Food cost tells you what the ingredients in a dish cost, and as a percentage of price, whether it is profitable to sell.
Where
| Total ingredient cost | Sum of all ingredient costs |
| Number of servings | Portions the recipe yields |
Worked example
A dish costing $12 in ingredients that serves 6 is $12 ÷ 6 = $2.00 per serving.
FAQ
Does food cost percentage include labor and overhead? No. Food cost percentage typically measures only ingredient cost against menu price, while labor, overhead, and other operating costs are tracked separately, usually as part of a broader prime cost analysis.
What food cost percentage is considered healthy for a restaurant? Most full-service restaurants target roughly 28 to 35 percent food cost, though the ideal number varies by concept, with lower-margin categories sometimes running lower and premium seafood or steak concepts running higher.
Calculate with the Cost Per Serving calculator in the cooking calculators.