Recipe Costing
Also called: dish costing, menu costing
What is Recipe Costing?
Recipe costing works out the cost of producing one portion of a dish by pricing each ingredient at its purchase rate, adjusting for yield and waste, and adding consumables such as packaging and garnish.
Why Recipe Costing matters
Without recipe costing, menu prices are guesses. It is the only way to know which dishes carry margin, and the only defensible basis for repricing when supplier costs move.
Recipe Costing formula
Plate cost = Σ (Ingredient quantity × Rate ÷ Yield %) + Consumables
Divide plate cost by the menu price to get that dish's food cost percentage.
How Recipe Costing works in practice
Cost each ingredient at its as-purchased rate, apply a yield factor for peeling, trimming and cooking loss, and recost the sheet whenever a key ingredient's price moves more than a few percent.
Worked example
A biryani with ₹78 of ingredients, ₹6 of packaging and ₹4 of garnish costs ₹88 a plate, so a ₹280 menu price runs at a 31% food cost.
Frequently asked questions
Quarterly as routine, and immediately for any dish whose main ingredient has moved sharply in price.