Free food cost calculator for restaurants in New Zealand
Cost any dish line by line in New Zealand dollars, with trim and yield. You get plate cost, food cost percentage, gross profit and the menu price that hits your target, including GST.
Food cost % = plate cost ÷ menu price excluding GST × 100. Most restaurants aim for 28–35% across the menu. The example below is Fish and chips, costed in New Zealand dollars. Change the numbers to cost your own dish.
| Ingredient | Pack price (ex GST) | Pack size | Used in recipe | Yield % | Cost | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5.01 | ||||||
| $0.49 | ||||||
| $0.07 | ||||||
| $0.05 | ||||||
| $0.60 | ||||||
| $0.30 | ||||||
| $0.24 |
How to calculate food cost percentage
Tax on restaurant meals in New Zealand: Restaurant meals in New Zealand carry 15% GST, and menu prices must be shown GST-inclusive. Checked September 2026 against govt.nz, en.wikipedia.org.
Costing a dish, step by step
Fresh hoki fillet costs $28.00 for 1 kg ex GST. The recipe uses 170 g and trimming leaves 95% usable.
- $28.00 ÷ 1,000 g × 170 g = $4.76
- $4.76 ÷ 0.95 yield = $5.01 for the fresh hoki fillet
- Add every other line: plate cost $6.76
- $24.00 menu price ÷ 1.15 = $20.87 ex GST
- $6.76 ÷ $20.87 × 100 = 32.4% food cost
- Plate cost
- What the ingredients on one serve cost you, after yield.
- Yield
- The usable share of what you buy. Skipping it under-costs every protein.
- Gross profit
- Menu price ex GST minus plate cost. This pays wages, rent and your margin.
What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant in New Zealand?
Most restaurants aim for a food cost of 28–35% across the whole menu, and the same rule of thumb holds in New Zealand. Single dishes spread wider, and that is fine. A high-cost steak can sit next to a low-cost pasta as long as the blended figure across what you sell stays on target.
Typical ranges used by restaurant operators internationally. Your own mix, rent and wages set your real target.
| Menu item type | Typical food cost |
|---|---|
| Coffee and hot drinks | 10–20% |
| Pasta, rice and noodle dishes | 20–28% |
| Breakfast and brunch | 25–32% |
| Burgers and casual mains | 28–35% |
| Steak and seafood | 32–40% |
| Whole-menu target | 28–35% |
Free recipe costing spreadsheet for Excel and Google Sheets
Download the dish you just costed as a formatted spreadsheet. Every cell is linked: change a pack price, a quantity or a yield and the line costs, plate cost, food cost % and menu price all update.
A spreadsheet goes out of date the week a supplier puts their prices up. That is the gap Menu Profit Manager closes.
What’s in the spreadsheet
- 20 ingredient lines with pack price, pack size, quantity used and yield
- Unit dropdowns (kg, g, L, ml, each and more) that convert for you
- Live totals: plate cost, food cost %, GP %, gross profit per plate
- Menu price at your target, with GST added back
- Colour-coded status: green on target, amber just over, red well over
Get Menu Profit Manager free and cost your whole menu
The calculator costs one dish at today’s prices. Menu Profit Manager keeps every dish on your menu costed, and recalculates them when a supplier changes a price.
- Invoices read themselves. Photograph an invoice, drop in a PDF, or forward it to your own invoice email. Products, pack sizes and prices fill in.
- Recipes cost themselves. Import a photo of a recipe card or a spreadsheet and every ingredient is matched to your real prices.
- Price rises show up by dish. When beef goes up, you see which dishes it hurts and what to charge instead.
- Sub-recipes and batches. Cost a sauce once and every dish that uses it stays right when the batch changes.
- Bills go to your books. Reviewed invoices sync to Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB.
- This calculator
- One dish, prices you type in, costed once.
- Menu Profit Manager
- Every dish, prices from your invoices, costed every time a price moves.
Food cost and menu pricing questions
How do you calculate food cost percentage for a dish in New Zealand?
Divide the plate cost by the menu price excluding GST, then multiply by 100. For example, Fish and chips that costs $6.76 to plate and sells for $24.00 including GST ($20.87 excluding GST) has a food cost of 32.4%.
What is a good food cost percentage for a restaurant in New Zealand?
Most restaurants aim for 28 to 35 percent across the menu. Individual dishes vary: coffee and drinks often sit well under 20 percent, while steak and seafood can run above 35 percent. What matters is the blended figure across what you actually sell.
Should I include GST when I work out food cost in New Zealand?
No. Restaurant meals in New Zealand carry 15% GST, and menu prices must be shown GST-inclusive. That 15% goes to Inland Revenue (IRD), not to you. Divide the menu price by 1.15 before you calculate food cost, and use supplier prices excluding GST where you can reclaim it.
How do I set a menu price from a target food cost percentage?
Divide the plate cost by your target food cost percentage, then multiply by 1.15 to add GST. A $6.76 plate at a 30 percent target gives $22.53 excluding GST, or $25.91 on the menu. Most venues round to a clean price point from there.
Why does yield matter when costing a recipe?
You pay for the whole product but only serve the usable part. If you trim 1 kg of whole salmon down to 650 g of portions, your yield is 65 percent, so the real cost per gram served is the purchase price divided by 0.65. Ignoring yield is the most common reason costed dishes lose money.
Is there a free recipe costing spreadsheet I can download?
Yes. This page gives you a free recipe costing spreadsheet that opens in Excel or Google Sheets, set up in New Zealand dollars with GST. Every cell is linked, so when you change a price, a quantity or a yield, the plate cost, food cost percentage and menu price all update. It downloads with the dish you have costed in the calculator.
How is Menu Profit Manager different from a food cost calculator or spreadsheet?
A calculator or spreadsheet costs a dish once, at the prices you typed in. Menu Profit Manager reads your supplier invoices, keeps every ingredient price current, and recalculates every dish when a price moves, so you see which dishes a price rise hurts on the day it happens.
Is Menu Profit Manager really free from this page?
Yes. Enter your name and email in the form on this page and your account is set up with Menu Profit Manager switched on. There is no card to enter and no trial that runs out.