The Marji guide library
Know the numbers.
Make your next move.
Practical restaurant food cost guides, with the calculations shown. Explore recipe costs, menu pricing and the everyday decisions behind your kitchen’s margins.
Worked examples are labeled samples. Use your own reviewed costs to make a decision.
Recipe Costing, Step by Step: Purchase Unit to Served Portion
Cost a recipe from supplier pack to served portion, with source dates, measured yields, a worked plate and explicit handling of missing ingredient costs.
A useful place to start.
Find the question on your mind, then work through the numbers.
60 practical guides
- Suppliers & purchasing
Butter vs. margarine cost: compare cost per sellable bake
Compare baking fats by finished product cost, not pack price. Use a test-batch record and a break-even reject calculation before changing a recipe.
· 4 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
Coffee shop menu engineering: sizes, milk options and rush-hour capacity
Review café profitability without hiding milk and size costs. Includes a reconciled sales-mix example, rush-hour capacity comparison and pastry check.
· 4 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How to price combo meals without discounting away your margin
Price a meal bundle against what guests would otherwise buy. Calculate contribution, a discount ceiling and the extra orders needed to cover displaced sales.
· 4 min read - Operations & inventory
MarginEdge pricing: monthly fees and your first-year cost
Build a MarginEdge budget from current subscription and onboarding prices. Compare monthly and annual billing, separate Toast fees, and check a sample first year.
· 5 min read - Food cost fundamentals
Average restaurant food cost per month: build your purchasing budget
Plan monthly food purchases from sales, recipe costs and inventory. Separate consumption, orders and cash payments with three worked budget scenarios.
· 4 min read - Profit & loss
Restaurant employee turnover: what the BLS rate means for your budget
Understand the 2025 BLS turnover figures, calculate departures against your own headcount, and budget replacement hiring without mixing rates or costs.
· 5 min read - Profit & loss
Restaurant failure rates: what the BLS survival data actually shows
Read the BLS survival figures through March 2025, distinguish restaurant risk from sector data, and test the sales your own operating budget needs.
· 5 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
Restaurant vs. Grocery Price Inflation Since 2020
Compare restaurant and grocery price changes in 23 BLS local areas through August or September 2026, with matched periods and a worked dish-pricing example.
· 6 min read - Profit & loss
Restaurant Wages by Metro: Cooks, Dishwashers and Servers
Compare BLS hourly pay for restaurant cooks, dishwashers and servers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, then turn your own wage assumptions into a weekly budget.
· 5 min read - Suppliers & purchasing
Sysco vs US Foods vs Restaurant Depot: Delivery or Pickup?
Compare delivery, membership and pickup costs using current supplier sources and a worked shopping-basket example. Choose a route for your restaurant's actual order.
· 7 min read - Suppliers & purchasing
Whole vs. boneless chicken: which costs less per usable portion?
Compare chicken purchase specifications using usable cooked yield, prep time and demand for each cut. Includes a worked break-even purchase price.
· 4 min read - Operations & inventory
Free recipe costing apps: limits, exports and a test recipe
Compare ongoing free recipe costing tools with free trials. Check recipe limits, yields and exports, then evaluate any app with a reproducible $2.97 bowl.
· 8 min read - Operations & inventory
How many restaurants are in NYC? A 2026 borough count
NYC's October 2026 inspection dataset contains 31,469 establishment records. See borough counts, the 3,858 not yet inspected, and what the totals mean.
· 6 min read - Operations & inventory
NYC restaurant inspection grades: what the rules and data show
Understand NYC's A, B, C and Grade Pending results, with an original analysis of 25,425 establishments and a practical way to read your inspection record.
· 6 min read - Suppliers & purchasing
Food Price Forecast 2027: USDA's Numbers for Restaurant Ingredients, and How Far to Trust Them
USDA's 2027 forecasts for restaurant prices, beef, poultry, dairy, eggs and wholesale costs, an 11-year check of how far such forecasts miss, and a worked 2027 food budget.
· 10 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
Free QR Menu Makers Compared: What the Free Plans Include
What free QR menu plans allow in October 2026: dish caps, ads, trial limits, ordering and translation, each read from the vendor's own page.
· 6 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How to Price a Burger: Cost the Plate at Today's Beef Price, Then Set the Menu Price
Cost a burger line by line, turn the plate cost into a menu price, and see what 2024–2026 beef prices did to burger margins, using BLS and USDA data.
· 7 min read - Profit & loss
New York Minimum Wage 2027 for Restaurants: The Freeze, Tipped Rates and the March Proposal
New York's minimum wage stays $17.00 downstate and $16.00 upstate on January 1, 2027. Tipped rates, tip-credit rules, overtime and what the proposed March increase would cost.
· 6 min read - By restaurant type
QR Code Menus for Food Trucks: Setup, Placement and Daily Changes
How a food truck can use a QR code menu at the window: when it helps, where to put the code, and how to handle sell-outs, event prices and today's location.
· 5 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How to Tell Guests About a Menu Price Increase: What the Research Says, Sample Wording and the Fee Rules
Whether to announce a menu price increase, what fairness research says about explaining it, sample wording for menus, regulars and catering clients, and the NYC and state fee rules.
· 8 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How Much to Mark Up Menu Prices on Delivery Apps: The Math, the Rules and What Restaurants Charge
The app price that keeps a dish's contribution at 15%, 25% and 30% commissions, what DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub say about charging more, the cities that protect your prices, and measured markups.
· 7 min read - Operations & inventory
How to Track Food Waste in a Restaurant: The Waste Log, the Cost and What to Change
Run a two-week kitchen waste log, cost each discard at what you paid, read it by reason, and see which NYC organics rules apply, including the 2026 law that can reach every restaurant.
· 9 min read - Profit & loss
Restaurant Break-Even Analysis: Covers per Day, the Fixed Part of Labor and the Delivery Mix
Sort a month's costs into fixed and variable, find break-even sales and covers per day, and correct for what simple break-even math misses: the minimum crew, delivery commission and loan principal.
· 5 min read - Operations & inventory
Restaurant Voids and Comps: What to Record, How to Read the Report and What They Cost
The difference between a void, a comp, a discount and a refund; the reasons and approvals to require; how to read a weekly report; and what comps add to your food cost percentage.
· 6 min read - Suppliers & purchasing
#10 Can Size and Other Can Sizes: What Each Holds and How to Cost It
USDA's common can sizes — No. 10, No. 3 cylinder, No. 2½ and smaller — with net weight, cups and drained yields, and how to cost canned goods per usable cup.
· 5 min read - Food cost fundamentals
Cooking Yield: How to Measure Cooking Loss and Cost the Cooked Portion
Measure cooking yield, turn it into a cost per cooked pound and portion, and compare USDA-published yields for common cuts, with ranges that show why your own test matters.
· 10 min read - By restaurant type
How to Calculate Pour Cost for Liquor, Beer and Wine: Bottle, Keg and Glass Math
Cost a spirit pour, a cocktail, a draft pint and a glass of wine from bottle and keg sizes, then measure actual pour cost from inventory and find where the gap comes from.
· 7 min read - Profit & loss
RevPASH: How to Calculate Revenue per Available Seat Hour, Hour by Hour
Calculate RevPASH correctly by the hour, split it into occupancy and spend, and see what Cornell's restaurant revenue research found about table mix, meal length and pricing by time.
· 6 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How to Price Catering Per Person: Food, Labor, Service Charges and New York Tax Rules
Turn a catering headcount into purchase quantities, then price food, labor and delivery per guest. Worked yield, pack-rounding and New York service-charge examples.
· 9 min read - Operations & inventory
How to Set Restaurant Par Levels and Turn Them Into a Prep List
Set par levels from counted usage, the days each order must cover and your own busiest cycle, then turn them into a daily prep list capped by date-marking limits.
· 8 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How to Price Market-Price (MP) Menu Items: A Rule, Price Bands and a Visible Price
Price MP dishes from today's plate cost with a written rule, compare percentage and dollar-contribution rules, set price bands, and show guests the current price.
· 7 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
Menu Psychology: What the Evidence Says About Dollar Signs, Decoys, Anchors and Layout
An evidence review of menu psychology for restaurant owners: which pricing and layout tactics were tested with real orders, how large the effects were, and how to test one yourself.
· 8 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
NYC Delivery App Fee Caps: What Apps Can Charge a Restaurant, and How to Price the App Menu
What NYC law lets delivery apps charge restaurants — 15% delivery, 5% basic service, 20% enhanced service, 3% processing — and how to price an app menu that holds your margin.
· 6 min read - Operations & inventory
Scoop, Ladle and Measuring-Serving Spoon Sizes: A Portion Chart and the Cost of Each Portion
USDA's scoop (disher), ladle and measuring-serving spoon sizes in cups and ounces, what a scoop number means, and how to cost a portion from the batch — level, weighed and recorded.
· 5 min read - Food cost fundamentals
Produce Yield Chart: USDA As-Purchased to Ready-to-Use Yields for Common Fruits and Vegetables
USDA-measured yields from as-purchased to ready-to-use for 36 fruits and vegetables, including lemon and lime juice, with the formulas to cost and order produce from them.
· 5 min read - Operations & inventory
How to Do a Restaurant Inventory Count That Produces a Usable Food Cost
Set up a count sheet, count every storage area at the same point each period, value it at current invoice prices, and turn it into period food cost without the common errors.
· 5 min read - Operations & inventory
Restaurant Inventory Turnover and Days on Hand: How to Calculate and Use Them
Calculate restaurant inventory turnover and days on hand from counts and invoices, split them by category, and read what the numbers say about pars, cash and spoilage.
· 7 min read - Profit & loss
Restaurant Labor Cost Percentage: What to Include and How to Calculate It
Calculate restaurant labor cost percentage with the right inclusions — payroll taxes, tips, service charges, benefits — using 2026 federal and New York figures and published benchmarks.
· 7 min read - Suppliers & purchasing
Seasonal Food Prices: Which Ingredients Follow the Calendar, From 10 Years of BLS Data
Month-by-month price patterns for ten restaurant ingredients from BLS data, 2016–2025: which follow the seasons, which move on shocks and trends, and how to plan a menu around each.
· 6 min read - By restaurant type
Bakery Batch Cost After Bake Loss and Unsold Portions
Cost a bakery batch from ingredient purchases to finished portions, then separate bake yield, rejects and unsold stock with a reproducible worksheet example.
· 4 min read - Suppliers & purchasing
How to Compare Restaurant Supplier Prices When Case Sizes Differ
Compare supplier quotes by purchased and usable units, including pack sizes, yields and known fees. Follow a worked case-to-portion example.
· 3 min read - Suppliers & purchasing
Restaurant Invoice Price Audit: Check the Line Before Updating Recipe Costs
Check supplier invoice prices, smaller packs, catch weights and credits before updating recipe costs. Worked examples show what changes and what stays unresolved.
· 7 min read - By restaurant type
Coffee Shop Drink Cost: Coffee, Milk, Cup and Waste
Calculate two café drink sizes from weighed coffee, measured milk and packaging, then keep pitcher waste and ingredient-price changes visible in the recipe.
· 4 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
Contribution Margin vs. Food Cost Percentage: Compare Two Dishes
Compare food-cost percentage with ingredient contribution per dish and across actual sales volume, using two reproducible dishes and a cost-change scenario.
· 4 min read - Operations & inventory
Food Costing Software vs. a Spreadsheet: When Does Recosting Help?
Compare recipe costing software, spreadsheets and an AI-assisted workflow with one invoice change. Check the arithmetic, maintenance work and missing inputs.
· 6 min read - Operations & inventory
Food Costing With Square: What Actually Works
Compare Square recipe costing options with using Marji alongside your POS. Check ingredient evidence, current connection limits and manual price updates.
· 4 min read - By restaurant type
Food Truck Costs: Where the Room for a Higher Food Cost Comes From
Why a food truck can carry a higher food cost: in a hypothetical $18,000 month, commissary, fuel and fees cost about what rent does, and the room comes from a smaller crew. Plus booking break-even.
· 4 min read - Food cost fundamentals
What's a Good Food Cost Percentage? National Medians and the Target Your P&L Can Afford
What national data says about restaurant food cost percentage — 2024 medians of 32.0% full service and 32.4% limited service — why formats differ, and how to set the target your P&L can afford.
· 4 min read - Food cost fundamentals
How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage: The Formula, a Worked Month and a Worked Dish
The food cost formula — beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory, divided by food sales — worked for a month and for one dish, with what counts as food and the mistakes that skew it.
· 7 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How to Price a Menu Item: Markup vs. Margin
The formula for pricing a dish from plate cost and target margin, the markup/margin confusion that underprices menus, and the three adjustments before a price goes on the menu.
· 4 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
How to Raise Menu Prices After Ingredient Costs Increase
Model a menu price change after a supplier increase: restore contribution dollars or margin percentage, calculate required volume and approve a measured decision.
· 4 min read - Food cost fundamentals
Ideal vs. Actual Food Cost: Which Inputs Explain the Gap?
Compare reviewed recipe costs and manually supplied dish counts with inventory-adjusted period food cost, then check invoice, unit, portion and timing evidence.
· 4 min read - Menu pricing & engineering
Menu Engineering: The Four-Quadrant Matrix
How to build a menu engineering matrix from a POS product mix report — with a full worked example on a 12-item menu and the specific action for each quadrant.
· 5 min read - By restaurant type
Pizzeria Food Cost: Cheese Portions, Dough and the Box
Cost a pizza from dough to packaging and measure what an extra half ounce of cheese costs at your own portion size, supplier price and weekly sales volume.
· 3 min read - Profit & loss
Prime Cost Explained
What prime cost includes, how to calculate it weekly, where the 65% rule of thumb comes from, and how to derive the ceiling your own P&L allows.
· 4 min read - Food cost fundamentals
Recipe Costing, Step by Step: Purchase Unit to Served Portion
Cost a recipe from supplier pack to served portion, with source dates, measured yields, a worked plate and explicit handling of missing ingredient costs.
· 4 min read - Profit & loss
My Restaurant Isn't Making Money. Where Do I Look?
A structured walk down the restaurant P&L to find where the profit is going: profit versus cash, the line that is out of range, and each fix sized in monthly dollars before you pull it.
· 6 min read - Profit & loss
The Restaurant P&L, Line by Line (For Owner-Operators)
A restaurant profit and loss statement explained line by line: a worked month, what each line includes, the owner pay, interest and depreciation below it, and the national medians to read it against.
· 6 min read - Operations & inventory
The Data-Entry Tax in Restaurant Software
Restaurant costing tools can fail on setup burden and maintenance rather than on features. What the data-entry tax is, why it stalls a project, and what to ask a vendor before you buy.
· 5 min read - Food cost fundamentals
Why Is My Food Cost So High? Check Units, Portions and Invoices
Diagnose a high food-cost figure with a decision tree and evidence checklist for dates, pack units, recipe costs, portions, waste and purchasing changes.
· 4 min read
One number a week.
A weekly note on the retail food-price benchmarks we track, with labeled plate-cost scenarios and inputs to review. Based on the BLS retail observations behind our food cost index. No pitch, one email, unsubscribe in a click.