Menu Price & Food Cost Percentage Formula
Food cost percentage formula and menu price calculation in Excel: plate cost ÷ target food cost %. Includes waste factor, benchmarks and a free menu cost calculator.
=LET( plateCost, [@IngredientCost] * (1 + [@WastePct]), targetPct, [@TargetFoodCostPct], menuPrice, plateCost / targetPct, CEILING.MATH(menuPrice, 0.25) - 0.01 )
Ingredient cost per plate inflated by prep waste and trim loss.
Restaurant Recipe Costing & Menu Engineering Matrix
Skip writing this formula by hand — download the pre-built Restaurant Recipe Costing & Menu Engineering Matrix workbook with live structured tables, KPI dashboard, and sample data.
The Problem with Standard Excel Approaches
Most menus are priced by gut feel or by copying competitors. Without dividing the true plate cost by a target food cost %, popular dishes quietly run at 40%+ food cost.
How Modern Dynamic Arrays Execute This Formula
Costs every recipe ingredient at its as-purchased price.
Adds a waste factor so the plate cost reflects edible yield.
Divides plate cost by the target food cost % to get the minimum menu price.
Shows the actual food cost % of the current price: plate cost ÷ menu price.
Common Excel Errors & How to Fix Them
Solution: Format the target column as a percentage, or divide by 100.
Solution: Wrap the price in IF(targetPct > 0, ...) or default the column to 30%.
Skip building this from scratch.
This formula is already fully wired, error-checked, and formatted with Big-4 print-ready A4 reports inside Restaurant Recipe Costing & Menu Engineering Matrix.