COSTING THE

FINISHED
PRODUCT
 SCOPE OF THE LESSON
• Kitchen Calculation
• Yield Percentage
• Cost Calculation
• Total Cost
• Menu Item
 KITCHEN CALCULATION
• Menus used in the dining room give both the
waitstaff and guests important information
about what your establishment offers, and
your recipes give detailed instructions to aid
kitchen staff in producing those menu items.
More importantly, carefully designed menus
and comprehensive recipes can assist the
professional chef in streamlining kitchen
operations and controlling costs.
 KITCHEN CALCULATION
• The concepts explored in “Kitchen
Calculations” are powerful tools that
will improve efficiency and
organization. The “Kitchen
Calculations” toolkit helps you and
your staff overcome some of the more
common kitchen math challenges
that directly affect your bottom line.
 YIELD PERCENTAGE
• Calculating yield percentage is critical to placing an accurate
food order. Improperly calculating your food order can
result in having too much or too little of a given ingredient.
Too much of an ingredient will put you in the situation of
scrambling to create a new dish to entice your customers and
use your excess product. On the flip side, running short of an
item or ingredient can only lead to disappointment for
customers longing for your new "signature dish."

• Determining the Yield Percentage of your recipes in advance

will lead to greater efficiencies and a more productive
operation.
 YIELD PERCENTAGE
• As-Purchased Quantity (APQ): The weight, volume, or
count of the product as it is received from the vendor.

• Edible Portion Quantity (EPQ): The weight, volume, or

count of the product after it has been cleaned, peeled, or
prepared (fabricated) and is ready for use. The word edible
signifies the condition of the product as ready for use in the
dish you are going to prepare within your operation.

• Trim: The weight or volume of the waste. This factor can be

determined mathematically as the difference between APQ and
EPQ.
FORMULA: Trim = APQ - EPQ
 YIELD PERCENTAGE
3 MAJOR APPLICATIONS FOR YIELD
PERCENTAGE

1. Computing the minimum amount to order

2. Recipe costing

3. Determining the maximum number of servings that a

purchased amount will yield.

Yield Percentage Formula = Edible Portion Quantity/As-

Purchased Quantity x 100
 YIELD PERCENTAGE
Example: Your operation has purchased
50 pounds of potatoes. Upon cleaning and
peeling, there are 42.5 pounds remaining
and 7.5 pounds of trim.

• We will use the 3-Step Process to

Calculate Yield Percentage.
 YIELD PERCENTAGE
1. Identify the EPQ and APQ
• APQ = 50 pounds (whole potatoes)
• EPQ = 42.5 pounds (cleaned and peeled potatoes)

2. Determine if the units are the same before calculating the yield
percentage.

3. Substitute the weights of the EPQ and APQ into the formula

• Yield Percentage = EPQ/APQ * 100

= * 100
= 0.85 * 100
= 85 %
 COST CALCULATIONS
• Determining cost is one of the most important
parts of budgeting and predicting. Most of the
food items you receive from your suppliers are
packed and priced using wholesale bulk sizes –
crates, cases, bags, or cartons. However, in
kitchen production, the quantity in the package
may be used for several different menu items.
To allocate the proper prices to the recipes you
are preparing, it is necessary to convert the
price of the purchase package into unit prices –
price per pound, each, dozen, quart, etc.
 COST CALCULATIONS
• Applying the cost-per-unit formula is integral to
a successful operation. If you do not calculate
these formulas, you will not be able to properly
estimate the cost of menu items in your kitchen.
And ultimately, you will not be able to arrive at
a selling price that will offer you a reasonable
profit.

FORMULA:
Cost Per Unit: As-Purchased cost/Number of units
 COST CALCULATIONS
Example:
Cost Per Unit Supplier 1: The cost of a case of canned
Chic Peas is $9.29 and there are 16 (16-ounce) cans in the
case.
The price per can is as follows:
As-purchased cost/Number of units: $9.29/16 = $0.58

Supplier 2: The cost of a case of canned Chic Peas is

$12.29 and there are 24 (16-ounce) cans in the case.
The price per can is as follows:
As-purchased cost/Number of units : $12.29/24 = $0.51
 TOTAL COST

• Total cost in the food service

industry is based on how much
of a product is used for a
particular recipe, not on what is
purchased.
 TOTAL COST
Example:
Your operation’s Chicken Tarragon recipe
calls for 1-½ teaspoons of dried tarragon
leaves. One tablespoon of tarragon weighs
.08 ounces. Your operation purchases
tarragon in 4- ounce jars for $5.77 per jar.
How much will the tarragon cost for this
particular recipe?
 TOTAL COST
• To determine the cost of the tarragon, we will
use the 7-Steps of Calculating As-Purchased
Cost

1. Determine the quantity you are costing.

• We need to determine the cost of 1 ½ teaspoon of
tarragon

2. Identify the given as-purchased cost information.

• The purchase price of a jar of tarragon is $5.77
 TOTAL COST
3. Select the unit to be used for the as-purchased cost and the quantity (must
be the same incremental unit).
• Both the conversion and the cost are in ounces; ounces will be used to
determine the cost.

4. Perform the calculations necessary to convert the as-purchased cost and/or

quantity to the unit chosen in step 3.
• Use the following formulas to determine the Quantity and As-Purchased
Cost.

* = 0.495 or 0.5 tbsp

* = 0.04 oz

As-Purchased Cost: As-Purchased cost/Number of units

$5.77/ 4 ounces = $1.4425 per ounce
 TOTAL COST

5. Substitute these numbers into the as-

purchased cost formula and multiply them to
find the As-Purchased cost.
• Use the following formula to find the Total
Cost.
Total Cost: Number of units/Cost per unit
.04 ounces x $1.4425 per ounce = $.0577
 TOTAL COST

6. Round to the next higher increment

• $.0577 rounds up to $.06

7. Check your work to insure that your answer is

reasonable.
 MENU ITEM

DATE: The day, month, and year the cost was calculated.
This can be important for later analysis.

NUMBER OF PORTIONS: The number of portions the

recipe makes or yields.

SIZE: The portion size is normally served. This applies to

menu items and is generally given in the recipe; it is not
calculated.
 MENU ITEM

COST PER PORTION: The cost of each serving. It is the

total recipe cost divided by the number of portions.

SELLING PRICE: Based on the food cost percentage

allowed by the budget. It is the cost per portion divided by
the food cost percentage (in decimal form).

FOOD COST %: An expression of food cost concerning

the selling price. It is the cost per portion divided by the
selling price.
 MENU ITEM
INGREDIENTS: All the food items that make up the
recipe, including specific sizes or ID numbers.

RECIPE QUANTITY: This will be listed by weight,

volume, or count depending on the recipe. The recipe
quantity is usually the edible portion quantity with some
exceptions. Recipe quantity is recorded in one of three ways:
• Weight (pounds, ounces, grams, etc.)
• Volume (cups, pints, tablespoons, etc.)
• Count (each, bunch, case, etc.)
 MENU ITEM
APC/Unit: The as-purchased cost per unit is the current market price
or the as-purchased price, and the unit upon which the price is based.

YIELD %: Many foods are not purchased already cleaned, and with
these, some waste (trim) is expected. The yield percentage is used to
adjust the as-purchased cost to compensate for the trim loss.

EPC/Unit: Edible portion cost per unit is the cost per unit of the
fabricated fruit or vegetable. This cost accounts not only for the cost
of the fabricated product but also for the trim loss. This is calculated
by dividing the APC by the yield percentage. If there is no waste or
trim, the yield percent column may be left blank.
 MENU ITEM

TOTAL COST: The total cost of each ingredient used.

TOTAL RECIPE COST: The sum of all items in the total

cost column. This represents the total estimated cost of the
recipe.