Methods of costing: dish, meal, menu and event costing
Cost a dish from its standardised recipe, a meal by adding dishes per head, a menu by averaging days, an event by adding hire, transport and labour.
Activity: costing a dish and a meal
- 1Take the standardised recipe with its yield (number of portions) and portion size.
- 2Write each ingredient with the quantity as purchased (allow for peel and trimming).
- 3Find today's unit price of each ingredient from bills or the market.
- 4Cost of each ingredient = quantity × unit price; add a small sum for salt, spices and garnish.
- 5Add all ingredient costs to get the total cost of the recipe.
- 6★Cost per portion = total cost ÷ number of portions.
- 7For a meal, add the per-head cost of every dish; then add labour and overheads per head for full cost.
★ one-way, controls the pace
Dish costing: vegetable pulao for 50
Find the food cost per portion of vegetable pulao for 50 portions. Ingredients (assumed prices for practice): raw rice 5 kg at ₹60/kg; mixed vegetables 3 kg at ₹50/kg; onion 1 kg at ₹40/kg; oil 0.5 L at ₹160/L; ghee 0.25 kg at ₹600/kg; spices, salt and coriander ₹50.
- Rice = 5 × 60 = ₹300
- Vegetables = 3 × 50 = ₹150
- Onion = 1 × 40 = ₹40
- Oil = 0.5 × 160 = ₹80
- Ghee = 0.25 × 600 = ₹150
- Spices, salt, coriander = ₹50
- Total = 300 + 150 + 40 + 80 + 150 + 50 = ₹770
- Cost per portion = 770 ÷ 50 = ₹15.40
Food cost ₹770 for 50 portions, ₹15.40 per portion. Use current market prices in your practical.
Meal costing: hostel lunch for 100
A hostel lunch for 100 students has these food costs: rice ₹600; sambar ₹500; cabbage poriyal ₹250; rasam ₹150; curd ₹600; papad ₹200. Labour is ₹10 and overheads ₹6 per head. Find the food cost and the total cost per head.
- Total food cost = 600 + 500 + 250 + 150 + 600 + 200 = ₹2,300
- Food cost per head = 2,300 ÷ 100 = ₹23
- Total cost per head = 23 + 10 + 6 = ₹39
Food cost ₹23 per head; total cost ₹39 per head.
Menu costing: a seven-day cycle menu
A mess plans a seven-day cycle menu. The daily food cost per head is ₹85, ₹90, ₹80, ₹95, ₹88, ₹92 and ₹100. The budget is ₹95 per head per day. Is the menu within budget?
- Weekly total = 85 + 90 + 80 + 95 + 88 + 92 + 100 = ₹630
- Average per day = 630 ÷ 7 = ₹90
- Compare: ₹90 is ₹5 below the budget of ₹95
Average ₹90 per head per day, within the ₹95 budget. The ₹100 day is costly but is balanced by cheaper days.
Event costing: college fest lunch for 200
Quote for a lunch for 200 guests. Food cost ₹80 per plate; extra cooks and servers ₹6,000; disposables ₹8 per plate; transport ₹2,000; hire of tables, chairs and shamiana ₹4,400. The caterer wants 20% profit on cost. Find the price per plate.
- Food = 80 × 200 = ₹16,000
- Disposables = 8 × 200 = ₹1,600
- Total cost = 16,000 + 6,000 + 1,600 + 2,000 + 4,400 = ₹30,000
- Cost per plate = 30,000 ÷ 200 = ₹150
- Profit at 20% of cost = 150 × 20 ÷ 100 = ₹30
- Price per plate = 150 + 30 = ₹180; total quote = 180 × 200 = ₹36,000
₹180 per plate (₹36,000 for 200), with taxes added as per current rules.
Costing shows where a hostel can improve nutrition without raising fees: swapping some rice for millets, or adding a seasonal green, may cost only a rupee or two per head once the dish is costed properly.
2 marks: “How is the cost per portion of a dish found?” Add the cost of all ingredients in the standardised recipe and divide by the number of portions it yields.
5 marks: “Ingredients for 40 portions of lemon rice cost ₹600. Labour and overheads add ₹8 per portion. Find the total cost per portion.” Food per portion = 600 ÷ 40 = ₹15; total = 15 + 8 = ₹23 per portion.
10 marks: “Explain the methods of costing used in food service establishments with examples.” Explain dish, meal, menu and event costing; give the steps from the standardised recipe; work one example for each; mention adding labour and overheads; conclude.
Dish → Meal → Menu → Event: each is the one before, added up and widened.