How many dishes on your menu are secretly bleeding money right now? Most restaurants discover they're selling at a loss only after months of damage. But what if you flipped the script and calculated exact food costs before adding any new dish?
Your profit becomes predictable
Stop guessing whether dishes make money. Once you know exact food costs upfront, you control your margins instead of hoping they work out.
💡 Example:
You want to add a new pasta carbonara for €16.50 (incl. 9% VAT):
- Selling price excl. VAT: €15.14
- Ingredient costs: €4.80
- Food cost: 31.7%
Result: You know this dish is profitable before it hits the menu.
You prevent hidden loss-makers
Here's something most kitchen managers discover too late: that "popular" dish everyone loves? It might be costing you €200 every month. Without proper calculations, profitable-looking dishes often drain your bank account.
⚠️ Watch out:
A dish with 40% food cost costs you money with every sale. At 20 portions per week, you lose €2,600 per year on that single dish.
You can set prices consciously
Forget backwards pricing where you hope 30% food cost works out. Calculate real costs first, then decide your profit margin deliberately.
💡 Example:
Ingredient costs: €6.00. You want 30% food cost:
- Minimum price excl. VAT: €6.00 / 0.30 = €20.00
- Menu price: €20.00 × 1.09 = €21.80
You control your margin, instead of discovering later that you're charging too little.
Your menu becomes a profit machine
Every dish becomes a strategic decision. You'll know exactly which items generate real money and can push those harder.
- Push popular dishes with low food cost extra
- Remove loss-makers from the menu or reprice them
- Test new dishes for profitability first
The impact on an annual basis
The gap between knowing and guessing your dish costs creates massive differences over 12 months. Small percentage improvements compound into serious money.
💡 Example calculation:
Restaurant with €400,000 annual revenue:
- Without food cost control: 36% food cost = €144,000
- With food cost control: 30% food cost = €120,000
- Difference: €24,000 more profit per year
How do you get started?
Target your 5 best-selling dishes first. Calculate exact food costs including every ingredient, garnish, and sauce. Verify each dish stays under 35% food cost.
For new menu additions: always calculate food cost first, then set your selling price. Tools like KitchenNmbrs can speed up this process significantly. Never work backwards from hoped-for margins.
How do you calculate a food cost before adding a dish to your menu?
List all ingredients
Write down every ingredient that goes on the plate: main product, garnish, sauce, oil, butter, spices, decoration. Don't forget anything, not even the smallest amounts.
Calculate the quantity per portion
Determine exactly how many grams or ml you use of each ingredient. Weigh this during cooking to be sure of portion sizes.
Calculate the costs per portion
Multiply the quantity per portion by the purchase price per kg/liter. Add up all ingredient costs for the total food cost per dish.
✨ Pro tip
Calculate food costs for your 4 most expensive ingredient dishes within the next 72 hours. These high-cost items pose the biggest risk for hidden losses and offer the greatest potential for profit improvement once you price them correctly.
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
Do I really have to count every ingredient, even salt and pepper?
Salt and pepper cost little, but herbs and spices can be expensive. Count everything that costs more than €0.10 per portion. When in doubt: counting everything gives a more honest picture.
How often should I update my food costs?
Check your food costs at least every 3 months, or immediately if your supplier raises prices. Especially with expensive ingredients like meat and fish, prices can change quickly.
What if my food cost turns out too high for the desired menu price?
Then you have three options: smaller portions, cheaper ingredients, or a higher selling price. Better to know this in advance than discover later that you're running at a loss.
What about trimming loss with fresh products?
Always factor in trimming loss. Whole fish has 40-50% loss, vegetables 15-25%. Your actual cost per kilo goes up: at 40% loss, €20/kg actually costs €33.33/kg of usable product.
Should I calculate food costs for daily specials too?
Absolutely, especially since specials often use premium ingredients. Many restaurants lose money on specials because they skip the math. Calculate costs even for one-day dishes.
How do I handle recipe variations between different cooks?
Standardize your recipes with exact measurements and train all cooks to follow them precisely. Even small portion variations can turn a 28% food cost into 35% quickly.
⚠️ EU Regulation 1169/2011 — Allergen Information — https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/oj
The allergen information on this page is based on EU Regulation 1169/2011. Recipes and ingredients may vary by supplier. Always verify current allergen information with your supplier and communicate this correctly to your guests. KitchenNmbrs is not liable for allergic reactions.
In the UK, the FSA enforces allergen regulations under the Food Information Regulations 2014.
📚 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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