How to calculate food cost percentage
Food cost percentage is what you spent on the food you sold, divided by what you sold it for. For a period such as a week or a month:
Cost of goods sold = opening inventory + purchases − closing inventory. Food cost % = cost of goods sold ÷ food sales × 100.
Example: you start the week with €4,200 of stock, buy €6,100, and finish with €3,900. Your cost of goods sold is €6,400. On €21,500 of food sales, food cost is 29.8%.
What is a good food cost percentage?
Many full-service restaurants aim for roughly 28–35%, but the right target depends on your concept, your prices and how much labour your dishes take. A burger bar and a tasting menu should not share a number. The useful habit is to set your own target per dish and watch the gap between theory and reality.
Theoretical versus actual food cost
The plate calculator gives your theoretical food cost: what a dish should cost if every portion is perfect. Actual food cost comes from stock counts and includes waste, over-portioning and spoilage. The gap between the two is where margin leaks.
Orbis tracks both continuously. The recipe graph prices every dish from your own invoices, and stock is deducted as it sells, so food cost is visible today instead of at the month-end count.
Questions
What is the food cost formula?
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Food cost % = (opening inventory + purchases − closing inventory) ÷ food sales × 100.
How do I calculate the cost of one plate?
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Add up the cost of every ingredient in the portion: quantity used × price per unit. Include house-made components such as sauces at their own cost per gram.
How do I price a dish from its food cost?
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Divide the plate cost by your target food cost percentage. A €4.20 plate at a 30% target needs a price of €14.00 before VAT.
Should I include VAT?
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Compare like with like: use purchase prices and menu prices both excluding VAT.
Does Orbis do this automatically?
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Yes. Orbis costs every dish from your invoice prices through the recipe graph and tracks food cost as stock moves. Orbis is in active R&D with Helsinki design partners. The MVP is testable from December/January, and R&D access is free during testing.