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Food Cost Calculator
Add your ingredients, set a selling price, and instantly see your food cost percentage, gross margin, and recommended pricing. Waste-adjusted for accuracy.
Ingredients
Add your recipe ingredients with quantities and costs.
IngredientQtyUnitCost/unitWaste %
Pricing
€
Food Cost Percentage
--
Enter a selling price to see results
Total Ingredient Cost
€0.00
waste-adjusted
Gross Margin
--
per dish sold
Recommended Selling Price
--
at 30% food cost target
Save your work
Want to track food costs across all your recipes?
Cucinovo saves your recipes, calculates cost per portion automatically, and updates when ingredient prices change. Free plan available.
Start free with CucinovoUnderstanding Food Cost Percentage
What is food cost percentage?
Food cost percentage measures how much of your menu price goes to ingredient costs. It is the single most important metric for restaurant profitability and home cooking budgets alike.
Food Cost % = (Total Ingredient Cost / Selling Price) × 100
Ideal food cost ranges
Under 28% — Excellent margins
28–32% — Industry standard
32–35% — Acceptable for premium
Over 35% — Needs attention
Tips for reducing food cost
Track waste — Trim loss inflates your real cost. Use the waste % field above.
Buy seasonally — Seasonal produce costs less and tastes better.
Standardize recipes — Consistent portions mean predictable costs.
Use sub-recipes — Bases made in bulk reduce per-portion cost.
Review regularly — Ingredient prices change. Recalculate monthly.
Free plan for home cooks
No credit card required
14-day trial for restaurants
GDPR compliant