EP 2 — The True Cost of a Dish Is More Than Ingredients
A common belief among restaurant operators is straightforward:
Food cost equals ingredient purchase price.
For example:
Shrimp costs 400 THB per kilogram.
A dish uses 200 grams.
Cost = 80 THB.
Partially correct — but not complete.
In reality, the true cost of a dish consists of three essential layers.
- Usable Yield Cost
Ingredients purchased are never 100% usable.
Peeling, trimming, and preparation reduce actual usable weight.
True cost must be calculated from usable yield — not from purchased quantity.
- Waste and Shrinkage Cost
Trimming waste
Cooking reduction
Spoilage and expired stock
These are items already paid for — but never sold.
- Supporting Ingredient Cost
Oils, sauces, spices, seasonings, garnishes —
each used in small quantities,
yet together forming a significant monthly expense.
When these layers are combined,
the real food cost per dish becomes visible.
And once real cost is known, pricing by guesswork disappears.
At Vigor, we often say:
“Restaurants don’t lose money in the dining room — they lose it in unnoticed kitchen calculations.”
In the next episode, we move to the decisive step:
Pricing menus to protect profitability — not just popularity.
By FBMA Thailand