Guides
Food costing, explained.
Plain-spoken guides on the numbers that protect your margin, how to calculate food cost, how to price a menu, and why the spreadsheet keeps letting you down. No fluff, no jargon.
Food cost formula: how to calculate food cost %
The simple formula behind every menu price, plus the ideal food cost ranges to aim for, and why a single number drives your whole margin.
Read → ToolsFood cost calculator: spreadsheet vs app
Why Excel quietly breaks the moment a supplier raises a price, and what a purpose-built food cost calculator does that a spreadsheet never gets right.
Read → PricingHow to price a menu for profit
Menu engineering in plain terms, set a target food cost %, find the selling price that hits it, and spot exactly where your menu is leaking margin.
Read →Stop reading, start costing
Put it into practice with Plate Pro.
The native Apple app for food costing. Change one supplier price and every recipe re-costs itself. Free to start on Mac, iPhone and iPad, no account, no tracking.