You can’t price a dish properly until you know what one portion costs. That sounds obvious, but most costings are done once, from memory, and never updated. Then supplier prices move and the menu quietly stops making money.
The 6 steps to cost any dish
- Write the specList every ingredient in one portion with its exact weight or volume. Weigh it, don’t guess.
- Get today’s pricesTake prices from your latest invoices, not last year’s price list.
- Work out the cost per gramPack price ÷ pack weight. A 5kg bag of potatoes at £4.00 is £0.80 per kg.
- Adjust for yieldPeeling, trimming and bones mean you lose some of what you buy. Divide by the yield % to get the real cost.
- Add the hidden extrasOil, seasoning, garnish, sauces and sides. Small amounts, but they add up on every plate.
- Total it and check GPAdd everything up, then compare against the net menu price.
Yield: the step most costings skip
If you buy cod at £16.00 per kg and lose 10% when you trim it, you only get 900g you can serve. So each usable kilo really costs £17.78.
Worked example: fish and chips
| Ingredient | Portion | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cod fillet (90% yield) | 180g | £3.20 |
| Chips (80% yield) | 300g | £0.30 |
| Batter: flour | 60g | £0.05 |
| Batter: beer | 60ml | £0.14 |
| Mushy peas | 80g | £0.20 |
| Tartare sauce | 30g | £0.18 |
| Lemon wedge | 1 | £0.08 |
| Frying oil allowance | per portion | £0.25 |
| Cost per portion | £4.41 |
Sold at £17.50, that’s a net price of £14.58 and a GP of 69.8%.
The hidden extras add up
Cod, chips and batter. This is where most costings stop.
Add the sauce, lemon and oil and the real cost is 13% higher.
51p sounds small. Sell 120 portions a week and it’s over £3,000 a year you didn’t know you were spending.
Portion control matters as much as costing. If the spec says 300g of chips and the fryer section serves 400g, your costing is wrong every time that dish goes out.
Key points
- Weigh every ingredient in a portion, don’t estimate
- Use your latest invoice prices
- Always adjust for yield on meat, fish and veg
- Include oil, sauces, garnish and sides
Common questions
Should labour go into recipe costing?
Not in GP. Recipe costing covers food only. Labour is tracked separately as part of your wage costs.
How do I cost a sauce I make in batches?
Cost the whole batch, divide by how many portions it makes, then use that cost per portion in each dish it goes on.
Is a free menu costing template good enough?
For a few dishes, yes. Once you have a full menu, you need one that updates every dish when a single ingredient price changes, otherwise you’re back to doing it by hand.
DishProfit’s Recipe Builder does the maths
Pick a dish, choose ingredients from a dropdown and type the quantity. DishProfit handles pack sizes, yield % and cost per gram, then updates every dish when you change a supplier price.
- Yield and wastage built in
- Supplier details and price tracking
- Printable recipe cards for the kitchen
