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Plate cost and food cost %

Free tool · Restaurants

Add each ingredient of one dish and see what the plate costs you. The food cost % tells you how much of the menu price goes to food.

What the guest pays for this dish today. Leave tax out. Example: 4.50.
The share of the price you want to spend on food. Type 30 for thirty percent.
Example: corn tortillas, pack of 80. Use the price on your last invoice for one case, bag or pound.
How many recipe units come in that pack. A 50 lb sack measured in ounces holds 800.
The share you can use after trimming, peeling or cooking. Beef that loses a third is about 65%.
How much goes on one plate, in the same unit. A quarter lime is 0.25. Type 0 to skip the row.
Example: beef skirt for fajita, 16 oz per lb, 65% cooked yield.
Example: white onion, 50 lb sack in oz.
Example: cilantro, case of 60 bunches, about 180 oz.
Example: limes, 40 lb case of about 200.
Example: foil sheets, box of 500.

Food cost %

33.6%

Plate cost

$1.51

Profit per plate

$2.99

Price for your target

$5.25

Cost per unit, by ingredient row

1: $0.0600 · 2: $0.6240 · 3: $0.0389 · 4: $0.1905 · 5: $0.1600 · 6: $0.0560

An estimate for planning. Check the numbers with your accountant before you decide.

How the math works

Cost per unit = pack price ÷ (units per pack × yield %). Line cost = quantity on the plate × cost per unit. Plate cost = the sum of every line.

Food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price. Profit per plate = menu price − plate cost, and that profit still pays labor, rent and everything else. The example uses a 30% target. Price for your target = plate cost ÷ target %, rounded up to the next $0.25.

The example is a beef fajita taco at $4.50: 2 corn tortillas, 2 oz of fajita at 65% yield, onion, cilantro, a quarter lime and a foil sheet. Every price is an example, so type the ones on your invoices.

The same sheet comes as a free Excel workbook you can keep: builtbyestrada.ai/downloads/plate-cost-calculator-free.xlsx