Pack price
What the kitchen paid for the supplier pack, in the unit it was bought.
Kitchen costing guide
Food cost per portion, without the guesswork.
The price on the supplier invoice is not the cost of the portion on the plate. The useful calculation connects pack price, usable yield, recipe quantity and portions.
The working calculation
Start with the cost of the usable amount, then divide the recipe batch by its yield.
portion cost = Σ (pack price × recipe quantity ÷ usable pack quantity) ÷ portionsThree numbers need to stay visible
Usable yield
What remains after trim, cooking, reduction or other real preparation loss.
Recipe quantity
The amount that actually goes into the batch, not the amount that arrived on the invoice.
A practical before-service check
Update one ingredient
Change the pack price or yield using a real supplier update, not a made-up average.
Find the linked recipes
A prep or ingredient can sit inside several dishes. The affected family matters more than one isolated calculation.
Review the decision
Check the new portion cost, menu price, portion size and any prep sheets that now need printing.
Common questions
Is food cost percentage the same as portion cost?
No. Portion cost is the money spent on the ingredients for one portion. Food cost percentage compares that cost with the selling price: portion cost ÷ menu price × 100.
Should I use pack price or usable yield?
Use the pack price together with the usable quantity. If a 5kg pack produces only 4.2kg of usable product, the recipe cost should reflect the 4.2kg, not the label weight alone.
Why can a correct spreadsheet still be wrong?
The formula can be correct while the inputs are stale. An old pack size, yield assumption or shared-prep link can quietly move every affected dish.
Try one real recipe
PrepSheet's free tools let you test a dish before you decide whether a template or the assisted operator beta is useful.