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Cost & margin

Ideal food cost

By · Updated · Sources and editorial policy

Also called: target food cost

Ideal food cost is the weighted food cost percentage your menu produces when every dish is made to spec — recipe costs weighted by how much of each dish you actually sell. It's the reference point. Actual food cost is expected to come in higher, and the distance between them is your variance. A result below ideal is not a saving: it points to recipe costs set too high, an over-counted closing inventory, a missing invoice or under-spec plates, and needs the same review.

Formula

Ideal food cost % = Σ(plate cost × units) ÷ Σ(menu price × units) × 100

Worked example · Four dishes, one week

Burger — 220 sold, $4.20 cost, $15.00 price
cost $924 · sales $3,300
Salad — 140 sold, $2.10 cost, $13.00 price
cost $294 · sales $1,820
Salmon — 95 sold, $8.29 cost, $29.00 price
cost $788 · sales $2,755
Pasta — 180 sold, $2.90 cost, $19.00 price
cost $522 · sales $3,420
Totals
cost $2,528 · sales $11,295
Ideal food cost
22.4%

It moves without you touching anything

Two forces change ideal food cost with no decision from the kitchen. Supplier prices move the numerator. Sales mix moves the weights — a week where the salmon sells unusually well raises your ideal food cost even though every plate was perfect.

That second one catches people out. Before concluding that a rising ideal food cost means a purchasing problem, check whether the menu mix shifted. Promotion, weather and a well-run special all move it.

Run the numbers

Ideal vs. actual variance calculator

Open it free →

The guide that works it through

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.

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