Cost per serving
Also called: cost per portion · portion cost
Cost per serving is the total cost of a batch divided by the number of servings it actually yields — after reduction, trim and the portion left in the bottom of the pot. Dividing by the theoretical yield instead of the real one understates every portion.
Formula
Cost per serving = Total batch cost ÷ Actual servings yielded
Worked example · Tomato bisque, 5-gallon batch
- Tomatoes, 24 lb
- $31.20
- Cream, 1.5 gal
- $18.75
- Stock, aromatics, butter
- $9.40
- Total batch cost
- $59.35
- Theoretical yield, 5 gal at 8 oz
- 80 servings
- Actual yield after reduction and pot loss
- 68 servings
- Cost per 8 oz serving
- $0.87
Costed against the theoretical 80 servings it looks like $0.74 — a 15% understatement on every bowl. Measure the real yield once, then trust it.
Run the numbers
Recipe cost calculator
The guide that works it through
Recipe Costing, Step by Step
How to cost a recipe properly: yield-adjusted ingredient costs, sub-recipes, the Q factor, and a full worked example from invoice to plate cost to menu price.
Related terms
Batch recipe
A recipe produced in bulk and portioned at service — soups, sauces, braises, doughs.
Sub-recipe
A recipe used as an ingredient in other recipes — stock, sauce, dough, compound butter.
Plate cost
The total ingredient cost of one served portion, garnish and sides included.
Recipe yield
How many finished portions a recipe actually produces, measured rather than assumed.
Q factor
A per-plate allowance for the small unbilled items — oil, butter, salt, bread service — that never make it onto a recipe card.