What is recipe costing?
Last updated 2 min read
TL;DR
Working out exactly what one portion of a dish costs from the quantity and price of every ingredient in it.
"About £3" is not a cost. Recipe costing turns a dish into a list — 150g of beef, one brioche bun, 20g of cheese, 15ml of sauce — and prices each line, so you know to the penny what a portion costs and whether its price still works.
How to cost a recipe
- List every ingredient in one portion, including garnish, oil and sauce.
- Write the quantity used, in the unit you buy it in or one you can convert.
- Work out the cost per unit from what you pay: a £9.60 5kg bag of flour is about £0.0019 per gram.
- Multiply and add up.
Portion cost = Σ (quantity used × cost per unit)
A worked example
| Ingredient | Used | Cost per unit | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beef mince | 150g | £10.00 / kg | £1.50 |
| Brioche bun | 1 | £0.45 each | £0.45 |
| Cheddar | 20g | £8.50 / kg | £0.17 |
| Sauce and garnish | — | — | £0.18 |
| Total | £2.30 |
At £11 including VAT — £9.17 before VAT at 20% — the burger has a food cost of 25%.
Yield matters
Trimming, peeling and cooking all lose weight. If a 1kg piece of salmon gives 820g you can serve, the real cost per gram is a fifth higher than the invoice says. Cost from the usable weight.
Why it matters
- It shows which dishes earn their place, before a month of sales tells you the hard way.
- When a supplier raises a price, you can see every dish it affects.
- It is the foundation of menu engineering and of an accurate margin.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out the small things. Oil, butter, garnish and sauces add up across hundreds of portions.
- Costing once. A recipe card from last year is costed at last year's prices.
- Ignoring extras. A dish with an added topping has a different cost — see modifiers.
Tracking it in DUMA
Give a menu item a recipe from your stock items and DUMA works out its cost, and its margin with VAT taken out of the price when you are VAT-registered. Modifiers can carry their own recipes, so an extra shot or a swapped milk is costed too. Sales then use up stock from the same recipes.
Questions and answers
How often should I re-cost recipes?
Whenever a supplier changes a price on a main ingredient, and at least every few months. Prices rarely move only once.
Should labour be included in recipe cost?
Usually not — recipe cost is ingredients only, and labour is tracked across the whole business. But note dishes that are slow to make: they cost more than the card says.
Can I cost drinks the same way?
Yes. A latte is espresso, milk and a cup; a cocktail is its measures. Drinks are often where the best margins are hiding.