Begin with a recipe you can repeat
Menu costing for a restaurant in Bangladesh starts with a defined portion, not a selling price. Before calculating anything, write down the ingredients, usable quantities and method for one repeatable recipe. If each cook serves a different amount, a precise spreadsheet will still describe an inconsistent dish.
Choose one menu item for the first exercise. Use a current supplier invoice, a measured preparation batch and the actual portioning tools used during service. This keeps the work manageable and reveals where your records are unclear before you try to calculate the entire menu at once.
The figures below are deliberately illustrative. They are not market prices, supplier quotes or recommended selling prices. Replace every example with your own purchasing and yield records before making a commercial decision. Costing is a method for understanding an operation, not a universal percentage that guarantees profitability.
Put ingredients into consistent units
Purchases arrive in kilograms, litres, packets and individual pieces, while recipes often use grams or millilitres. Convert those quantities before multiplying. A kilogram contains one thousand grams; a price quoted per kilogram must be converted if the recipe quantity is entered in grams.
Name each column clearly. A worksheet might include purchase unit, purchase cost, usable yield, recipe quantity and extended ingredient cost. Keep the unit next to the number. A bare entry of “200” is not useful if one person reads it as grams and another reads it as a package count.
Check pack sizes whenever a supplier changes. A product with the same brand name can arrive in a different quantity, and an apparently cheaper packet may cost more per usable unit. Record the date of the price so that an old worksheet does not quietly become the basis for a new decision.
Account for usable yield
Purchase weight is not always the quantity available for the recipe. Trimming, peeling and preparation can reduce usable output. Measure that change for the ingredient and process you actually use. Avoid borrowing a yield percentage from an unrelated product simply because it makes the calculation easier.
Suppose an illustrative ingredient costs BDT 500 per purchased kilogram and provides 800 grams of usable output. The usable cost is BDT 500 divided by 0.8 kilograms, or BDT 625 per usable kilogram. A 100-gram usable portion therefore costs BDT 62.50 before other ingredients are included.
That difference is easy to miss when purchase price alone is entered into a recipe. Repeat the measurement across representative batches if the result varies. Keep unusual losses visible rather than hiding them inside a guessed average, and investigate whether storage, specification or preparation is causing the variation.
Include the small components
A main ingredient is only part of a plate. Add the sauce, cooking fat, garnish, seasoning and any accompanying bread or side. These quantities can feel too small to record individually, but repeated service turns small omissions into a meaningful difference between calculated and actual usage.
For a batch recipe, calculate the total ingredient cost and divide it by the number of standard portions produced. Measure the finished output rather than assuming the expected yield always occurs. If a sauce produces fewer portions than planned, the cost per portion increases even when the purchasing price is unchanged.
Packaging should also be visible where it belongs to the order. A takeaway container, lid and bag are not ingredients, but they are direct costs that affect the transaction. Keep them in a separate line so that a dine-in and takeaway version can be compared clearly.
Distinguish percentages from contribution
Food-cost percentage is calculated by dividing portion food cost by the relevant selling revenue and multiplying by one hundred. Use a consistent treatment of discounts and taxes, agreed with the person responsible for your accounts. Mixing gross and net figures makes comparisons misleading even when the arithmetic is correct.
Imagine an example dish with BDT 180 in ingredient cost and BDT 600 in the revenue basis used for the calculation. The food-cost percentage is 30 percent. The difference is BDT 420 before labour, occupancy, utilities and other expenses. That difference is not the same as net profit.
A lower percentage does not automatically make one dish the better business choice. Consider the amount contributed, demand, preparation time and equipment capacity together. A dish that ties up a scarce station or regularly produces waste may need a different conversation from one that is straightforward to execute.
Reconcile the worksheet with the kitchen
Costing becomes more useful when it is compared with actual purchasing, stock movement and sales. If theoretical usage and observed usage differ, investigate before assigning blame. Possible causes include inaccurate portions, incomplete records, spoilage, unrecorded staff food, recipe changes or a unit error in the worksheet.
Observe a service portion with the team. Check whether the utensil and plate encourage the intended amount. A standard is easier to follow when the working method supports it. Merely telling people to “use less” does not explain the required quantity or protect the eating experience.
Review the recipe whenever a specification changes. Substituting one cut, brand or ingredient can affect yield and preparation time as well as price. Document the change and recheck the finished dish. A menu should remain understandable to the person cooking it and the person reading its cost sheet.
Turn the information into a decision
Set a review routine that matches how your purchasing changes. The purpose is not to update every cell constantly, but to notice changes large enough to affect a decision. Prioritise high-use ingredients, uncertain yields and dishes with a substantial gap between planned and actual consumption.
Discuss options before reaching for a price increase. A preparation adjustment, portion clarification or menu simplification may address the issue. Any change should preserve a coherent guest experience and be assessed against the wider operation. Cost control is most effective when the kitchen and business team use the same facts.
If you need a commissioned review, explore menu development and consulting. If your aim is to learn the calculations yourself, the proposed cost-control workshop describes a separate learning route. Bring a representative recipe and purchasing records to either conversation so that the next step is grounded in your actual operation.