.
- Record wastage with a reason, so it shows up as a cost instead of a mystery.
Feazio does this for every dish automatically: recipes draw ingredients with each sale, purchase prices update the cost and the margin on every dish is worked out from real costs. Work out a dish now with the free food cost calculator.