Free tool
Enter your ingredients to instantly see your dish cost, food cost percentage, and ideal menu price.
Food Cost
14.3%
Healthy margin
Cost / Serving
$2.14
$8.58 total
Profit / Serving
$12.85
85.7% margin
Suggested Price
$7.15
at 30% food cost
Highlighted row is your current price
From this dish alone at $14.99 each
Fresh Mozzarella is 61% of your ingredient cost. A 10% portion reduction saves $0.13 per plate.
Excellent margin. Room to experiment with premium ingredients or run specials.
Track costs over time
Save recipes, monitor price changes, and keep your margins healthy.
Start free with DishCostHow it works
Food cost is the single most important number for restaurant profitability. Here's how it works.
For each ingredient in a recipe, multiply the price per unit by the quantity used. Sum all ingredient costs for the total recipe cost.
Divide the total recipe cost by the number of portions it makes. This gives you the cost per plate — what each serving actually costs you.
Divide cost per serving by your menu price and multiply by 100. That's your food cost percentage. Aim for 28-32% for most dishes.
The formula
Food Cost % = (Cost Per Serving / Menu Price) × 100
Tips
Most restaurants stick with one supplier out of habit. Getting quotes from 2-3 vendors on your top 10 ingredients by spend can save 10-15% on those items alone. Even a small price difference on high-volume items adds up to thousands per year.
Without standardized recipes, every cook portions differently. A cook who uses 7oz of protein instead of 6oz is adding 17% to your ingredient cost on that item. Use scales, portioning tools, and recipe cards on the line.
Use the cost breakdown above to find which ingredient eats the most of each dish's cost. Often a single ingredient accounts for 40-50% of a recipe. Can you reduce the portion slightly, find a cheaper substitute, or raise the menu price?
FAQ
Food cost percentage is the ratio of ingredient costs to menu price. If a dish costs $4.50 in ingredients and sells for $15, the food cost is 30%. Most profitable restaurants target 28-32% food cost across their menu.
Add up the cost of every ingredient in the recipe (price per unit x quantity used), then divide by the number of servings. For example, if your ingredients total $18 and the recipe makes 6 servings, your cost per serving is $3.
The industry standard is 28-32% for most restaurants. Fine dining can run 30-35% due to premium ingredients. Fast casual and pizza typically aim for 25-28%. If your food cost is above 35%, you are likely losing money on that dish.
Three proven strategies: (1) negotiate better supplier prices or compare vendors, (2) reduce waste through proper portioning and prep procedures, and (3) audit your recipes — small overportions on expensive ingredients add up fast.
No. Food cost only includes raw ingredient costs. Labor is tracked separately as "prime cost" (food cost + labor cost combined). Most restaurants aim for a prime cost under 60-65% of revenue.
At minimum, every time a supplier changes prices — which for most restaurants is weekly or bi-weekly. Ingredient prices fluctuate with seasons and supply chains. A 10% increase in chicken price can silently wipe out your margin on multiple dishes.
This calculator gives you a snapshot. DishCost gives you the full picture — save every recipe, track ingredient prices over time, and get alerts when your costs change.
Start free with DishCost