- What is food cost percentage and why does it matter?
- Food cost percentage (food cost %) is the ratio of your ingredient cost to the menu selling price, expressed as a percentage. It is the single most important profitability metric in restaurant management. A dish that costs $5 to make and sells for $20 has a food cost % of 25%. Most restaurants target 20–35% depending on segment — fine dining aims for 20–25%, casual dining 28–35%, and fast casual up to 38%. If food cost % is too high, the dish erodes margin even when the restaurant is busy. This calculator lets you see the real number before the dish ever goes on the menu.
- How do I calculate food cost percentage for a recipe?
- Three steps: (1) List every ingredient and calculate the cost of the exact quantity used per serving — e.g. if a 5 lb bag of potatoes costs $3.00 and you use 0.5 lb, the potato cost is $0.30. (2) Sum all ingredient costs to get total recipe cost. (3) Divide total recipe cost by the menu price and multiply by 100. Formula: Food Cost % = (Recipe Cost ÷ Menu Price) × 100. This calculator automates all three steps — add your ingredients, enter the selling price, and the percentage appears instantly.
- How do I set the right menu price using food cost percentage?
- Use the inverse formula: Menu Price = Recipe Cost ÷ Target Food Cost %. If your recipe costs $6.00 and you target a 30% food cost, the minimum menu price is $6.00 ÷ 0.30 = $20.00. The "Recommended Menu Price" table above shows you the ideal price for 20%, 25%, 30%, and 35% targets simultaneously, so you can choose based on your restaurant's positioning and local market.
- What is the difference between food cost % and profit margin %?
- Food cost % measures what fraction of revenue the ingredients consume. Profit margin % measures what fraction of revenue is left after subtracting ingredient costs. They always add up to 100%: a 30% food cost means a 70% gross profit margin. Note that gross profit margin only accounts for ingredient costs — labour, overhead, and rent are not included, so your net profit margin will be lower. Most restaurants net 3–9% after all expenses.
- Should I include waste and prep loss in food cost calculations?
- Yes, for accurate costing you should account for yield loss. If a chicken breast loses 15% weight during trimming and cooking, a "used qty" of 200 g finished weight came from roughly 235 g raw. Add a separate row for the raw ingredient at its actual purchase weight, or adjust the used quantity to reflect pre-trim weight. Many operators add a 5–10% waste buffer on top of calculated costs to cover trimmings, spoilage, and portioning variance.
- Is my recipe data saved securely?
- All data is stored exclusively in your browser's localStorage — nothing is sent to any server. Your recipes are private to your device and browser session. Clearing browser data or switching browsers will erase saved recipes, so export or note your key figures if you need to share them across devices.