Mise-en-place costs are often the hidden cost item that eats into your profit margin. Many restaurant owners only calculate main ingredients but forget the time and ingredients needed for prep work. Here's how to calculate these hidden costs precisely and factor them into your menu prices.
What are mise-en-place costs?
Mise-en-place costs are all the ingredients, time, and materials you need to prepare a dish before you can actually make it. Think of:
- Sauces and dressings made in advance
- Chopped vegetables and herbs
- Marinades and spice blends
- Steamed or pre-cooked ingredients
- Labor time for all prep work
These costs hide in your cost price but often aren't properly factored in.
⚠️ Heads up:
Mise-en-place can account for 15-25% of your total food cost. If you don't factor this in, you're losing profit on every dish without realizing it.
Calculating mise-en-place ingredients
Start with all the ingredients you use for prep work. Even the smallest amounts count.
💡 Example: Caesar salad
Main ingredients per serving:
- Romaine lettuce: €1.20
- Parmesan cheese: €1.80
- Croutons: €0.40
Mise-en-place per serving:
- Caesar dressing (mayonnaise, anchovies, garlic, lemon): €0.85
- Chopped herbs: €0.25
- Olive oil for marinating: €0.15
Mise-en-place total: €1.25 per serving
Also factor in waste. If you make dressing for 20 servings but there's always some left over, divide that waste across the servings sold. This mistake costs the average restaurant EUR 200-400 per month - money that simply disappears because prep waste wasn't accounted for properly.
Calculating mise-en-place labor costs
The time your kitchen staff spends on mise-en-place needs to be factored into your dishes.
Formula for mise-en-place labor costs:
Labor cost per serving = (Hourly wage × Time in hours) / Number of servings
💡 Example: Homemade pasta sauce
Your chef makes sauce for 40 servings every morning:
- Time: 1.5 hours
- Chef hourly wage: €18.00
- Total labor costs: €27.00
Labor cost per serving: €27.00 / 40 = €0.68
Add this to your ingredient costs for the actual cost price of that dish.
Factoring mise-en-place into menu prices
Once you know what your mise-en-place costs, include it in your total food cost calculation.
Total cost price = Main ingredients + Mise-en-place ingredients + Mise-en-place labor
💡 Example: Complete cost price
Pasta with homemade sauce:
- Main ingredients: €4.20
- Mise-en-place ingredients: €1.40
- Mise-en-place labor: €0.68
Total cost price: €6.28 per serving
At 30% food cost: minimum menu price €6.28 / 0.30 = €20.93 excl. VAT
Menu price incl. 9% VAT: €22.81
⚠️ Heads up:
Without factoring in mise-en-place, you'd think €4.20 is enough. Then you'd sell the dish for €18.00 and unknowingly lose money.
Making mise-en-place more efficient
If your mise-en-place costs are high, you can lower them by working smarter:
- Batch cooking: Make larger quantities at once to lower labor time per serving
- Cross-utilization: Use the same mise-en-place for multiple dishes
- Timing: Schedule mise-en-place during quiet moments when staff is already there
- Shelf life: Prepare mise-en-place that keeps for 2-3 days
A food cost calculator helps you track all mise-en-place costs per dish, so you know exactly what each plate actually costs.
How do you calculate mise-en-place costs? (step by step)
Make a list of all prep work
Write down which sauces, marinades, chopped ingredients, and other prep work you need for this dish. Even the smallest amounts of herbs and oil count.
Calculate mise-en-place ingredient costs
Figure out what all mise-en-place ingredients cost per serving. Divide large batches by the number of servings you get from them, including a bit of waste.
Calculate labor time per serving
Measure how long mise-en-place prep takes, multiply by hourly wage, and divide by number of servings. Add this to your ingredient costs for the actual cost price.
✨ Pro tip
Time all prep work for your 7 most popular dishes over the next 2 weeks. Most restaurants underestimate mise-en-place time by 35%, which means they unknowingly lose money on every plate.
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 factor in the time for chopping vegetables?
Yes, all prep time counts. If you spend 30 minutes every day chopping vegetables for 50 servings, that costs €0.18 per serving at €18 hourly wage.
How do I factor in mise-en-place that's used for multiple dishes?
Divide the costs proportionally based on usage. If you use hollandaise sauce for 3 dishes, calculate per dish how much of the total batch they use.
What if my mise-en-place costs come out higher than expected?
You have two options: raise your menu price or make your mise-en-place more efficient by making larger batches or reusing ingredients for multiple dishes.
Should I include mise-en-place waste in the calculation?
Absolutely. If you make dressing for 20 servings but 10% always goes to waste, divide that waste across the 18 servings sold.
📚 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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