Pricing guide
Food cost percentage for caterers: the 28–35% rule
The classic rule: raw ingredient cost should land around 28–35% of your menu price. Under that and clients start balking at the price; over it and you are the one paying for the party.
But the rule is a sanity check, not a pricing method. Food is only the visible cost. Your labor and overhead are real lines too, and skipping them is how a "profitable" job pays less than minimum wage.
The worked number
Food-cost percentage
31%
Margin after labor & overhead
57%
What the portion really costs, loaded
$6.30
A portion that costs $4.50 in ingredients, priced at $14.50, with labor at 25% and overhead at 15% of ingredient cost.
How to use the rule without being used by it
Price from your loaded cost (ingredients plus labor plus overhead) against a target margin, then check the food-cost percentage afterward. If it lands far below 28%, your price may read as expensive for what is on the plate; far above 35%, and the menu is subsidizing the client.
Premium menus legitimately run higher food cost: a steak dinner at 38% can out-earn a pasta buffet at 30% because the dollars are bigger. Percentages are a compass, dollars are the destination.
The two numbers to know before any quote
First: what a portion really costs you, loaded. Second: the margin you need to make the month work. With those two, every inquiry is arithmetic instead of a gut feeling at 11pm.
Get exact costs from YOUR recipes
These are market ranges. CaterKit photographs your menu, costs every recipe from your ingredients, and prices the quote at your margin — free to start.