The total portion cost is more than just main ingredients. Many entrepreneurs forget to include garnishes, sauces and oil, which causes them to underestimate their actual food cost. Here's how to include every component of a dish in your cost calculation.
What's included in the portion cost?
A complete portion cost consists of all ingredients that go on the plate. That means:
- Main ingredients (meat, fish, vegetables)
- Garnishes and side dishes
- Sauces and dressings
- Oil, butter and other fats
- Herbs and spices
- Decoration and finishing touches
Skip one component and your food cost won't add up. And that gets expensive fast.
⚠️ Watch out:
Many restaurants only calculate with main ingredients. Garnishes and sauces can make up 15-25% of your cost. Skip those and your food cost is much higher than you think.
Calculate main ingredients accurately
Start with your main ingredient. Weigh the exact portion size and calculate what it costs per portion.
💡 Example:
Steak of 200 grams:
- Purchase price: €28.00/kg
- Portion: 0.2 kg
- Cost per portion: €28.00 × 0.2 = €5.60
Watch for cutting loss with fish and meat. You buy whole salmon for €18/kg but have 45% cutting loss? You're actually paying €32.73/kg for the fillet.
Include garnishes and side dishes
Every potato, every carrot, every sprig of parsley costs money. List all side dishes and weigh them.
💡 Example garnishes:
- Potatoes (250g): €0.45
- Vegetable mix (100g): €0.85
- Parsley (5g): €0.15
- Lemon (1 wedge): €0.12
Total garnish: €1.57
Portion sauces and dressings accurately
Sauces are often expensive to purchase and get served generously. Measure how much sauce actually goes on the plate and calculate the cost per milliliter.
For homemade sauces, add up all ingredients: cream, butter, wine, stock, herbs. Don't forget labor time - that's part of the cost too.
💡 Example sauce calculation:
Pepper sauce (50ml per portion):
- Cream (30ml): €0.24
- Butter (10g): €0.18
- Pepper and herbs: €0.08
- Wine (10ml): €0.15
Total sauce: €0.65
Oil, butter and other fats
Cooking and frying fat seems small but adds up quickly. Measure how much oil you use for frying and butter for finishing.
- Frying oil: average 10-15ml per portion of meat
- Butter for finishing: 5-10 grams per plate
- Olive oil for dressing: 5-10ml per portion
Add up the complete cost
Now add all components together for the total portion cost.
💡 Complete steak calculation:
- Steak (200g): €5.60
- Garnishes: €1.57
- Pepper sauce: €0.65
- Frying oil and butter: €0.28
- Herbs and salt: €0.05
Total portion cost: €8.15
At a selling price of €28.00 incl. VAT (€25.69 excl. VAT) your food cost is: (€8.15 / €25.69) × 100 = 31.7%
Calculate and check food cost
With your total portion cost you now calculate your food cost percentage:
Food cost % = (Total portion cost / Selling price excl. VAT) × 100
A healthy food cost sits between 28-35% for most restaurants. If you're higher, you need to adjust your portion size, purchasing or selling price.
⚠️ Watch out:
Always calculate with the selling price EXCLUDING VAT. The price on your menu includes 9% VAT for food. Divide by 1.09 to get the price excl. VAT.
Keep track digitally saves time
Manually adding up and tracking all components takes hours. Something most kitchen managers discover too late is how much time they waste on spreadsheets. With tools like KitchenNmbrs you build an ingredient database and the system automatically calculates your portion cost and food cost percentage.
You only need to enter the quantities per ingredient and the system does the rest. That saves hours of calculation work per week.
How do you calculate the total portion cost? (step by step)
Make a complete ingredient list
Write down ALL ingredients that go on the plate: main ingredient, garnishes, sauces, oil, herbs and decoration. Don't forget anything, not even that one parsley leaf.
Weigh all portion sizes exactly
Measure the exact amount of each ingredient per portion. Use a kitchen scale and measuring cups for liquids. Don't estimate, measure.
Calculate the cost per ingredient
Multiply the portion size by the purchase price per unit. Add up all ingredient costs for the total portion cost.
Check your food cost percentage
Divide the total portion cost by your selling price excl. VAT and multiply by 100. Check if your food cost is between 28-35%.
✨ Pro tip
Recalculate your top 3 dishes every 6 weeks - they represent 60% of your food cost. Price changes hit these hardest and cost you the most money.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
Was this article helpful?
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the cost of homemade sauces?
Add up all sauce ingredients and divide by the number of portions you make with it. Don't forget labor time - that's part of the cost too.
Should I include cutting loss in my calculation?
Yes, cutting loss makes your ingredients more expensive. If you have 20% cutting loss, divide your purchase price by 0.8 to get the actual price per usable kilo.
What if my food cost comes out higher than 35%?
Then you're probably losing money on that dish. You can give smaller portions, use cheaper ingredients or raise your selling price.
📚 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.
Standardize portions, stabilize margins
Varying portions mean varying costs. KitchenNmbrs records exact quantities per recipe so every plate costs the same. Try it free for 14 days.
Start free trial →