Basic food-cost percentage
Ingredient cost per serving ÷ selling price × 100
SEARCH QUESTION
How should menu food-cost percentage and contribution margin be calculated?
A practical guide to ingredient cost, usable yield, waste, side dishes, sauces, packaging, platform fees, contribution margin, sales volume, and preparation time.
CORE ANSWER
Restaurant Menu Food-Cost Calculator · Core answer
Basic food-cost percentage is ingredient cost per serving divided by selling price. For menu decisions, also calculate usable yield, waste, shared side dishes, packaging, payment and platform fees, contribution margin, sales volume, and production burden. A low percentage does not automatically mean a good menu.
Quick Menu Cost Calculator
Food-cost percentage 0.0%
NUMBERS TO CHECK01 02 03 04
Numbers you should actually check
True ingredient cost
Purchase price adjusted for trim loss, usable yield, waste, sauces, garnish, and shared side dishes
Contribution margin
Selling price minus food, packaging, payment, platform, discount, and other variable costs
Menu productivity
Contribution margin relative to preparation time, station capacity, labor, and sales volume
CHECKLIST
Items to verify before deciding
- Are recipes standardized with measurable units and serving sizes?
- Are purchase price and actual usable yield calculated separately?
- Are sauces, garnish, side dishes, waste, and staff meals allocated appropriately?
- Do delivery-menu costs include packaging, payment, platform fees, and promotions?
- Have low-volume or high-burden items been identified even when their food-cost percentage is low?
- Are price and portion changes evaluated by contribution margin and customer response?
FIELD CASE
A common field situation
A hypothetical menu showed a 30% ingredient cost, but packaging and platform fees raised the total variable-cost ratio to 48%. Dine-in and delivery pricing should have been designed separately.
This is a hypothetical example that does not identify a specific business.FREE AI DIAGNOSIS
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