Guides
Building a cost guide that holds up
Practical guides to building and maintaining a food cost guide: getting prices in, costing recipes, reading food cost %, and keeping it all current. Written for the people who actually keep the numbers — chefs, kitchen managers, and owners. You can follow along in the free tools without an account.
What a cost guide is, and why it beats a spreadsheet
A cost guide is a single, current list of what every ingredient costs you. Here's what belongs in one and why it outperforms the spreadsheet most kitchens start with.
August 30, 2026
Getting prices in: units, pack sizes, and the case-vs-each trap
The hardest part of a cost guide isn't the prices — it's the units. A practical guide to entering pack sizes, per-unit costs, and the conversions that trip people up.
August 30, 2026
Tracking the same item across multiple vendors
Buying one ingredient from two or three suppliers is normal. Here's how to record competing prices so recipe costs stay honest and switching vendors is a decision, not a guess.
August 30, 2026
Turning a cost guide into recipe costs
How a costed recipe is built: matching ingredients to the cost guide, unit conversion, yield and waste, batch scaling, and adding labor to get a true plate cost.
August 30, 2026
Reading your food cost %: what the number is telling you
Food cost percentage is the most quoted number in a kitchen and the most misread. What it measures, what a 'good' number actually depends on, and what to do when it drifts.
August 30, 2026
Keeping it current: price creep, history, and re-pricing menus
A cost guide is only worth what its freshness allows. A routine for updating prices, using price history to spot creep, and knowing when a menu re-price is overdue.
August 30, 2026