Prime cost shows your true dish profitability by combining ingredient costs with labor expenses. Most operators only calculate ingredients but miss the hidden costs of prep time. Your mise-en-place labor can add 20-40% to your actual dish cost.
What is prime cost and why mise-en-place belongs in it
Prime cost combines your food cost and labor costs. It reveals your total direct costs to make a dish. Most operators only calculate ingredients but forget the time their staff spends cutting, marinating and preparing.
💡 Example:
A steak with garnish:
- Ingredients: €8.50
- Mise-en-place time: 12 minutes at €18/hour
- Labor costs mise-en-place: €3.60
Prime cost: €12.10 (was €8.50 without labor)
The formula for mise-en-place labor costs
To calculate mise-en-place labor costs you need three numbers:
- Time per portion: How many minutes does the preparation take?
- Kitchen hourly rate: What do you pay per hour (gross + employer contributions)?
- Number of portions: How many portions are you preparing at once?
The formula:
Labor cost per portion = (Time in minutes / 60) × Hourly rate × (1 / Number of portions)
💡 Example calculation:
Your chef prepares vegetables for 20 portions:
- Time: 40 minutes for 20 portions
- Hourly rate: €20 (including employer contributions)
- Per portion: (40/60) × €20 × (1/20) = €0.67
If you don't include this, you're missing €0.67 per dish in your cost price.
Calculating hourly rate: more than just gross salary
The hourly rate for your calculation isn't the gross salary on the payslip. You need to include all employer costs:
- Gross hourly wage
- Employer contributions (approximately 25% of gross salary)
- Holiday pay (8% of gross salary)
- Any pension contributions
💡 Example actual hourly costs:
Chef with €15 gross per hour:
- Gross salary: €15.00
- Employer contributions (25%): €3.75
- Holiday pay (8%): €1.20
Actual hourly costs: €19.95
Measuring mise-en-place time: what counts?
Not all kitchen work is mise-en-place. Only count the time spent directly on a specific dish:
DO count:
- Cutting vegetables for this dish
- Marinating meat
- Making sauces
- Preparing garnishes
DO NOT count:
- General cleaning
- Setting up equipment
- Checking inventory
- General mise-en-place used for multiple dishes
Here's something most kitchen managers discover too late: their initial time estimates are usually 30-40% lower than reality. Staff takes longer than you think, especially during busy periods.
⚠️ Watch out:
Measure time realistically. Many operators underestimate. Use a stopwatch for a few dishes to get accurate data.
Calculating prime cost: food cost + labor costs
Once you have both your ingredient costs and mise-en-place labor costs, you can calculate your total prime cost:
Prime cost = Ingredient costs + Mise-en-place labor costs + Preparation labor costs
💡 Complete prime cost example:
Pasta carbonara, selling price €18.50 excl. VAT:
- Ingredients: €4.80
- Mise-en-place (5 min at €20/hour): €1.67
- Preparation (8 min at €20/hour): €2.67
Prime cost: €9.14 = 49.4% of selling price
Benchmarks: what is a good prime cost?
Prime cost gives you a more realistic picture than food cost alone. Common percentages by type of business:
- Fast casual: 45-55%
- Casual dining: 55-65%
- Fine dining: 60-70%
- Delivery: 50-60%
The more labor-intensive your dishes, the higher your prime cost. That's normal, as long as your selling price compensates for it.
⚠️ Watch out:
Prime cost above 70% becomes difficult. Then there's too little left for fixed costs (rent, energy, administration) and profit.
Making mise-en-place more efficient
If your mise-en-place labor costs are too high, you can optimize in several ways:
- Make batches larger: Prepare for more portions at once
- Improve cutting work: Sharper knives and better techniques
- Optimize timing: Do mise-en-place during quieter moments
- Adjust recipes: Use less labor-intensive ingredients
A food cost calculator like KitchenNmbrs helps you track these labor costs per dish, so you can see where optimization will pay off the most.
How do you calculate mise-en-place labor costs? (step by step)
Measure the actual preparation time
Use a stopwatch to measure how much time you spend on mise-en-place for a specific dish. Only count the time spent directly on this dish, not general kitchen preparation.
Calculate your actual hourly costs
Add employer contributions (±25%), holiday pay (8%) and any other costs to the gross salary. A chef at €15 gross actually costs you about €20 per hour.
Calculate per portion
Use the formula: (Time in minutes / 60) × Hourly rate × (1 / Number of portions). If you spend 40 minutes on mise-en-place for 20 portions at €20/hour, that costs €0.67 per portion.
✨ Pro tip
Time your top 3 dishes' mise-en-place for 2 weeks straight during different shifts. Most operators discover they're underpricing by €1.50-€3.00 per dish once they see the real labor hours.
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 also include preparation time in prime cost?
Yes, for a complete prime cost you include both mise-en-place and preparation time. Both are direct labor costs needed to make the dish.
How often should I re-measure my mise-en-place times?
Measure at least once per quarter, or if you change recipes or procedures. Staff gets faster over time, but new dishes often take more time than you estimate.
What if my prime cost comes out above 70%?
Then it becomes difficult to be profitable. First look at more efficient mise-en-place, then consider raising your selling price or adjusting your recipe to less labor-intensive ingredients.
Can I deduct mise-en-place labor costs if I cook myself?
Your time also has value. Calculate with a realistic hourly rate for yourself, otherwise you underestimate the real costs of your dishes and price too low.
What about mise-en-place used for multiple dishes?
Divide the time across all dishes it's used for. If you cut onions for 3 different dishes, divide the cutting time by 3.
How do I handle seasonal prep time variations?
Track prep times during peak and slow seasons separately. Summer vegetables might prep faster than winter root vegetables, affecting your labor costs by 15-25%.
Should I include training time for new prep cooks?
No, training time is an indirect cost, not part of prime cost. Only include the time an experienced cook needs for normal mise-en-place work.
📚 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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