Batch recipe
A batch recipe is produced in bulk and portioned at service. Its cost per portion is total batch cost divided by measured yield — and measuring the yield once, properly, is the difference between a correct cost and one that's understated by 10–20% forever.
Cost per portion
Batch cost ÷ Measured portions yielded
The batch-size trade-off
| Bigger batches | Smaller batches |
|---|---|
| Lower labour per portion | Less spoilage risk |
| Better ingredient pricing at volume | Fresher product at service |
| Fewer changeovers | Easier to adjust to a demand shift |
| More capital and shelf space tied up | More frequent production labour |
The right size is the one that gets consumed within the item's shelf life at your normal volume, with a small buffer. Anything larger is trading spoilage for labour savings, and spoilage is usually the more expensive side of that trade.
Worked example · Sizing a batch against shelf life
- Portions sold per day
- 34
- Shelf life of the finished item
- 4 days
- Maximum safe batch
- 136 portions
- Tested yield of one batch
- 68 portions
- Production labour per batch
- 40 min
- Run
- 2 batches, twice weekly
A single 136-portion run would halve the labour and put the last portions right at the expiry line on a slow week. Two runs cost twenty extra minutes and remove the risk entirely.
Run the numbers
Recipe cost calculator
The guide that works it through
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.
Related terms
Sub-recipe
A recipe used as an ingredient in other recipes — stock, sauce, dough, compound butter.
Cost per serving
The cost of one served unit of a batch item — a bowl of soup, a slice of pie, an ounce of sauce.
Recipe yield
How many finished portions a recipe actually produces, measured rather than assumed.
Prep list
The day's production plan — what to make, how much, and in what order — derived from par levels and a covers forecast.