Over 70% of restaurants miscalculate their sauce costs by ignoring labor expenses. Most kitchens stick to scratch cooking out of habit, never crunching the real numbers. Factor in wages, prep time, and utilities - suddenly that €4.50 hollandaise jar looks pretty reasonable.
The hidden expenses of scratch cooking
Scratch cooking costs more than ingredient tallies suggest. You're missing labor expenses, gas bills, dishwashing time, and opportunity costs - what else could your chef accomplish instead?
💡 Example: Making hollandaise from scratch
For 1 liter of hollandaise you need:
- Butter: 500g at €8/kg = €4.00
- Egg yolks: 6 pieces at €0.25 = €1.50
- Lemon, spices: €0.50
- Chef 20 minutes at €25/hour = €8.33
- Gas, dishwashing: €0.50
Total: €14.83 per liter
Ready-made: the actual price tag
Quality hollandaise from wholesalers runs €12-15 per liter. But here's the kicker - just heat and go. Your chef's freed up for more critical tasks.
💡 Example: Ready-made hollandaise
- Purchase price: €13.50 per liter
- Chef 2 minutes heating at €25/hour = €0.83
- Total: €14.33 per liter
Difference from making it yourself: €0.50 cheaper and 18 minutes saved.
Your comparison formula
Run this calculation for any sauce comparison:
Homemade = Ingredient costs + (Prep time × Chef hourly wage) + Utility expenses
Ready-made = Purchase price + (Heating time × Chef hourly wage)
⚠️ Watch out:
Hidden expenses bite hard: dishwashing labor, ruined batches, spoiled inventory. Ready-made eliminates these risks entirely.
Scratch cooking wins here
From tracking this across dozens of restaurants, homemade typically beats ready-made for:
- Basic sauces (vinaigrette, marinara)
- High-volume needs (2+ liters daily)
- Signature recipes that differentiate your brand
- Slow periods with available kitchen capacity
Ready-made makes financial sense for
Commercial products often win with:
- Technical sauces (hollandaise, béarnaise)
- Low-volume usage (under 0.5 liter daily)
- Peak service periods where speed matters
- Temperamental sauces prone to breaking
💡 Example: Tomato sauce for pizza
At 50 pizzas per day:
- Homemade: €0.12 per pizza (bulk tomato purchase)
- Ready-made: €0.28 per pizza
- Difference: €0.16 × 50 = €8 per day
Annual impact: €2,400 savings through scratch production.
Beyond the numbers
Cost isn't your only consideration. Evaluate these factors too:
- Flavor profile: does it match your concept?
- Reliability: identical results every service
- Storage life: waste reduction potential
- Customization: can you tweak recipes?
Food cost calculators help you run both scenarios and identify your most profitable approach.
How do you compare making it yourself versus buying? (step by step)
Calculate the cost of making it yourself
Add up: ingredient costs + (preparation time × chef hourly rate) + energy costs. Don't forget to include the time for mise-en-place and dishwashing.
Calculate the cost of ready-made
Add up: purchase price + (heating time × chef hourly rate). Also check if there are minimum order requirements that increase your inventory costs.
Compare and decide per sauce
Make the comparison per sauce and per volume. A sauce you use 2 liters of per week can work out differently than one you need 10 liters of.
✨ Pro tip
Run side-by-side cost comparisons on your 3 most-used sauces every quarter - ingredient prices shift constantly, and what made sense 6 months ago might be costing you money today.
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
Is ready-made always more expensive than homemade?
Not at all. Labor costs flip the equation for complex sauces, especially in smaller quantities. You'd be surprised how often ready-made wins financially.
How do I calculate labor costs per minute?
Take your chef's gross hourly wage and divide by 60. At €25 hourly, that's €0.42 per minute. Don't forget to add roughly 25% for social charges and benefits.
What if my guests notice I'm using ready-made?
Choose premium commercial products or use them as flavor bases. Finish with fresh herbs, wine reduction, or other signature touches that make them your own.
Should I switch all sauces at once?
Start with one high-volume sauce and test during slower service periods. Monitor guest feedback and kitchen workflow before expanding the program.
📚 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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