A 20-bowl pot of beef stew can cost you about $66 in ingredients and energy, which is $3.31 per 350 ml bowl, or $3.63 with two slices of bread. Those figures use example wholesale prices, a pot that finished at 7.2 litres and a bowl filled with two 175 ml ladles. Your number will move with your prices and your serving habits, but the method never changes: cost of the pot ÷ bowls you actually serve.
The method in four steps
- Cost the whole pot. Every ingredient at what the amount you used cost you, plus the gas or power for the cook. If you buy by the case or the bunch, the guide to unit conversions shows how to get everything into kilos and grams.
- Measure what came out. When the pot is done, measure the litres with a jug or weigh it. That is your real yield, not the water you started with.
- Measure your portion. Fill your ladle with water and pour it into a measuring jug. Multiply by the scoops per bowl.
- Divide. Litres out ÷ litres per bowl = bowls. Pot cost ÷ bowls = cost per bowl. If each bowl gets a set piece of meat, count those too: the number of bowls is whichever runs out first.
Worked example: a pot of beef stew
Example prices from one wholesale shop. Use your own receipts.
| Ingredient | Quantity × price | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Beef chuck | 3.0 kg × $16.00 | $48.00 |
| Potatoes | 2.0 kg × $2.20 | $4.40 |
| Carrots | 1.0 kg × $1.80 | $1.80 |
| Onions | 1.0 kg × $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Celery | 0.5 kg × $3.00 | $1.50 |
| Tomato paste, stock, flour, herbs, oil | $6.00 | |
| Gas for a three-hour simmer | $2.50 | |
| Cost of the pot | $66.20 |
When it is done, you measure the pot: 7.2 litres. Your bowl takes two scoops of a 175 ml ladle, so 350 ml.
- Bowls: 7.2 ÷ 0.35 = 20.6, so 20 full bowls
- Cost per bowl: 66.20 ÷ 20 = $3.31
That is ingredients and energy only. The full cost also carries your time, the container if it goes out as takeaway, and a share of rent and bills. The guide to loaded cost walks through each of those.
Why you never divide by the water you added
At the start the pot held about 9 litres of water and ingredients, and you thought "that is 25 bowls". On that count a bowl would cost 66.20 ÷ 25 = $2.65. But water evaporates during the simmer, the potatoes soak up liquid and some always sticks to the bottom. What you sell is what comes out.
The gap is $3.31 − $2.65 = $0.66 per bowl. On a 20-bowl pot that is $13.20. Make five pots a week and $66 a week is not covered by your price.
A longer simmer, a wider pot or a stronger flame all reduce more. Measure the finished pot at least three times, on normal days, and use the average. If one day comes out very different, write it down and find out why.
Your ladle sets your cost
In a soup or stew, the portion is less visible than a steak on a plate. That is why the ladle is in charge. If whoever is serving fills a little higher and each bowl ends up at 400 ml instead of 350 ml:
- Bowls: 7.2 ÷ 0.40 = 18
- Cost per bowl: 66.20 ÷ 18 = $3.68
That is $0.37 more per bowl that nobody notices. Use the same ladle every time, mark the fill line if you need to, and tell staff how many scoops go in a bowl. The guide on portion control has more ways to make every bowl come out the same.
Adding bread, rice or another side
Stew with bread, chili with rice, soup with a roll: cost the side on its own and add it per bowl. Do not fold it into the pot.
- Bread you bake: if a sourdough loaf costs you $1.60 in flour, salt and energy and you cut it into 10 slices, a slice is $0.16. Two slices: $0.32.
- Bread you buy: price of the bag ÷ rolls in it, times the rolls per bowl.
- Rice: cost of the raw rice plus oil and salt, divided by the portions you get from it with your serving spoon.
For the stew: 3.31 + 0.32 = $3.63 per bowl with bread.
Keeping components apart shows you which part weighs most on the plate and lets you change a side without recalculating the pot. To make a bigger or smaller pot, the tool that scales a recipe to N portions gives you the new quantities.
From cost to price
With a cost per bowl you can test your price. If you sell stew with bread at $11 before tax, your ingredients are 3.63 ÷ 11 = 33.0% of the price. Compare that with the percentage you chose for your business; the guide to food cost percentage explains how to read it. Work on prices before any sales tax, and check your local tax rules for what applies.
If you would rather start from the percentage you want and get to a price, the plate price tool does the sum from your cost and your target food cost. To compare this dish with the rest of your menu, the guide to what each dish costs to make gathers the other examples.
Do it with the calculator
Put the pot's ingredients into the food cost calculator at what they cost you, and enter the bowls that actually came out as the yield; it gives you the cost per bowl and the price you need for your margin.
Frequently asked questions
Do I divide the pot cost by the water I added or by what came out?
By what came out. Evaporated water is not sold. Measure the finished pot in litres and divide by the size of your portion.
How do I find out what my ladle holds?
Fill it with water and pour it into a measuring jug. Multiply by the number of scoops that go into one bowl, and check it with the ladle your staff actually use.
Should the bread go into the cost of the pot?
Keep it separate. Cost the stew per bowl, then add the bread or rice per portion. That way you can change the side without redoing the whole recipe.
Does a slow cooker change the cost?
It changes the energy cost and how much the pot reduces, so measure the finished volume again for that method. The method of costing stays the same.