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Restaurant & Kitchen Operations · Kitchen Margin Tool

Free Restaurant Food Cost Percentage & Menu Pricing Calculator

Calculate your restaurant's actual period food cost percentage from inventory and COGS, plus plate-level recipe cost and ideal menu price.

Period Inventory & Plate Cost

Food Cost & Menu Pricing Inputs

Dish / Recipe Menu Pricing

Food Cost Results

COGS & Menu Price

Actual Period Food Cost % 29.60% Period COGS: $14,800.00 · Variance vs 28% target: +1.60% ($800)
Ideal Menu Price (at Target %)$17.50
Current Dish Food Cost %29.70%
Gross Profit per Plate$11.60
Period COGS ($)$14,800.00

Step-by-step guide

How to Use the Food Cost Percentage Calculator

  1. 1
    Enter Beginning Inventory, Purchases, Ending Inventory, and Food Sales

    Calculate your actual period Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and Food Cost Percentage.

  2. 2
    Enter plate portion cost and target food cost %

    Calculate the ideal menu price and gross profit per plate.

  3. 3
    Spot variance between ideal and actual food cost

    Identify waste, over-portioning, or unrecorded supplier price increases.

Formula & methodology

Period Food Cost & Menu Pricing Formulas

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) = Beginning Inventory + Purchases − Ending Inventory
Actual Food Cost (%) = (COGS ÷ Total Food Sales) × 100
Ideal Menu Price = Dish Portion Cost ÷ (Target Food Cost % ÷ 100)

Common questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant?

Most profitable restaurants maintain a food cost percentage between 26% and 32%, depending on concept (pizza/bakery concepts run 20%–25%, while steakhouses/seafood run 34%–38%).

Why is my actual food cost higher than my theoretical recipe cost?

A gap of more than 1.5%–2% between theoretical and actual food cost is typically caused by unrecorded waste, over-portioning on the line, supplier price creep, or missed delivery shortages.

How often should restaurants count inventory to calculate COGS?

Weekly or bi-weekly stock counts of key protein, dairy, and produce items catch margin leaks 4× faster than monthly accounting closes.

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