Know what every dish really costs, keeps and earns, on every channel
The Menu Costing and Engineering System gives restaurants, cafes, cloud kitchens and caterers every file for the money side of the menu: recipe costing, pricing, delivery app margins, menu engineering and a weekly gross profit review.
- An 18-sheet Menu Costing Workbook: ingredients with yield, sub-recipes, dish costing, channel pricing, menu engineering, theoretical vs actual food cost and three dashboards
- A 7-sheet Aggregator Price and Promotion Calculator: cash per app order, a promotion lab and an app price setter
- 4 fillable PDFs (11 pages): recipe card and yield tests, new dish approval, menu engineering action sheet, weekly GP and price change reviews
- 33 supplier, team and app messages, 27 AI prompts, brand-ready templates and 5 printable pass cards
The Menu Costing and Engineering System · Bodhih Pro Kits · 235 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do you cost and price a restaurant menu?
Write a standard recipe for every dish, cost each ingredient per usable gram after yield, add garnish and packaging to get the plate cost, then price from target food cost, cash margin, market and the dish's role. Check every delivery app, engineer the menu from sales, and review gross profit weekly. The Menu Costing and Engineering System from Bodhih Training gives you a file for each step.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage and Price Menu Items.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
Busy months that keep less
Covers and orders are up, yet the bank balance barely moves. Without costed recipes and a weekly look at food cost against what it should be, you cannot see where the money goes.
Prices set once and never revisited
Ingredient prices move every month. A dish priced correctly last spring may be underpriced today, and nobody notices until the year-end accounts.
Delivery apps that quietly eat the margin
A small price uplift rarely covers commission, fees, funded discounts and packaging. Without a dish-by-dish view, your best sellers can keep far less on the apps than in the dining room.
Menu decisions made on gut feel
Which dishes carry the menu and which ride along? Without popularity and contribution margin side by side, favourite dishes stay and quiet earners stay hidden.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Picture next Monday afternoon. You open the Menu Costing Workbook, type your ten biggest ingredients and cost your best-selling dish from its recipe card. For the first time you can see its real plate cost, its food cost % and the cash it keeps on each channel.
As the week goes on, every invoice price change lands in the log, the dishes it touches re-cost themselves, and the Channel Pricing sheet tells you which app prices need a second look. When an app invites you to a discount campaign, you run it through the Promotion Lab before you answer.
Then imagine the first quarterly menu review. You type four weeks of units sold, and every dish sorts itself into star, plowhorse, puzzle or dog within its section. You decide one action per dish on the action sheet, brief the team with the script, and send the design brief for the new print.
Whether you start with a recipe card tonight or the workbook tomorrow, each file is ready, so you can build the habit one dish and one week at a time.
20 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Menu Costing and Engineering System (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: menu costing map
The whole job in eight steps with the file for each, your first hour, Brand it in five minutes, your first week and a 30/60/90 day plan.
Menu Costing Workbook
18-sheet workbook: settings, channels, ingredient prices with yield, sub-recipes, recipe lines, dish costing with food cost % and gross profit, channel pricing for dine-in, takeaway and two apps, menu engineering with automatic classes, theoretical vs actual food cost, supplier price log, specials, beverages, weekly GP review and three dashboards.
Aggregator Price and Promotion Calculator
7-sheet calculator for one delivery app: net cash per order after commission, fees, packaging, food and ads; app versus dine-in; a promotion lab with the extra orders each offer needs; a commission and uplift grid; and a dish price setter.
Standard recipe card and yield test forms
Four-page fillable set: a two-page standard recipe card (ingredients, method, plating, allergens, cost box, sign-off) and a two-page yield test for trim loss and cooking loss.
New dish approval form
Two-page fillable form that takes a new dish from idea to menu: fit, cost and price on every channel, kitchen capacity, allergens, tasting scores and the decision.
Menu engineering action sheet
Two-page fillable worksheet for the quarterly menu review: the period's numbers, every dish by class with its action, owner and date, and the follow-up check.
Weekly GP review and price change review forms
Three-page fillable set: a one-page weekly gross profit review for a 20-minute meeting, a theoretical vs actual investigation page, and a price change review for supplier increases.
Menu copy and design brief templates
Brand-ready Word templates: 12 dish description patterns with examples, a dish copy worksheet and a six-part menu design brief that turns menu engineering decisions into layout instructions.
Supplier, team and app message library
33 ready-to-edit messages and spoken scripts in 5 groups: supplier quotes, negotiations and credits, team briefings and notices, delivery app requests, guest price-change notes and owner updates.
Allergen and dietary information sheet template
Brand-ready template to complete and check locally: an allergen and dietary matrix for every dish and sub-recipe, cross-contact notes, the team's script for allergy questions and a change log.
Pricing policy one-pager
Brand-ready one-page pricing policy to adopt: targets, re-cost triggers, review rhythm, how prices are set, delivery app rules, discounts and comps, who decides and how changes are communicated.
Worked example pack: a 30-dish Indian-fusion menu
One composite restaurant shown end to end: yield tests, two recipe cards costed line by line, all 30 dishes costed, menu engineering classes and decisions, app pricing before and after for two apps, eight weeks of theoretical vs actual, a price change review and a weekly GP review.
AI prompt pack for menu costing
27 tool-agnostic prompts grouped by the steps of the job (recipes, costing, pricing, apps, menu engineering, copy, weekly control), each with what to paste in and what to check before you use the output.
Menu decision card and mistakes to avoid
Page 1: the four menu engineering classes with first moves and twelve 'if this happens, do this' situations. Page 2: twenty costly mistakes and what to do instead.
Numbers that matter: KPI card
Fourteen numbers the menu runs on: plain words, the exact formula, where it lives in the workbook and what to do if it moves.
Menu labelling and pricing rules, October 2026
Dated orientation sheet: allergen, calorie, price display, service charge and app tax notes for India, the UK, the US, the EU, Australia, Canada, Singapore and the GCC, naming each authority.
Pass portion and plating cards
Five colour pages for the pass and kitchen wall: a 'Portion is price' poster, four sample plating cards, four blank cards to fill in, a 'Before a dish changes' checklist and a weekly GP huddle board.
Weekly GP review and menu calendar
27 events over 13 weeks: a one-week set-up, a 20-minute weekly GP review, monthly re-cost checks and the quarterly menu engineering review with follow-up.
Menu costing task board
31 tasks for the first 90 days with phase, owner, due day and the file to use, ready to import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 20 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 58 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion
- Best for
- Restaurants, cafes, bakeries, cloud kitchens, caterers and food franchisees with one menu or several brands
- Currency and units
- Any currency; metric or imperial recipe units
The Busy Kitchen That Kept Less
Why a busy kitchen can keep less than it should, and the eight-step menu money loop on one page.
Standard Recipes Come First
Standard recipe cards for every dish and batch item, weighed at the station, so every cost rests on a real plate.
Recipe Costing in Plain Words
Purchase unit to recipe unit, yield and trim loss, cooking loss, sub-recipes, garnish and delivery packaging, in plain words.
Food Cost, Gross Profit and the Cash in Each Dish
Food cost % and gross profit per dish side by side, your own target, and prime cost.
Pricing Methods That Hold Up
Cost-plus, cash margin, market and role pricing used together, menu psychology treated with care, and combos priced on cash.
Pricing for Delivery Apps and Every Channel
What each delivery app really costs per dish, a margin floor, offers tested before you join, and delivery-only brands.
Menu Engineering with Real Sales Data
Kasavana and Smith's stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs from real sales, section by section, with one decision per dish.
Menu Design, Descriptions and Allergen Marking
Layout that follows the decisions, short and true descriptions, and allergen and dietary marks from a checked matrix.
Menu Size, Specials, Beverages and Multi-Brand Kitchens
Menu size against kitchen capacity, specials costed before they run, beverage costing and multi-brand cloud kitchens.
Theoretical vs Actual Food Cost and Supplier Price Changes
Theoretical against actual food cost, investigating the gap in a fixed order, and re-costing when supplier prices move.
The Weekly GP Review and AI with a Human in Charge
The twenty-minute weekly gross profit review, and AI for drafting and checking with people deciding.
The Menu as a Living Document
Keeping the menu current with a few steady habits.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
E-book
- The Menu Costing and Engineering System e-book: about 9,800 words, ten chapters, six diagrams, a formula appendix and a glossary
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Menu-Costing-Map: the job in eight steps with the file for each, your first hour, Brand it in five minutes, your first week and a 30/60/90 day plan
Workbooks
- Menu Costing Workbook (18 sheets): settings, channels, ingredients with yield, sub-recipe lines, sub-recipes, recipe lines, dishes, channel pricing, menu engineering, theoretical vs actual, price change log, specials, beverages, weekly GP review and three dashboards
- Aggregator Price and Promotion Calculator (7 sheets): inputs, per order, promotion lab, price grid, dish price setter and summary
Forms
- Standard recipe card and yield test forms (4 pages)
- New dish approval form (2 pages)
- Menu engineering action sheet (2 pages)
- Weekly GP review and price change review forms (3 pages)
Word templates
- Menu copy and design brief templates (12 description patterns and a six-part design brief)
- Supplier, team and app message library (33 messages and scripts)
- Allergen and dietary information sheet template (to complete and check locally)
- Pricing policy one-pager
- Worked example pack: a 30-dish Indian-fusion menu costed, engineered and repriced for dine-in and two apps
- AI prompt pack for menu costing (27 prompts)
Cheat sheets
- Menu decision card and mistakes to avoid (12 situations and 20 mistakes)
- Numbers that matter: KPI card (14 numbers with formulas)
- Menu labelling and pricing rules, dated October 2026
Print pack
- Pass portion and plating cards (5 colour pages: poster, sample and blank plating cards, a change checklist and a weekly huddle board)
Calendar and import
- Weekly GP review and menu calendar (27 events, ICS)
- Menu costing task board (31 tasks, CSV for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira)
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- You will be able to cost any dish from invoice to plate, including yield, cooking loss, garnish and packaging
- You will be able to read food cost % and cash margin side by side and set prices with four methods
- You will be able to see what each dish keeps on dine-in, takeaway and each delivery app, and set a margin floor
- You will be able to test a discount offer before you join it
- You will be able to classify every dish as a star, plowhorse, puzzle or dog and decide one action for each
- You will be able to find and explain the gap between theoretical and actual food cost
- You will be able to re-cost the menu whenever a supplier price moves
- You will be able to run a twenty-minute weekly gross profit review, using AI for drafting with people deciding
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Business Arithmetic — %, Profit & Loss, Interest
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentCommercial Judgment & Market Sense
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentData Interpretation — Tables & Charts
Take the assessment →JobularyHow a Jobulary development plan works
Make it a growth plan →A taste of Chapter 3
Food cost % is plate cost divided by the price without tax. It tells you what share of the price goes on food. It is good for spotting dishes that have drifted, and for setting prices from a target. Gross profit per dish, the cash margin, is price without tax minus plate cost. It is the money each plate contributes towards rent, wages, energy, marketing, repairs and, eventually, profit. Menu engineering calls the same figure the contribution margin. The two measures can point in opposite directions. Dal makhani at Saffron Street has a 13.2% food cost and keeps 252 a plate. Tandoori prawns have a 52.9% food cost and keep 292. Butter naan has a 17.7% food cost and keeps 58. If you chased the lowest food cost % across the menu, you would push guests towards naan and away from prawns and end up with less cash.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Costing | A recipe cost calculator with no yield or packaging | Ingredients with yield, sub-recipes by batch yield, garnish allowance and delivery packaging |
| Pricing | Divide by 30% and round | Four methods together, cash margin beside food cost %, and a pricing policy |
| Delivery apps | Add 10% to the menu | Cash margin per dish per app, equal-margin and floor prices, and a promotion lab |
| Menu engineering | A blank four-box chart | Automatic classes within each section, suggested actions, an action sheet and a decision card |
| Control | Monthly accounts, months later | Weekly theoretical vs actual, a price change log with re-cost flags and a twenty-minute review |
| Rules | Undated advice for one country | Principles for any country plus a dated sheet naming each authority |
Made for you if…
- Owners and managers of independent restaurants, cafes, bakeries and quick-service outlets
- Cloud and dark kitchens running one or several delivery-only brands
- Head chefs and kitchen managers who own the recipe cards and the food cost
- Small caterers, tiffin and meal services and food trucks
- Food franchisees who need to check local costs against central prices
- Anyone opening a second outlet or brand who wants the numbers right first
Probably not for you if…
- Anyone looking for a promise of profit, ratings or sales: this kit gives you methods and tools, not forecasts
- Kitchens wanting food safety, ordering and waste logging systems (see The Kitchen Operations and Food Safety System)
- Large chains that already run a full menu analytics team
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Make the money side of your menu visible
Open the workbook, cost your best-selling dish and see what it really keeps on each channel. Whether you start with a recipe card tonight or the weekly review on Monday, each file is ready for you to use today.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use (and use with your own team within your business where the kit says so). Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
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The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
The Kitchen Operations and Food Safety System
Run a safe, organised kitchen every shift.
The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit
Train servers, hosts and counter staff to a service standard, run the floor and the rota a.
The Catering and Event Orders Kit
Take, quote, plan and deliver catering and bulk food orders.
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Menu Costing and Engineering System: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkCan I use this with my staff?
Yes. Within your own business you can share the forms, recipe cards, plating cards, briefings and workbook with your chefs, managers and team under the personal licence. For company-wide or multi-site use, ask about team and company licences at solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method works anywhere and the workbooks take any currency and metric or imperial units. The dated rules sheet covers India, the UK, the US, the EU, Australia, Canada, Singapore and the GCC at October 2026. Allergen, labelling, tax and service charge rules still need checking with your local food authority and adviser.
How do I calculate food cost percentage for a dish?
Divide the plate cost by the menu price without tax. Plate cost is the usable cost of every ingredient after trim and cooking loss, plus garnish and sides. The workbook does this for every dish, and shows the gross profit in cash beside it.
What is menu engineering?
A method developed by Michael Kasavana and Donald Smith that judges each dish on popularity and contribution margin together, sorting it into star, plowhorse, puzzle or dog. The workbook classifies every dish within its section from the units you type in, and suggests a first action.
How should I price dishes on Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats, Deliveroo or DoorDash?
Work out what each dish keeps after the commission, fees, funded discounts and packaging in your own contract, compare it with its dine-in cash margin and set a floor you will accept. Terms differ by platform and country and change, so check the platform's current terms. The Channel Pricing sheet and the calculator do the arithmetic.
Why is my actual food cost higher than it should be?
The usual causes are receiving errors, over-portioning, recipe drift, waste, counting errors, stale costings and unrecorded comps. The kit compares theoretical and actual food cost weekly and gives you an investigation page that checks them in order.
Do I need special software?
No. Everything runs in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice, with Word or Google Docs for templates and any PDF reader for the forms. You can type numbers from any POS or app report.
Is this food safety, legal or tax advice?
No. It is an educational costing and decision toolkit. Allergen and labelling rules, tax and service charges differ by country and change. The allergen template must be completed and checked locally, and nothing in the kit makes a business compliant on its own.
Does the kit promise lower food cost or more profit?
No. It gives you methods and tools to see your real costs and make better-informed decisions. Results depend on your menu, market, team and many factors outside anyone's control.
How can I measure my starting point?
If you want to measure the number and business judgement skills behind this work, AssessAll offers related assessments sold separately: Business Arithmetic: %, Profit and Loss, Interest, Commercial Judgment and Market Sense and Data Interpretation: Tables and Charts.
How do I turn this into a development plan for my team?
Use the kit's 30/60/90 day plan for the menu work, and if you want a structured plan for the chefs and managers doing it, Jobulary shows how to turn skills gaps into a development plan. See jobulary.com/how-it-works.
How much does The Menu Costing and Engineering System cost?
₹999 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $29 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
