Glossary

What is Plate Cost?

Last updated: July 7, 2026

Plate cost is the total ingredient cost to produce one serving of a menu item, built from the recipe's quantities priced at current supplier costs. Stale plate costs are the most common silent error in menu pricing: recipes costed once and never updated as supplier prices move.

Plate Cost example with real numbers

A burrito costed at $2.85 in January quietly reaches $3.40 by summer as tortilla, protein, and avocado prices rise — 55 cents of margin gone on every unit without any menu change.

How multi-unit restaurant groups manage plate cost

Vento reprices recipes automatically as invoice prices change and alerts when an item's margin falls below its threshold.