Module 2 resource
Recipe & Plate Cost Calculator
Work out what a dish actually costs you, including the trim and waste most costings ignore, then find the menu price that hits your target food cost. Everything saves in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
The dish
Enter the batch you actually cook, then how many plates it yields. Costing per batch is more accurate than trying to cost a single portion of something you make in bulk.
| Ingredient | Pack cost $ | Pack size | Qty used | Line cost |
|---|
Pack size and quantity used must be in the same unit — grams with grams, millilitres with millilitres, each with each. A $12.50 kilo of lamb is a pack cost of 12.50 and a pack size of 1000.
- Raw ingredient cost
- $0.00
- After yield loss
- $0.00
- Cost per portion
- $0.00
Set a yield below 100% if the ingredients lose weight in prep or cooking. A lamb shoulder that comes in at 2kg and plates at 1.3kg is a 65% yield, and costing it at 100% understates every plate you sell.
The price
Two directions. Set the food cost you want and see the price it demands, or type the price you actually charge and see the food cost you are really running.
- Price to hit target
- $0.00 inc GST
- Your actual food cost
- —
- Contribution per plate
- —
- Gross margin
- —
Enter your ingredients and a menu price to see how the dish is really performing.
Why the GST setting matters, and why most costing sheets get this wrong. Your menu price includes GST, but that ten per cent was never yours — it belongs to the ATO. If you divide food cost by the GST-inclusive menu price you will flatter your food cost percentage by roughly a tenth and quietly under-price the dish. This tool strips GST out before calculating, which is the treatment your accountant uses.
Saved dishes
Save each dish as you cost it. Once you have your top ten in here, take the cost-per-portion figures straight into the Menu Engineering Tool.