Plate Cost
Also called: dish cost, portion cost
What is Plate Cost?
Plate cost is the total cost of everything that reaches the customer in one serving — main ingredients, sauces, garnish, oil and packaging. It is the output of recipe costing and the input to menu pricing.
Why Plate Cost matters
Plate cost is what makes a menu price defensible. Two dishes at the same price can differ by a hundred rupees in plate cost, and only one of them is worth promoting.
Plate Cost formula
Plate cost = Ingredient cost + Garnish + Consumables + Packaging
Menu price should be set from plate cost and a target food cost percentage.
How Plate Cost works in practice
Include the small things: the extra chutney, the paper liner, the delivery container. Individually trivial, they routinely add five to ten percent to the real cost of a portion.
Frequently asked questions
For delivery orders, absolutely. It is a real per-order cost that only appears when you count it.