How to Calculate Food Cost per Dish in a Restaurant: Formula and Example

To calculate food cost per dish, multiply each ingredient's quantity by its unit cost, then add ingredient costs, expected waste, packaging, and other direct expenses. For example, ingredients costing 12, waste costing 1, and packaging costing 2 result in a direct dish cost of 15 currency units.

Calculate the food cost percentage by dividing direct cost by selling price and multiplying by 100. At a selling price of 30, the percentage is 50%. Include additional operating expenses when evaluating actual profitability. Try Cash Cloud for free to explore purchasing, inventory, and sales management tools.