A sushi chef's labor costs are a major part of your cost per piece, but are often forgotten in the calculation. Many sushi restaurants only account for fish and rice, while chef time often makes up 40-60% of total costs. In this article, you'll learn step-by-step how to correctly include labor costs in your sushi cost price.
Why labor costs are crucial for sushi
Making sushi is labor-intensive. An experienced sushi chef makes 15-25 pieces per minute, but also needs to cook rice, cut fish, and prep ingredients. You need to factor this time into your cost price, or you'll lose money on every order.
⚠️ Watch out:
Many sushi restaurants only account for ingredients and forget chef time. Then your margin looks like 65%, but you're actually making nothing.
Calculate your sushi chef's hourly rate
Add up all the costs your chef costs you per hour:
- Gross salary: what your chef earns per hour
- Employer contributions: roughly 25% of gross salary
- Vacation pay and sick leave: roughly 10% of gross salary
- Training and work clothes: roughly 3% of gross salary
💡 Example:
Sushi chef earns €18 per hour gross:
- Gross salary: €18.00
- Employer contributions (25%): €4.50
- Vacation/sick leave (10%): €1.80
- Other (3%): €0.54
Total: €24.84 per hour
Measure the time per sushi piece
Not all sushi takes the same amount of time. A simple sake maki goes faster than an inside-out roll with multiple ingredients. Measure for a week how long different sushi types take:
- Maki (6 pieces): 2-3 minutes
- Nigiri (2 pieces): 1-2 minutes
- Inside-out rolls (8 pieces): 4-6 minutes
- Sashimi (5 pieces): 2-3 minutes
💡 Example time measurement:
Sake maki (6 pieces) takes 2.5 minutes of chef time:
- Chef costs: €24.84 per hour = €0.414 per minute
- Time per 6 pieces: 2.5 minutes
- Chef costs per 6 pieces: 2.5 × €0.414 = €1.04
- Chef costs per piece: €1.04 ÷ 6 = €0.17
Add ingredients and labor together
Now you add the ingredient costs and labor costs together for the total cost price:
💡 Complete cost price sake maki:
Cost price per piece of sake maki:
- Salmon: €0.45
- Rice and nori: €0.08
- Chef time: €0.17
- Wasabi, ginger, soy sauce: €0.03
Total cost price: €0.73 per piece
At selling price €2.20 per piece (excl. VAT €2.02): food cost 36%
Include mise-en-place time too
Don't forget prep time: cooking rice, cutting fish, preparing garnish. Divide this time across all the sushi you make that day:
- Cooking rice: 30 minutes for 200 pieces of sushi
- Cutting fish: 45 minutes for 150 pieces of sashimi/nigiri
- Garnish: 15 minutes for 100 pieces
⚠️ Watch out:
Don't double-count mise-en-place! If your chef spends 30 minutes cooking rice for 200 pieces, that's an extra €0.06 per piece (30 min × €0.414 ÷ 200).
Different chef skill levels
Not every sushi is made by the head chef. Divide tasks and costs realistically:
- Head chef (€25/hour total): sashimi, special rolls
- Sous chef (€20/hour total): standard maki, nigiri
- Kitchen assistant (€15/hour total): cooking rice, garnish
A system like KitchenNmbrs can automatically calculate these labor costs per recipe, so you don't have to recalculate how much chef time costs each time.
How do you calculate labor costs per sushi? (step by step)
Calculate total hourly chef costs
Add gross salary + employer contributions (25%) + vacation/sick leave (10%) + other costs (3%). A chef earning €18 gross costs you €24.84 per hour including all contributions.
Measure time per sushi type
Time for a week how long different sushi types take. Maki: 2-3 min per 6 pieces, nigiri: 1-2 min per 2 pieces, inside-out: 4-6 min per 8 pieces. Calculate how much that is per piece.
Divide mise-en-place costs
Convert prep time (cooking rice, cutting fish) into costs per piece. 30 minutes of rice for 200 pieces = €0.06 per piece extra (€24.84 ÷ 60 × 30 ÷ 200).
✨ Pro tip
Don't just measure your fastest chef, but also your slowest. Calculate with an average, otherwise your cost price becomes too optimistic and you'll lose money on busy days.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need to count the time my chef isn't doing anything?
No, only count productive time. If your chef makes sushi for 6 hours a day and does other tasks for 2 hours, only factor those 6 hours into your sushi cost price.
What if I make the sushi myself as the owner?
Then factor in your own hourly rate, otherwise you won't know if sushi is profitable. Many owners forget their own time and mistakenly think they're making a profit.
What percentage of my cost price should labor be?
For sushi, 40-60% labor costs are normal due to the manual preparation. Add ingredients and labor together - your total cost price should stay under 35% of your selling price.
Should I calculate different rates for lunch and dinner?
Only if you use different chef skill levels. If the same chef works lunch and dinner, the labor cost price stays the same. You can, however, charge different selling prices.
How often should I update my time measurements?
Check every 3 months if your times are still accurate. If your chef gets faster or learns new techniques, the cost price changes. You also need to recalculate when wages increase.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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