Academy

Learn to cost a dish and price it right.

Short videos and written guides on costing, pricing, prep recipes and delivery margins.

Start here

Start with the numbers that matter most.

What a dish really costs, how to price it, what packaging adds, and what the delivery platforms leave you with.

Food cost %Read guide Price a menu itemRead guide Include packagingRead guide Delivery marginsRead guide

Watch

Real dishes costed end to end, on camera. Every one has a full written guide with it.

Three chicken dishes with their costs recalculated

Featured

Your Supplier Raised Chicken 12%. Which Dishes Actually Need a Price Rise?

How to update menu prices when ingredient costs rise

One supplier increase of 12 percent, and three chicken dishes that do not react to it equally.

3:12PricingWatch and read

A chicken sandwich beside its costed ingredient list

This Chicken Sandwich Sells for $9. Is That a Good Price?

How to calculate food cost percentage

2:51Watch and read

A salmon poke bowl beside its costed ingredient list

This Poke Bowl Costing Mistake Can Cost $23,000 a Year

How to calculate cost per portion

Cost This With Me 2:46Watch and read

A flat white beside its costed ingredient list

What a Flat White Really Costs to Make

Food cost percentage for cafes: targets, benchmarks, and tips

Cost This With Me 1:18Watch and read

A pad thai costed for dine in against a delivery app

A Delivery App Takes 30%. How Much Do You Add to Your Price?

How to calculate delivery menu margins

2:16Watch and read

A double smash burger beside its costed ingredient list

Two Kitchens Costed the Same Burger. One Got $2.13, the Other $2.68.

How to calculate recipe yield

4:11Watch and read

A pizza beside its costed ingredient list

The Economics of Pizza

Portion control and food cost: why consistency matters

Cost This With Me 1:57Watch and read

Costing basics

Start here. What a dish actually costs you, once everything that leaves the kitchen is counted.

1Costing basics

How to calculate food cost percentage

The single number every restaurant operator already speaks. Here is how to calculate it cleanly, avoid the common mistakes, and use it to price with intention.

2:51 7 min readRead

2Costing basics

How to calculate cost per portion

Cost per portion is the foundation of every other margin metric.

2:46 3 min readRead

3Costing basics

Why packaging belongs in menu costing

If it leaves your kitchen, it's a cost of the sale.

3 min readRead

4Costing basics

Food cost percentage vs gross margin

Same data, two lenses. Use whichever your team thinks in naturally.

3 min readRead

Benchmarks and margin

What good looks like for your kind of place, and what to do when your number is off it.

1Benchmarks and margin

Food cost benchmarks by restaurant type

What is a realistic food cost target for your concept? Benchmarks for cafes, food trucks, delivery kitchens, bakeries, and full-service restaurants.

5 min readRead

2Benchmarks and margin

Food cost percentage for cafes: targets, benchmarks, and tips

Cafes have a different cost structure than restaurants. Here are realistic food cost targets for cafe menus and how to calculate your blended rate.

1:18 5 min readRead

3Benchmarks and margin

Restaurant profit margins explained

Gross margin, net margin, prime cost: the three profit metrics every restaurant owner needs to understand and the relationship between them.

5 min readRead

4Benchmarks and margin

Prime cost for restaurants: what it is and how to use it

Prime cost is the most important operational metric in foodservice. Here is how to calculate it, what the benchmarks are, and how to bring it down.

5 min readRead

5Benchmarks and margin

How to reduce food costs in a restaurant

Eight practical levers to bring food cost percentage down without cutting corners on quality.

6 min readRead

Pricing

Turning a cost into a price you can defend, including what delivery apps take back.

1Pricing

How to price a menu item

Set a target food cost, let the math give you a floor, then sense-check it against your market. A repeatable approach that works for any dish.

7 min readRead

2Pricing

Menu engineering: how to identify your most profitable dishes

Menu engineering sorts your dishes by profitability and popularity. Here is how to apply it and what to do with the results.

5 min readRead

3Pricing

How to price drinks and beverages

Beverages can carry your blended margin. How to cost and price coffee, cocktails, fresh juice, and bottled drinks correctly.

5 min readRead

4Pricing

How to update menu prices when ingredient costs rise

A repeatable approach when supplier prices climb.

3:12 4 min readRead

5Pricing

How to calculate delivery menu margins

Delivery profit is not the same as dine-in profit. Platform commission, packaging, payment fees, and discounts all reduce what you keep from each order.

2:16 6 min readRead

6Pricing

DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub commission: what restaurants actually pay

Platform fees go beyond the headline commission rate. Here is what you actually pay on each order and how to calculate your true take-home.

5 min readRead

Prep recipes

Batches, yields and trim losses, where most costing goes quietly wrong.

1Prep recipes

How to cost a sauce or prep recipe

A house mayo, a tomato sauce, a chili oil: all cost the same way.

4 min readRead

2Prep recipes

How to calculate recipe yield

Yield is the difference between what goes in and what you can actually plate. Two types to track, and how each affects your cost per portion.

4:11 5 min readRead

3Prep recipes

Recipe costing for bakeries: a practical guide

Bakery costing has its own challenges: batch recipes, yield loss from trimming and baking, and packaging that varies by product. Here is how to do it right.

6 min readRead