Plate Costing Worksheet

Create a plate costing worksheet from recipes, supplier prices and kitchen yields, with cost per plate against target margin.

Added October 15, 2026. Written with AI assistance and checked for clarity and placeholders; not reviewed by a lawyer, accountant, clinician or other professional. How these prompts are made

The Open buttons send the prompt text as currently shown below to that site only when you click. Fill in the placeholders first.

[VERIFY] [ADD SOURCE] is an editorial flag, not a blank to fill. Wherever the prompt shows [VERIFY], check that item against a reliable source before you use it (what [VERIFY] means).

Create a plate costing worksheet. Recipes with ingredient quantities: [RECIPES]. Supplier prices and pack sizes: [PRICES]. Yield or trim loss figures from my kitchen: [YIELDS]. Target margin: [TARGET_MARGIN].

Provide a table layout with Ingredient | Purchase unit | Price | Usable yield | Cost per usable unit | Quantity in recipe | Cost in recipe, and a summary with plate cost, suggested price at my target margin, and the price I currently charge. Walk through one worked example using invented ingredients, labelled as an illustration. Include a routine for updating prices when invoices change, a list of hidden costs often missed (oil, garnishes, bread, napkins), and a check for rounding. Tell me to verify tax-inclusive or exclusive pricing rules for menus [VERIFY].

Also add a checklist for updating the sheet every month, a column that flags when an ingredient price has changed by more than a threshold I set, and a note on costing batch items such as sauces separately so that recipes stay accurate.

Add a section on using the costs for decisions. Provide a worked example of three invented dishes showing plate cost, selling price, cost percentage and contribution per plate, labelled as an illustration, and a decision guide for dishes outside my target: re-cost the recipe, adjust the portion, change an ingredient, adjust the price, or remove the dish. Add a method for costing batch recipes such as stocks and sauces per portion, a routine for recording trim and yield tests with a scale, and a way to include labour and overhead if I choose. Include a quarterly review of the top ten ingredients by spend and a plan to ask suppliers for current quotes. Remind me that guests also consider value and fairness, so price changes need care.

Keep wording honest and warm, make no claims about ingredients, sourcing or origin without evidence [ADD SOURCE], and tag licensing, alcohol and labelling points [VERIFY] for [JURISDICTION].

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Invented example
Ingredient | Purchase | Usable yield | Cost per usable kg | Recipe qty | Recipe cost
Chicken thighs | 7.00/kg | 80 percent | 8.75 | 0.18 kg | 1.58
Rice | 2.00/kg | 100 percent | 2.00 | 0.08 kg | 0.16
Sauce (batch) | 0.45/portion | 100 percent | n/a | 1 portion | 0.45
Plate cost = 2.19. At a target 30 percent food cost, price = 2.19 / 0.30 = 7.30.
Current price 8.50 gives 25.8 percent. Check tax inclusion rules for menus [VERIFY].

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