To price a dish fairly you must know exactly what it costs, down to the pinch of salt and the trim you throw away.
Key idea
Yield percent = usable weight ÷ purchased weight. Usable (edible-portion) cost per pound = purchase price per pound ÷ yield. Recipe cost = the sum of each ingredient's usable cost × amount. Portion cost = recipe cost ÷ portions. Food-cost percent = portion cost ÷ menu price.
Why it works
A yield test is how kitchens find yields: weigh the item as bought, trim and prep it, and weigh what's usable. Whole salmon may give under half its weight as skinless fillet; carrots perhaps four-fifths after peeling and trimming. Costing from the purchase price alone makes a dish look cheaper than it is.
Worked example: Usable cost
Whole beef tenderloin costs \$18.00 per pound; trimmed, it yields 70%. What is the usable cost per pound?
- $18.00 \div 0.70 \approx 25.71$.
Answer: About \$25.71 per pound.
Worked example: Food-cost percent
A dish's portion cost is \$5.60 and it sells for \$18.00. What is its food-cost percent?
- $5.60 \div 18.00 \approx 0.311$.
Answer: About 31%.
Common mistake
Forgetting small things: oil, butter, salt, garnish, bread. Many kitchens add a few percent for them (a "Q-factor").
Practice at home
- Cost a dinner you make at home from your grocery receipt, including oil and spices. Work out the cost per portion.
- Do a yield test on a bunch of carrots or a pineapple: weigh, peel and trim, weigh again.
The science behind it
- Finding a percent of a number: the math behind food cost
- Percent increase and decrease: price changes