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Cost tracking

Mason_Perry_34060

So I have my own business, and a full time job and a wife that works full time and a son, so naturally I like to keep a tab on finances (mostly for tax write off's but also I just have OCD like that and like numbers)

Since the Sous Vide entered the house I am happy to say that price per person per meal has gone down, which means 1. it's helped us eat healthier as well as cheaper, and 2. the extra food money means I have cooked some nice food that I probably previously would not have cooked.

Has anyone else done this? Noticed changes? I am especially interested in price per meal for catering or personal chef reasons, is anyone who is doing this already keeping track? Any good software for this? How much should my mark up be from my actual food cost? (IE I heard food cost should be about 30% of what you are charging for the meal, high? low? suggestions?)

That was pretty much it, feel free to add comments or ideas.

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Comments

seijoed

Our food costs are quite a bit lower than the average is my guess, processing meat and veg, portion control does keep things in line the most for us.

Calculating food costs is rather more complicated than just tacking on 30%

http://www.restaurantreport.com/departments/biz_restaurant-food-menu-pricing.html

Brendan_Lee_56950

I think it will be a while until I break even with all of the gadgets and ingredients I buy though!

Mason_Perry_34060

Ya if I included gadgets in meal cost it would be WAY cheaper to eat out, but that's why it's called a hobby (well obsession)

Mason_Perry_34060

@Johan nice article, makes a lot of sense, I read some of his other blog stuff, he sounds like a sharp guy.

Grace_95227

@Mason - from my studies of restaurant finances (that's the OCD numbers part of me), 25-30% food costs (as % of sales) is usually of top, established restaurant chains who are very efficient and have optimised their menu and operations. I would expect food cost for smaller operations, assuming some breadth in menu, to be slightly higher, due to food wastage, lower turnover, smaller purchasing power etc.

Depending on your business, it shouldn't just be a formulaic mark up on cost. Ideally you have to compare your offering and service vs. what choices people have out there for perception of 'value'. Cost plus pricing is just one way of pricing things. E.g. Apple iPhone's could have a higher markup due to higher perceived value (sleek design, intuitive user interface etc).

So it depends on catering theme, what your personal chef services cover, etc. I guess more details are needed. But hope this helps nevertheless.

Mason_Perry_34060

Yes it makes more sense than a formula. I am fortunate to live in an area with no fine dining within an hours drive, no personal chef service and no catering besides cheap mexican food, so there is huge opportunity for something to fill that niche. I have been doing a lot of reading on the business side of things.

Grace_95227

@Mason - Awesome, sounds exciting. I think you've got something good going on there!

Mason_Perry_34060

Hopefully! I am throwing a large dinner party for valentines day with some city council members that are friends as well as a few prominent business people to see if we can get this catering idea off the ground. Several of the wealthy families attending don't cook, I mean like maybe use a microwave, they normally buy everything premade, so i see a market to produce high quality healthy meals that take little or no effort to finish (yay sous vide!) so we'll see how it goes, I am also aging some beef as well since no one up here does any of that...

seijoed

@Mason awesome!

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Mason good luck with the dinner party, I'm sure you'll wow them!

Mason_Perry_34060

Thanks I am just trying to cook as much as I can to get as much experience under my belt as I can.

Mason_Perry_34060

Oh and also going to try and get that other heater/circulator built and tested before Valentines Day