In this guide 6 sections
Cost per plate is the cost of every ingredient in one served portion, after trimming and cooking loss. Multiply each ingredient’s usable quantity by its rate, add garnish and packaging, and total the lot. Repeat whenever a supplier rate changes.
Start with a standard recipe for one portion
Write each dish as a recipe for a fixed batch, then divide down to one portion. List every item, from the main protein and oil to the spices, the sauce and the sprig of coriander on top.
Use weights, not spoons or handfuls. Grams never lie. A chef who cooks by eye plates a different dish on a different night.
Fix the portion size on the recipe card and weigh the first plates on a kitchen scale, because costing a vague plate gives you a vague number.
- Ingredient name and purchase unit
- Gross quantity as bought
- Usable quantity after trimming
- Rate per kilogram or litre
- Portion size on the plate
Use the rate you actually pay
Pull rates from supplier invoices, not from memory. Chicken at the market on Tuesday differs from the rate printed on the invoice you paid last week, and the invoice is what hits your account.
Convert everything to one unit, such as grams. Mixed units cause most errors. A case of tomato puree tins needs dividing down to the cost of one spoonful before it can sit in a recipe.
Update the list monthly. Fish, vegetables and dairy move faster, so refresh those weekly.
Account for yield loss
A kilogram of whole fish does not give a kilogram of fillet, since peeling, boning, trimming and cooking shrink every ingredient. Yield is usable weight divided by bought weight.
Test it yourself. It takes one batch. Weigh a batch of prawns before cleaning, after cleaning and after cooking. Write the yield on the recipe card and refresh it when a supplier changes grade or size.
Divide the rate by the yield to get the true cost of usable weight. Skipping this step is how a menu looks profitable on paper and loses money at the pass.
Add the small things that quietly add up
Cooking oil, a pinch of salt and one fried curry leaf look trivial. Across two hundred covers a day they are not, and they belong on the card.
Include packaging for delivery, such as containers, lids, cutlery and a chutney sachet, and add an allowance for items that expire unused, such as cream or fresh herbs.
Treat labour and rent separately. They do not belong here. Cost per plate covers food and packaging only.
- Oil absorbed in frying
- Garnish and sauce portions
- Delivery boxes and lids
- Wastage allowance for short life items
Roll it up by dish and by outlet
Once each plate has a cost, set it against the selling price and the number sold. A cheap dish that sells forty times a day matters more than an expensive one that sells twice, so sort the menu by total contribution.
If you run several outlets, compare plate cost for the same dish across them. A gap points to portioning, supplier rates or waste in one kitchen.
Pick your three best sellers this week and weigh each plate before it leaves the pass.
Recipe costing card
A card for each dish with a header for name, batch size and portions. The table has columns for ingredient, bought quantity, yield, usable quantity, rate, line cost and notes. The footer shows total cost, cost per plate, selling price and when rates were last checked.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How often should I recalculate plate costs?
Monthly for stable items and weekly for fish, vegetables and dairy. Recalculate at once if a main supplier changes rates.
Should cost per plate include labour?
Keep it out of the plate cost and track labour on its own line. Mixing the two hides where the money goes.
What is a good food cost target?
It depends on cuisine and format, so set it from your own history. Compare dishes within your menu rather than against a quoted number.
Can software do this for me?
Yes. A restaurant system holds recipes, rates and yields, and reprices every plate when a purchase rate changes.