A changing menu keeps your guests curious, but makes cost calculation trickier. You can't fall back on existing recipes and need to quickly estimate whether a new dish will be profitable. With the right approach, you'll calculate within 15 minutes whether your new creation makes financial sense.
Why weekly menus need extra attention
With a fixed menu, you calculate the food cost once and you're done. With changing dishes, you need to recalculate every week. The risk: you underestimate ingredients or forget components, causing you to unknowingly run at a loss.
⚠️ Watch out:
Many kitchens estimate the cost price for new dishes. "Feels right" is not a reliable method. One €2 mistake per plate costs you €5,200 per year at 50 portions per week.
Create a complete ingredient list
Start with all ingredients that go on the plate. Don't forget the small things - they often make the difference between profit and loss.
- Main ingredients: meat, fish, vegetables
- Sauces and dressings: including butter for sautéing
- Garnishes: herbs, microgreens, olive oil for finishing
- Side dishes: potatoes, vegetables, salad
- Bread: if it comes standard with the dish
💡 Example:
New creation: Grilled sea bream with citrus butter sauce and seasonal vegetables
- Sea bream fillet 180g: €4.20
- Butter for sauce 15g: €0.18
- Lemon (1/4 piece): €0.25
- Seasonal vegetable mix: €1.80
- Olive oil for finishing: €0.12
- Herbs and salt: €0.15
Total ingredients: €6.70
Determine quantities exactly
Don't estimate, weigh and measure. Use a kitchen scale and note the exact grams. This prevents portions from becoming larger in practice than your calculation.
Also account for trim loss on fish and meat. If you buy a whole sea bream for €15/kg, but throw away 40% (head, bones, skin), you're actually paying €25/kg for the fillet.
Use current purchase prices
Use this week's prices, not last month's. Especially with seasonal products, prices can fluctuate 20-30% weekly.
💡 Example calculation:
Ingredients: €6.70 - Menu price: €24.50 (incl. 9% VAT)
- Selling price excl. VAT: €24.50 ÷ 1.09 = €22.48
- Food cost: (€6.70 ÷ €22.48) × 100 = 29.8%
Result: Excellent food cost for a fish dish
Build in a buffer for the unexpected
With new dishes, you always run the risk of underestimation. Therefore, build a 5-10% buffer into your cost price. Better to be a bit cautious than to run at a loss afterwards.
Test and adjust
Track how much you actually use in the first week. Often the portion turns out to be larger or smaller than planned, or you use more sauce than calculated.
⚠️ Watch out:
Check after a week whether your calculation was correct. Count how many portions you made and how much ingredients you used. Large discrepancies? Adjust your cost price for next week.
Record digitally for reuse
Even though you change weekly, some dishes come back. Save successful recipes with cost prices, so you can reuse them later without recalculating.
An app like KitchenNmbrs helps you save recipes with cost prices, so when you repeat a dish you immediately know if it's still profitable - even if supplier prices have changed.
How do you calculate the food cost of a new dish?
Create a complete ingredient list
Note all ingredients that go on the plate, including sauces, garnishes and oil for preparation. Don't forget small amounts either - they add up.
Weigh and measure exact quantities
Use a kitchen scale to determine exactly how many grams of each ingredient go into one portion. Don't estimate, but measure for real.
Calculate the total cost price per portion
Add up all ingredient costs and divide by your selling price excl. VAT, multiply by 100 for the percentage. Aim for a maximum of 35% food cost.
✨ Pro tip
Test new dishes first as a special for one day before adding them to the weekly menu. This way you see if guests like it AND whether your cost price is correct.
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 herbs and salt in the cost price?
Yes, everything that goes on the plate counts. Even if it's just 5 cents worth of herbs per portion, at 100 portions per week that's €260 per year you'd otherwise forget.
How do I handle seasonal fluctuations in ingredient prices?
Check your supplier price weekly for main ingredients. With large price increases (>15%), adjust the menu price or choose a different dish for that week.
What if my food cost comes out higher than 35%?
Then you have three options: raise the menu price, reduce portion size, or choose cheaper ingredients. Above 35% food cost, it becomes difficult to make a profit.
How do I track whether my calculation is correct in practice?
At the end of the week, count how many portions you made and how much ingredients you used. Divide the total ingredient costs by the number of portions for the actual cost price.
Can't I just calculate a standard percentage markup?
That's unreliable because ingredient prices vary greatly. A 300% markup works for pasta (cheap), but not for lobster (expensive). Always calculate per dish.
📚 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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