{"id":1172,"date":"2026-09-06T11:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T11:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/costo.menu\/en\/?p=1172"},"modified":"2026-09-06T20:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T20:42:07","slug":"food-cost-ti-einai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/costo.menu\/en\/what-is-food-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"Food Cost: What It Is and How to Calculate It"},"content":{"rendered":"
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CostoMenu Blog \u00b7 Food Cost<\/p>\n

Food cost is one of the most useful numbers for a restaurant, caf\u00e9, or catering business. Not because it is an \u201caccounting term\u201d, but because it answers a very practical question:<\/p>\n

Of the money I make when I sell a dish, how much goes into the ingredients I use in my recipe?<\/em><\/p>\n

If you do not know that number, your selling price is a bit like cooking without salt: it might work, but mostly by luck.<\/p>\n

In this guide we will cover what food cost is, how to calculate it, what percentage is usually considered good, and how you can lower it without hurting the quality of your menu.<\/p>\n

What is food cost?<\/h2>\n

Food cost is the cost of food and drinks, as well as consumables (e.g. takeaway packaging), that a business uses to cook its dishes.<\/p>\n

In practice we look at it in two ways:<\/p>\n