Recipe Cost and Plate Margin Calculator

Turns a recipe and your ingredient prices into a cost per plate, a food cost percent, and a dollar margin.

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Before and after

BEFORE · what the owner typed

Hollyhill Kitchen in Northdale, Delia Fernandez here. Need the numbers on the braised short rib. Chef Diego Giordano's batch makes 25 plates. It uses 15 lb bone-in short rib at 9.80 a lb, 2 bottles red wine at 11.50 a bottle, carrots, he needs 2 lb peeled and they yield about 80%, carrots are 1.20 a lb. Yellow onions around 3 lb at .90 a lb. Beef stock 3 quarts, it's 14.00 a gallon. Polenta 2.5 lb out of a 25 lb bag that cost 32.00. Parmesan 12 oz at 8.40 a lb. Butter 1 lb at 4.80. Parsley for the gremolata, 2 bunches at 1.50. Each plate also gets a bread side that costs us .62. We sell it for 28.00. I want to be at 30% food cost.

AFTER · what the skill produced

Braised Short Rib, Hollyhill Kitchen
Batch makes 25 plates. Current menu price: $28.00.

Batch ingredient costs

Bone-in short rib: 15 lb x $9.80 = $147.00
Red wine: 2 bottles x $11.50 = $23.00
Carrots: 2 lb peeled / 0.80 yield = 2.5 lb to buy, 2.5 lb x $1.20 = $3.00
Yellow onions: 3 lb x $0.90 = $2.70
Beef stock: 3 quarts = 0.75 gallon, 0.75 x $14.00 = $10.50
Polenta: $32.00 / 25 lb = $1.28 per lb, 2.5 lb x $1.28 = $3.20
Parmesan: 12 oz = 0.75 lb, 0.75 x $8.40 = $6.30
Butter: 1 lb x $4.80 = $4.80
Parsley: 2 bunches x $1.50 = $3.00
Batch total: $203.50

Per plate

Batch cost per plate: $203.50 / 25 = $8.14
Bread side: $0.62
Total plate cost: $8.76
Food cost percent at $28.00: 31.3%
Dollar margin per plate: $28.00 - $8.76 = $19.24

Against your 30% target

Price that hits 30%: $8.76 / 0.30 = $29.20
That is $1.20 above your current price. At $28.00 you are 1.3 points over your target.

Biggest cost driver: short rib at $147.00, which is 72.2% of the batch total. If you want to close the gap without raising the price, the short rib price or the amount per plate is where we suggest looking first.

What these numbers leave out: labor, rent, utilities, and any waste or spoilage. Seasoning, oil, and salt were not listed, so they are not counted. The result is only as current as the prices you gave me.

Questions for the owner

Is the 3 lb of onions an exact weight or an estimate? A change would shift the total slightly.
Do you want oil, salt, and other seasonings added as a cost line? If so, send me an amount and price.
Is $9.80 per lb your latest invoice price for the short rib? It makes up most of the cost.

What it does

Turns a recipe and your ingredient prices into a cost per plate, a food cost percent, and a dollar margin. It also shows the menu price that would hit your own target food cost percent.

Use it when: Use when a restaurant owner or chef wants to cost out a recipe or menu item and see the plate cost, food cost percent, and margin, such as: what does this dish cost me, am I making money on this plate, what should I charge, or run the numbers on this recipe.