Recipe Shrinkage & Portion Food Costing Formula
Calculate recipe ingredient yield percentage, trim loss shrinkage, and plate cost in Excel. Engineer high-margin restaurant menus.
=([@AP_UnitPrice] / [@Yield_Percentage]) * [@RecipePortionQty]
As-Purchased invoice cost per pound or unit from wholesale purveyor.
Restaurant Recipe & Menu Engineering
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The Problem with Standard Excel Approaches
Raw ingredients lose significant weight during trimming, butchery, and cooking (e.g. beef tenderloin yield is often only 68%). Costing raw AP weight causes 5-10% food cost leakage.
How Modern Dynamic Arrays Execute This Formula
Tracks As-Purchased (AP) wholesale purveyor invoice pricing.
Applies butcher test yield factors (e.g. 72% edible yield for fresh salmon).
Calculates true Edible Portion (EP) unit cost per ounce or gram.
Multiplies by plate portion size to guarantee target 28% food cost targets.
Common Excel Errors & How to Fix Them
Solution: Enter yield as a decimal between 0.10 and 1.00 (e.g., 0.85 for 85% yield).
Solution: Use Datasheetly's built-in unit conversion coefficients.