Costing & pricing
3 min read
How to calculate food cost per guest for a catering event
Work from total ingredient cost to food cost per guest, food-cost percentage, and the selling price needed to meet your target.
Sep 3, 2026
Practical answers for the numbers behind the food.
Cost a recipe, price a menu, plan the buy, and keep the working visible when the count or supplier price changes.
Costing & pricingSeptember 3, 2026 · 3 min read
How to calculate food cost per guest for a catering event
Work from total ingredient cost to food cost per guest, food-cost percentage, and the selling price needed to meet your target.
Work through the exampleBefore you say the price out loud.
Start: the menu, guest count, and current ingredient cost.
Check: food per guest and percentage against the target.
Decide: change the price, menu, target, or job with the consequence visible.
Choose the question in front of you.
Costing & pricing
Costing & pricing
2 min read
Catering menu pricing: margin, markup, and food-cost target
Understand the three percentages people mix together when pricing catering menus, then calculate each one from the same food cost.
Sep 3, 2026
Costing & pricing
3 min read
The event is over. What should the food have cost, and what did you actually spend?
Reconcile expected recipe cost with attributed purchases, documented stock use, leftovers, and recorded differences before judging an event’s result.
Sep 3, 2026
Recipes & yield
Recipes & yield
3 min read
How to cost a recipe from case price to portion cost
Follow a supplier case through unit conversion, usable yield, recipe quantity, and portions without hiding the arithmetic.
Sep 3, 2026
Running the event
Running the event
3 min read
The client added 40 guests. What actually needs to change?
Separate quantities that scale with guests from whole-pack buying, fixed equipment, confirmed commitments, and the quote that needs another look.
Sep 3, 2026
Running the event
3 min read
How to scale a catering prep list without making half a pot
Convert guests into portions, recipe batches, equipment runs, and supplier packs without letting one kind of rounding distort another.
Sep 3, 2026
Buying & suppliers
Buying & suppliers
2 min read
How to turn a catering menu into a shopping list in whole packs
Consolidate recipe needs, convert them into supplier pack units, round intentionally, and keep the difference visible.
Sep 3, 2026
Buying & suppliers
3 min read
How supplier price changes reach the recipes you already costed
Keep the source, compare like-for-like packs, choose the current price deliberately, and trace the result into recipes and open quotes.
Sep 3, 2026
Buying & suppliers
4 min read
The delivery arrived wrong. What should you check before accepting it?
Compare the purchase order, delivered cases, and invoice line by line so a shortage or substitution does not become the new stock record.
Sep 3, 2026
Buying & suppliers
3 min read
How to check a supplier invoice before it changes your recipe costs
Confirm the ingredient, pack, unit conversion, and price difference before an imported invoice line becomes the current recipe cost.
Sep 3, 2026
Bring the number you are working on.
Put one real menu and guest count through CostCook with Rayan.