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COGS ÷ sales — the number restaurants live by.
Theoretical food cost comes off your menu cards; actual food cost comes off your shelves. This calculator computes the actual number the way your accountant does — beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory, divided by food sales — so you can see the gap between what dishes should cost and what the kitchen actually consumed.
Owners and chefs run it weekly: the gap between theoretical (menu-card) and actual (inventory) food cost is where profit leaks, and you cannot fix a leak you have not measured. It is also the first number a buyer or lender asks for.
Most full-service restaurants target 28–35%; quick-service often runs 25–30%. Fine dining can run higher because labor runs lower. What matters most is consistency — a food cost that jumps 3 points in a month means waste, theft, portion drift, or a supplier price increase you missed.
Theoretical cost assumes every ounce sold perfectly. Actual cost includes waste, spoilage, over-portioning, staff meals, comps, and theft. A gap of 2–4 points is normal; beyond that, count inventory more often and watch portioning on your five highest-cost proteins.
Weekly if you can. Monthly is the minimum to catch problems — but a monthly number tells you about a leak four weeks after it started. High-volume operations count key items daily and full inventory weekly.