Food costing guide
How to calculate plate cost
By the EROS team · Updated
Short answer
Plate cost is what the ingredients on one plate cost you. Price each ingredient at what you actually pay, adjust for trim and cooking loss, multiply by the amount on the plate, and add it up. Divide that total by the menu price and you have the plate's food cost percentage.
What is plate cost?
Plate cost, also called recipe cost or menu item cost, is the total cost of every ingredient in one portion of a dish. That includes the small things: the oil, the butter, the garnish, the sauce, the side. It is not what the dish sells for, and it is not your restaurant's overall food cost. It is the cost of one plate, which is what makes it the number you can price against and fix.
How do you calculate plate cost, step by step?
- List every ingredient with its exact portion. Weigh or count each one. Include the oil, the seasoning, the garnish and the side. A pinch of everything adds up across hundreds of plates a week.
- Price each ingredient at what you actually pay. Use your latest invoice, not a list price or a number from memory. Convert it to the unit you portion in, such as price per ounce or per each.
- Adjust for yield. Trim, bones, peel and cooking loss mean you pay for more than you plate. Divide the price by the yield percentage to get the usable cost.
- Multiply by the portion. Usable cost per unit times the amount that goes on the plate.
- Add it up and compare it to the menu price. Total plate cost divided by menu price is the plate's food cost percentage.
Worked example: grilled salmon
Salmon fillet is bought at $11.40 per pound. After the skin and pin bones, 90% is usable, so the usable cost is $11.40 ÷ 0.90 = $12.67 per pound. A 6 oz portion is 0.375 lb, so the salmon costs $12.67 × 0.375 = $4.75 on the plate.
| Ingredient | How it is costed | Plate cost |
|---|---|---|
| Salmon fillet | 6 oz at $12.67 per lb usable | $4.75 |
| Seasonal vegetables | 4 oz | $0.85 |
| Rice pilaf | 4 oz cooked | $0.45 |
| Butter, oil, seasoning | Per-plate estimate | $0.30 |
| Lemon and garnish | One wedge, one sprig | $0.15 |
| Total plate cost | $6.50 |
At a $24 menu price, that is $6.50 ÷ $24 = 27.1% food cost, with $17.50 left per plate before labor and overhead. To hold a 30% target, the plate has to sell for at least $6.50 ÷ 0.30 = $21.67.
Skip the yield step and the salmon prices out at $4.28, close to 50 cents too low on a single plate. That error repeats on every plate you sell.
What mistakes make plate cost wrong?
- Skipping yield, so trim and cooking loss never show up in the cost.
- Leaving out the small items: oil, butter, sauces, garnish, bread and sides.
- Using a price from months ago instead of the latest invoice.
- Costing a batch recipe without dividing by the number of portions it makes.
- Mixing units, such as pricing by the case but portioning by the ounce without converting.
How often should you recalculate plate cost?
Whenever an ingredient price moves. A plate cost is only true on the day its prices were true, so a menu costed once a year is priced on last year's numbers. The fastest way to stay current is to catch changes at the invoice, which is covered in how to track vendor price increases. Once you have plate costs, what is a good food cost percentage explains what to compare them against.
How does EROS calculate plate cost?
EROS reads each invoice line from a photo or PDF and matches it to your ingredients, sorting out cases, packs and pounds. Build a recipe from what goes on the plate, or show EROS a photo of the recipe card, and it handles the units, the yields and the math. Plate costs then follow the prices on your invoices, so you see what every plate costs without rebuilding a spreadsheet.