Food Cost Per Serving Calculator
Cost per serving from your total ingredient cost, plus a suggested menu price at your target food-cost percentage.
How it works
cost per serving = total ingredient cost ÷ servings · suggested price = cost per serving ÷ (target food-cost % ÷ 100)
Food cost per serving is the raw ingredient cost of one plate — the floor beneath any price. Restaurants then price so that food is a target share of the menu price, commonly 28–35%, which leaves the rest to cover labor, rent, waste and profit. Dividing the plate cost by that target percentage gives the menu price it implies: a 30% target means the ingredients should be about a third of what you charge.
Worked example
A dish using $24 of ingredients across 6 servings costs $4.00 per serving. At a 30% food-cost target the menu price is $4.00 ÷ 0.30 ≈ $13.33, leaving about $9.33 per plate toward everything else.
Frequently asked questions
What food-cost percentage should I aim for?
Full-service restaurants typically target 28–35%. Lower (higher markup) suits labor-intensive or high-overhead concepts; higher can work for high-volume or premium-ingredient dishes where guests expect to pay for quality. Pick a target that covers your actual labor and overhead, not just a rule of thumb.
Does this include labor and overhead?
No — that is the point of the target percentage. Ingredient cost is only one slice of the plate; the gap between cost and menu price is what pays for cooks, rent, utilities, waste and profit. If that gap does not cover them, the price is too low regardless of a "nice" food-cost number.
Should I add a buffer for waste and yield loss?
Yes. Trim, spoilage, over-portioning and mistakes mean your real cost per serving runs above the recipe math — many kitchens pad ingredient cost 5–15% before pricing. Track actual usage over a few weeks to find your true number.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.