PREVRA Food Cost Calculator: Know Your Margins on Every Plate
A practical food cost calculator for UK food businesses. Calculate gross profit per dish, food cost percentage, and yield-adjusted portion costs. Includes wastage factors so your numbers reflect reality.
Why accurate food costing matters for your business survival
Most independent restaurants that close within two years do not fail because the food is bad — they fail because they do not know what each plate actually costs. A food cost percentage that looks healthy on a spreadsheet can hide the fact that your three best-selling dishes are loss-makers once wastage, trimming loss, and staff meals are accounted for.
Counter-intuitively, raising prices on your most popular items often improves customer satisfaction. A dish perceived as too cheap can signal low quality. The sweet spot is not the lowest price — it is the price that accurately reflects ingredient quality while delivering a sustainable margin.
Calculating your true food costs per dish
List every ingredient in the dish with its purchase unit, cost per unit, and the quantity used per portion. Apply a yield factor — trimmed meat, peeled vegetables, and cooked-down reductions all change the effective ingredient cost. Add a waste allowance, typically 3-5% for professional kitchens. The calculator gives you the true plate cost and the gross profit at your selling price.
Revisit your calculations quarterly or whenever supplier prices change significantly. A 10% increase in cooking oil or butter can wipe out the margin on a dish that was perfectly costed three months ago. Digital systems that link to supplier price lists can flag margin erosion before it hits your bottom line.
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