Portion Costs

Portion cost, or raw food cost, is the total cost of all the ingredients in a recipe divided by the number of portions served:

Here we cost out a sample recipe to show you how the procedure works. First, note the following points and keep them in mind when you are calculating portion costs. Many errors in costing are caused by forgetting one of these points.

1. Costs must be based on AP (as purchased) amounts, even though recipes often give EP (edible portion) quantities. These terms are explained in the preceding section.

2. Include everything. That means the lemon wedge and parsley garnish for the fish filet, the cream and sugar that go with the coffee, and the oil used for pan-frying the eggplant. These are sometimes called hidden costs.

   Seasonings and spices are a typical example of hidden costs that are difficult to calculate. Some operations add up the cost of all seasonings used in a year and divide that by the total food cost to get a percentage. This percentage is added to each item. For example, if the cost of an item is $2.00 and the seasoning cost percentage is 5 percent, the total cost is $2.00 plus 5 percent of $2.00, or $2.10.

   Other hidden costs can be calculated in the same way. For example, you could figure out your cost percentage for frying fat and add the percentage to all deep-fried foods.

   Some restaurants take an arbitrary figure for all hidden costs, usually 8 to 12 percent, and add this to all menu items.

3. Record the number of portions actually served, not just the number the recipe is intended to serve. If the roast shrank more than you expected during cooking, or if you dropped a piece of cake on the floor, those costs still have to be covered.