KevantoFood cost percentage calculator
Food Cost Percentage CalculatorThe formula, worked examples and a calculator for one dish or a whole week or month
Food cost percentage is the share of a price, or of a period’s food sales, that goes on ingredients. There are two versions: one for a single menu item and one for the whole kitchen over a period.
Period: food cost % = (beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory) ÷ food sales × 100
Use the same tax basis everywhere: purchase costs without reclaimable tax, menu prices and sales without VAT or sales tax. Need the plate cost first? Build it ingredient by ingredient in the recipe cost calculator, which handles pack sizes, units and prep yield.
Food cost percentage for one dish
- Find the plate cost: the ingredient cost of one portion as served, including garnish, oil and any takeaway packaging. In the example it is 3.20.
- Divide by the menu price before tax: 3.20 ÷ 12.00 = 0.2667.
- Multiply by 100: the food cost is 26.7%. Of every 12.00 sale, 8.80 is left for labor, overhead, fees and profit.
- Working the other way, a 30% target gives a price of 3.20 ÷ 0.30 = 10.67, and a 12.00 price allows a plate cost of up to 12.00 × 0.30 = 3.60.
| Food cost %plate cost ÷ menu price × 100 | 26.7% |
|---|---|
| Menu price from a targetplate cost ÷ target % | 10.67 |
| Highest plate costmenu price × target % | 3.60 |
| Left after foodmenu price − plate cost | 8.80 |
Menu prices with VAT or GST. Take the tax out first. A 14.40 menu price that includes 20% VAT is 14.40 ÷ 1.20 = 12.00 before tax, so the food cost is still 26.7%, not 3.20 ÷ 14.40 = 22.2%. The recipe cost calculator has a field for tax included in menu prices.
Food cost percentage for a week or a month
For the kitchen as a whole, count what food you used, not what you bought. Count inventory at the start and end of the same period, add every food invoice in between, and divide the cost of food used by the food sales for those days.
Actual food cost % = cost of food used ÷ food sales × 100
Theoretical food cost is what the recipes say food should have cost for what you sold. Leave it blank if you do not have it yet.
- Cost of food used
- 10,100.00
- Actual food cost %
- 32.2%
- Actual − theoretical
- +2.7 pts
Actual food cost is 2.7 pts above the recipe-based figure, about 837.00 of food that sales did not account for. Look at waste, portioning, recipes not followed, price changes and the counts.
Worked example
The kitchen started the month with 4,200 of food in stock, bought 9,850 and finished with 3,950. It used 4,200 + 9,850 − 3,950 = 10,100 of food. Food sales were 31,400, so the actual food cost is 10,100 ÷ 31,400 = 32.2%. Buying 9,850 does not mean using 9,850: stock that is still on the shelf is next month’s cost.
Actual versus theoretical food cost
Theoretical (ideal) food cost is what food should have cost: each item’s recipe plate cost times the number sold, divided by sales. If the recipes in the example say 29.5% of 31,400, the food should have cost 9,263.
Actual food cost comes from inventory and invoices. Here it is 10,100, so 837 of food, 2.7 points of sales, is unexplained.
A gap usually comes from a handful of causes:
- waste, spoilage and trim beyond the yields in your recipes
- portions larger than the recipe, or recipes not followed
- supplier prices that rose after the recipes were costed
- staff meals, comps and theft that are not recorded as sales
- counting errors, or invoices booked in the wrong period
Keeping recipe costs current makes the theoretical figure trustworthy. The food yield chart has typical trim and cooking yields to start from.
Choosing your target food cost percentage
There is no single right number: it depends on your prices, your labor model, your rent and the margin you need, so this page does not suggest one. Work it out from your own budget. If you plan labor at 30% of sales, other operating costs at 25% and want 10% left as profit, food can take at most 100 − 30 − 25 − 10 = 35%. Use that figure as the target in the calculator above and in the recipe cost calculator.
Some dishes will sit above the target and others below it. What matters is the food cost of everything you actually sell, so a low-cost item that sells well can carry a premium item that does not.
Questions
What is the food cost percentage formula?
For one dish: plate cost ÷ menu price × 100. For a week or a month: (beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory) ÷ food sales × 100, with all four numbers from the same period.
How do I calculate a menu price from a target food cost percentage?
Divide the plate cost by the target as a decimal. A $3.20 plate at a 30% target gives 3.20 ÷ 0.30 = $10.67. Round up to a price you would print on a menu.
Is food cost percentage the same as gross margin?
No. Food cost percentage covers ingredients only. What is left of the price still has to pay for labor, rent, fees, taxes and every other cost before any profit.
What is a good food cost percentage?
It depends on your menu, prices, labor and rent, so this page does not set one. Work back from your own budget: the share of sales left after planned labor, other operating costs and the profit you want is the most food can take.
Should menu prices include VAT or sales tax?
Use prices without tax. If your menu prices include VAT or GST, divide by 1 plus the tax rate first, for example 12.00 ÷ 1.20 = 10.00 at 20% VAT. The recipe cost calculator can do this for you.
Cost a whole recipe
The Kevanto recipe cost calculator works out the plate cost from what you buy: pack price, pack size, usable yield and the amount each recipe uses, plus labor, overhead, sales fees and VAT. It saves recipes in your browser and exports CSV and print-ready cost sheets.
Related
- Recipe costing guide: every formula with a worked rice bowl example.
- Food yield chart: 79 AP-to-EP percentages with USDA sources.
- Printable recipe costing worksheet: blank and completed PDF for class.
Updated 21 October 2026 · Everything is calculated in your browser; nothing you type is stored or sent.