Mise-en-place costs are often a hidden cost item that affects your profitability. Many kitchens spend 15-30% of their time on preparations, but don't track what this costs. In this article you'll learn exactly how to calculate what your mise-en-place costs you daily as a percentage of your revenue.
What are mise-en-place costs?
Mise-en-place costs consist of all the time and ingredients you invest in preparations before service begins. This includes:
- Cutting and washing vegetables
- Making sauces and dressings
- Preparing meat and fish
- Setting up garnishes and decorations
- Portioning base ingredients
These costs consist of labor costs (time from your kitchen team) and ingredient costs (what you use for preparations).
The calculation step by step
To calculate your mise-en-place costs as a percentage of revenue, you need three components:
💡 Formula:
Mise-en-place % = (Labor costs + Ingredient costs) / Daily revenue × 100
Calculating labor costs
Add up how many hours your team spends on preparations and multiply by the hourly wage including employer contributions.
💡 Example labor costs:
Daily mise-en-place: 4 hours
- Chef: 2 hours × €22/hour = €44
- Kitchen assistant: 2 hours × €16/hour = €32
Total labor costs: €76
⚠️ Note:
Calculate with hourly wage including employer contributions (approximately 30% on top of gross salary). A cook earning €18 gross costs you approximately €23.40 per hour.
Ingredient costs for mise-en-place
These are the costs of ingredients you use for preparations but don't directly sell to guests:
- Oil and butter for frying and roasting
- Herbs and spices
- Base ingredients for sauces
- Cutting waste from vegetables and meat
💡 Example ingredient costs:
Daily mise-en-place ingredients:
- Sauces and dressings: €18
- Oil, butter, herbs: €12
- Vegetable cutting waste: €8
- Garnishes and decoration: €6
Total ingredient costs: €44
Complete calculation with example
Now you can calculate the total percentage:
💡 Full example:
Restaurant with daily revenue of €2,500:
- Labor costs mise-en-place: €76
- Ingredient costs mise-en-place: €44
- Total mise-en-place costs: €120
Percentage: (€120 / €2,500) × 100 = 4.8%
Benchmarks and guidelines
Common mise-en-place costs as a percentage of revenue:
- Fine dining: 6-10% (lots of handwork, complex dishes)
- Casual dining: 3-6% (moderate complexity)
- Fast casual: 2-4% (simple prep)
- Pizzeria/grill: 2-3% (minimal preparations)
⚠️ Note:
Above 8% mise-en-place often becomes too expensive. Check whether you're doing too many preparations or using expensive ingredients for prep.
How to lower your mise-en-place costs
If your percentage is too high, these are effective ways to save:
- More efficient planning: Only prep what you really need
- Batch cooking: Make larger quantities of sauces to spread labor costs
- Simpler garnishes: Easier decorations save time
- Better timing: Prep during quiet moments with cheaper staff
With a system like KitchenNmbrs you can track which prep activities take the most time, so you can optimize more strategically.
How do you calculate mise-en-place costs? (step by step)
Measure your prep time over one week
Track how many hours your team spends daily on preparations. Note this for different team members and add them up. Do this for at least one week to get an average.
Calculate your labor costs per day
Multiply the prep hours per person by their hourly wage including employer contributions. Add all labor costs for mise-en-place together for one day.
Add up your ingredient costs for prep
Calculate what you spend daily on oil, herbs, sauces, and cutting waste for preparations. These are costs that don't go directly into a dish but are still necessary.
Divide by your daily revenue and multiply by 100
Use the formula: (Labor costs + Ingredient costs) / Daily revenue × 100. This gives you the percentage of your revenue that goes to mise-en-place.
✨ Pro tip
Measure for one week exactly how much time each prep activity takes. You'll be surprised how much time goes to 'small things' you don't notice.
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
Should I include cleaning time in mise-en-place costs?
No, cleaning is a separate cost item. Mise-en-place is only the preparations for cooking itself. You calculate cleaning separately as operational costs.
What if I prep for multiple days at once?
Then divide the costs over the number of days you benefit from it. Making sauce on Monday for three days? Then calculate 1/3 of those prep costs per day.
Is a mise-en-place cost of 7% too high?
For fine dining, 7% can still be acceptable, for casual dining it's starting to get high. Check whether you're not doing too many or too complex preparations for your concept.
How often should I check this percentage?
Monthly is sufficient, unless you make major changes to your menu or prep routine. Then you can measure weekly to see the effect.
Should I include VAT in this calculation?
No, calculate with revenue excluding VAT. Your mise-en-place costs are also excluding VAT, so for a fair comparison you use both amounts without VAT.
📚 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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