Recipe Costing Spreadsheet Template
A professional Excel spreadsheet for costing individual recipes, calculating per-portion costs, and setting profitable selling prices. Pre-built with formulas for ingredient costs, waste factors, and target margin calculations — the core workflow every UK caterer needs.
What's included
- ✓Ingredient costing sheet with automated cost calculations
- ✓Waste factor column (accounts for prep losses like peelings and trimmings)
- ✓Per-portion cost and recommended selling price (with VAT)
- ✓Target margin input — set your desired food cost percentage
- ✓Conditional formatting highlights high-cost ingredients
- ✓Data validation to prevent input errors
- ✓Example recipe pre-populated (duplicate the tab for each recipe)
- ✓Instructions tab with waste factor guidance and industry benchmarks
Who this is for
Designed for UK micro-caterers — private chefs, supper club hosts, market stall operators, and small event caterers who need to cost recipes accurately before quoting for events. Works in Excel, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice Calc.
Download the free spreadsheet template
A free spreadsheet from CaterCost — no email required. Click below to download.
Related guides
Outgrow the spreadsheet?
This template helps you cost recipes manually. CaterCost automates ingredient tracking, supplier price updates, and per-head event quoting — so you never open a spreadsheet again.