- What is food cost percentage and why does it matter?
- Food cost percentage (food cost %) is the ratio of what you spend on ingredients to what you charge the customer, expressed as a percentage. Most restaurants target 28–35%. If your food cost % is too high, you're losing margin on every dish; too low and you may be under-portioning or under-pricing. Tracking it per recipe lets you identify which dishes are dragging down profitability and adjust pricing or portion sizes accordingly.
- How do I calculate the cost of a recipe?
- First find the cost per unit for each ingredient: divide the purchase price by the pack quantity (e.g. a $7.99 bottle of 500 ml olive oil costs $0.01598 per ml). Then for each line in the recipe, multiply the quantity used by the cost per unit. Sum all lines to get the total food cost. This calculator does all of that automatically — just enter your pack prices and recipe quantities.
- What food cost % should I target?
- Industry standard for full-service restaurants is typically 28–35%. Quick-service and fast-casual operations often target 25–30%. Fine dining can run higher (35–40%) but compensates with higher ticket prices and lower labor cost ratios. A good rule of thumb: if ingredient cost + labor cost (the "prime cost") exceeds 60–65% of revenue, margins are under pressure. Use the target food cost % field to set your own benchmark — the suggested menu price updates instantly.
- Does changing an ingredient price update all my recipes automatically?
- Yes — that's the core feature. Every recipe that references an ingredient recalculates its total cost, food cost %, and suggested menu price the moment you edit the price field. This is especially useful when supplier prices change: update once in the ingredient list and immediately see which recipes have gone over your target margin.
- Is my data saved? Do I need an account?
- All ingredient and recipe data is saved automatically to your browser's localStorage — no account, no server, no sign-up. Your data stays on your device and is never transmitted anywhere. If you clear your browser storage, your data will be erased, so export a screenshot or note of critical recipes for backup.
- Can I use this for home cooking and meal prep, not just restaurants?
- Absolutely. Home cooks use recipe costing to understand weekly grocery spend per meal, optimize meal-prep budgets, and price dishes when cooking for events or selling food at a market. Just enter your supermarket prices as pack prices, then build each recipe with the quantities you actually use. The suggested menu price column shows a fair "charge" if you're selling the dish.