How do you calculate the cost of a recipe?
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Short answer
A portion's cost comes from each ingredient's purchase price and the wastage; set against the selling price, it tells you whether the dish really pays. Keeping that current by hand is hard when prices move. Palato costs every portion automatically from the purchase prices in stock and shows each dish's margin next to the guests' score.
Why it matters dish by dish
The menu's average cost can look fine while a few dishes quietly lose money, and a dish that paid yesterday may not today. You only see it when every dish's cost stays current.
How costing works in Palato
- 1Add ingredients and purchase prices to stock; the average price updates on every delivery.
- 2Write each ingredient's weight and the wastage in the recipe.
- 3Palato works out every dish's portion cost and margin.
- 4The menu analysis puts that margin next to the guests' score, so a loved dish with a thin margin stands out.
Keep your costs current
In the live demo you can see every dish's margin and how many guests loved it, for an example venue.