Chapter 8 · Menu & Culinary Management
If you don’t know what each dish costs, you don’t know what you’re earning. Dish costing is the foundation of pricing, profit control, and menu decisions—especially when ingredient prices change.
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Dish costing is not a one-time spreadsheet. It’s a routine: standardize recipes, measure portions, update ingredient prices, and calculate contribution margin. This justify price changes and protects profitability without guesswork.
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<strong class="font-semibold text-gray-900">Standardize Recipes and Portions.</strong>
Define exact quantities, prep yields, and plating standards. Without portion control, costs drift quietly and “food cost surprises” appear at month-end.
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<strong class="font-semibold text-gray-900">Use Yield and Waste Accounting.</strong>
Raw purchase weight is not edible portion. Account for trimming, cooking loss, and spoilage. Accurate yields make costing realistic, not optimistic.
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<strong class="font-semibold text-gray-900">Price Based on Margin Targets.</strong>
Combine food cost and target contribution margin to set pricing. Don’t “copy competitors” blindly—your cost structure and value perception may differ.
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Accurate costing also supports menu engineering. When you know contribution margin by item, you can promote the right dishes and redesign the ones that underperform.
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A Monthly Costing Habit
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Each month, update ingredient prices (especially proteins and key imports), re-calculate top sellers, and flag any items that fell below target margin. Then choose actions: reprice, re-portion, or adjust recipe components.
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“We discovered our best-selling dish was barely profitable. After a small portion adjustment and price update, margins stabilized without guest complaints.”
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<img class="size-6 flex-none rounded-full bg-gray-50" src="https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1544723795-3fb6469f5b39?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&auto=format&fit=facearea&w=256&h=256&q=80" alt="Chef">
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<strong class="font-semibold text-gray-900">Riley Park</strong> – Chef
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Portion control is the simplest path to cost control.
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Costing Creates Confidence
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When you know your costs, you price with clarity, protect margins, and make smarter menu decisions. Costing turns culinary creativity into sustainable business.
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