Start with the plate cost
Plate cost is what the ingredients in one portion cost you. Write down every ingredient and how much goes in, then use the price you actually paid your supplier last time, not the price you remember.
Chicken Fried Rice 1 portion
- Rice 200 g56.00
- Chicken 80 g144.00
- Egg 155.00
- Leeks 20 g, after trimming15.00
- Vegetable oil 15 ml13.50
- Soy sauce 10 ml12.00
Plate costLKR 295.50
Sauces, curry bases and cooked rice can be costed once as their own recipe, then used inside other dishes. When the price of coconut milk changes, every dish that uses your curry base updates with it.
Set a food cost target, then price from it
Food cost percentage is the plate cost divided by the menu price, before service charge and VAT. Many restaurants aim for around 28 to 35%. Seafood dishes usually run higher, rice and noodle dishes lower.
- 1Pick your target
Say 30% for a main course.
- 2Divide the plate cost by it
LKR 295.50 ÷ 0.30 = LKR 985.
- 3Round to a sensible price
LKR 990, or higher if guests see the dish as special.
- 4Check it against the market
If similar places charge 1,200 and guests are happy, you can too.
The formula gives you the lowest sensible price, not the right one. What guests will happily pay matters just as much.
Food is only part of the cost
A dish with a low food cost can still lose money if it keeps a chef busy for twenty minutes or needs the oven on all evening. To see what a dish really earns, add its share of wages, gas, electricity and rent.
- IngredientsFrom the recipe, at what you paid24.6%−295.50
- Kitchen staffChef wages, by cooking time8.0%−96.00
- Floor staffWaiter wages, by plates served5.3%−64.00
- Gas & electricityFrom this month’s bills4.0%−48.00
- Rent & the restShared across every plate sold10.0%−120.00
- Profit per plateAfter food, people, power and rent48.0%LKR 576.50
A simple way to start: take a month’s wages, gas, electricity and rent, and divide by the number of plates you sold. It isn’t perfect, but it shows which dishes carry their weight.
Price delivery apps separately
Delivery apps take a share of every order. If you list a dish at the same price as in your restaurant, you keep much less of it. Check the commission in your contract, then price for it.
To keep the same amount, divide your price by what’s left after the cut: 1,200 ÷ 0.75 = 1,600.
Keep prices current without changing the menu every week
- Update ingredient prices every time you receive a delivery, so plate costs never go stale.
- Set an alert for any dish that drifts more than a few points above its food cost target.
- Review prices every month or two, and change a few dishes at a time rather than the whole menu at once.
- Check portion sizes in the kitchen. A heavier hand on the chicken changes your food cost as much as a price rise.
