Free tool
Recipe cost & menu margin calculator (UK)
Cost a dish properly: enter what you pay per pack and how much you use per portion, add wastage, then check your menu price against VAT and your target food cost %. Built for UK pubs, cafés and small restaurants drowning in a spreadsheet that broke months ago.
Cost the recipe
One row per ingredient. Use any unit you like (grams, ml, pieces) — just keep the pack size and amount used in the same unit.
Check the menu price
Working shown here once you type.
Quick answer
Ingredient cost per dish = pack cost ÷ pack size × amount used. Add a wastage uplift (cost × 1 + wastage %). Menu prices include VAT, so remove it first: net price = menu price ÷ 1.2. Food cost % = dish cost ÷ net price × 100. Most UK pubs and cafés aim for 25–35% food cost, i.e. a 65–75% gross margin on food.
How the maths works
- Ingredient cost: pack cost ÷ pack size × amount used per dish. A £6.40 800g pack of chicken at 180g per dish is £6.40 ÷ 800 × 180 = £1.44.
- Wastage uplift: multiply the batch cost by (1 + wastage %). 5% wastage on £2.097 of ingredients costs you £2.20 per dish before you have sold a thing.
- Menu price is VAT-inclusive: a £12.50 eat-in dish is £12.50 ÷ 1.2 = £10.42 net. Your margin lives in the net, not the till price.
- Food cost %: dish cost ÷ net price × 100. At 25–35% you are in the normal UK hospitality band; above 40% the dish is usually working against you.
What food cost % should I aim for?
Most UK pubs, cafés and restaurants target 25–35% food cost (65–75% gross margin). Pubs with heavy drinks mix can run slightly higher on food because drinks carry higher margins. If a dish sits above 40%, either the price is wrong, the portion is too generous, or the supplier price has crept up since you last costed it — which is exactly how the spreadsheet rot starts.
Do I take VAT off my menu price?
Yes, before doing any margin maths. UK menu prices include VAT. Divide the menu price by 1.2 for standard-rated food (eat-in, hot takeaway, drinks) to get the net revenue that is actually yours. Cold takeaway food is zero rated, so the full price is net — pick 0% in the calculator for those dishes.
How often should I re-cost recipes?
Every time a key supplier price changes, and at minimum quarterly. The classic failure mode in small kitchens: a costing sheet built two years ago, three supplier price rises since, and every dish silently 5–8% worse than the owner believes. Re-cost your top 10 sellers first — they carry most of the margin.
Related tools
Digital Adaption builds reporting UK SMEs actually trust — live margin dashboards, supplier price tracking and Power BI reporting instead of a brittle workbook. Get in touch. Want this costing model wired to your real purchase data so it updates itself? We build that. Ask for a tailored quote.