How to calculate food cost % (with a worked Indian example)
Food cost % is the ingredient cost of one plate divided by the plate’s selling price before GST, multiplied by 100. Work out what each ingredient in one plate costs, add them up, divide by the menu price and multiply by 100.
What counts as food cost?
Food cost is what you pay for the ingredients that go into one plate — paneer, butter, cream, vegetables, spices and oil. It does not include rent, salaries, gas or electricity; those are separate costs you track elsewhere.
How do I calculate it, step by step?
- List every ingredient that goes into one plate of the dish.
- Write down how much of each you use per plate, including what is trimmed or wasted while preparing it.
- Look up what you pay for each ingredient, and its purchase unit — per kg, per litre or per piece.
- Convert so the units match (grams to kilos, millilitres to litres) and work out each ingredient’s cost per plate.
- Add them up. That is the plate cost.
- Divide the plate cost by the menu price before GST, and multiply by 100.
A worked example: paneer butter masala
Example quantities and prices — replace them with your own recipe and supplier rates. One plate uses the ingredients below and sells for ₹320.00 before GST.
| Ingredient | Used per plate | Purchase price | Cost per plate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paneer | 150 g | ₹400 / kg | ₹60.00 |
| Butter | 20 g | ₹550 / kg | ₹11.00 |
| Fresh cream | 30 ml | ₹220 / L | ₹6.60 |
| Tomato | 200 g | ₹40 / kg | ₹8.00 |
| Onion | 80 g | ₹35 / kg | ₹2.80 |
| Cashew | 15 g | ₹900 / kg | ₹13.50 |
| Spices & masala | 10 g | ₹600 / kg | ₹6.00 |
| Cooking oil | 15 ml | ₹160 / L | ₹2.40 |
| Plate cost | ₹110.30 |
- Food cost = ₹110.30 ÷ ₹320.00 × 100 = 34.5%
- Gross profit per plate = ₹320.00 − ₹110.30 = ₹209.70
How do I handle kilos and grams?
Make the units match before multiplying. If paneer costs ₹400 per kg and a plate uses 150 g, convert 150 g to 0.15 kg: 0.15 × ₹400 = ₹60. The same goes for litres and millilitres. Ingredients bought by the piece stay in pieces.
Common mistakes that make dishes look cheaper
- Counting only what lands on the plate and leaving out trimming, peeling and spillage.
- Using an old supplier price instead of what you paid this month.
- Costing a batch of gravy and forgetting to divide it by the plates it actually serves.
- Including GST in the selling price, which makes the food cost look lower than it is.
Run the numbers for your own dishes
Once you know the method, the free food cost calculator does the arithmetic for you: list a dish’s ingredients and prices and it shows plate cost, food cost and profit per plate, with tips on using the result.
From recipe cost to actual cost
A recipe tells you what a dish should cost. Your stock tells you what it really cost. In HostAir, stock is deducted from each dish’s recipe as it sells, so a physical stock count shows the gap between the two — the place where wastage, over-portioning or missing stock shows up.
Frequently asked questions
- Is food cost the same as gross profit?
- No. Food cost is what the ingredients cost; gross profit per plate is the selling price minus that cost. They are two sides of the same calculation.
- Should takeaway packaging count as food cost?
- Track it, but keep it as a separate line so you can see how much packaging adds to takeaway and delivery orders compared with dine-in.
- How do I cost dishes that share a base gravy?
- Cost the gravy batch once, work out its cost per portion, and add that portion cost to every dish that uses it.
- Do staff meals count?
- Not in a dish’s food cost. Record staff meals separately so they don’t make your menu items look more expensive than they are.
- What is the difference between theoretical and actual food cost?
- Theoretical food cost comes from your recipes. Actual food cost comes from what you bought and what is left in stock. A gap between them points to wastage, over-portioning or missing stock.