Read the plate cost docket
Understand batch cost, plate cost, food-cost percentage and the on-target, watch, over and uncosted stamps, and test a price change with the what-if slider.
The cost docket appears wherever a dish does: in the recipe book, the items list and the detail page. This guide reads it.
Before you start: recipes access. Recipes and menus are loaded with your onboarding team; the screens are read-only in the app.
The docket
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Batch cost | Cost of the whole recipe batch at current ingredient prices |
| Plate cost | Batch cost divided by portions, with yield applied once |
| Menu price | The selling price on the menu |
| Food cost % | Plate cost as a share of the menu price |
| Stamp | On target, Watch, Over or Uncosted |
Uncosted means an ingredient has no price yet, usually because no invoice for it has been approved. Approve one and the docket updates.
Where the prices come from
Each approved supplier invoice records a price observation for the items on it. Recipe costs use the latest observed price at the outlet, so the docket moves when your suppliers' prices move.
Scale a batch
In the recipe book, switch the batch scale between half, one, two and five times. Costs recompute on the spot.
Test a price change
Open Recipes › Pricing. Drag the slider from 20% below to 50% above the current plate cost and read the food-cost percentage before and after. This is a what-if; publishing a price change is done outside ChowChirp for now.
Audit a cost to the order line
Recipes › Explosions lists every closed order line with its per-ingredient consumption, cost and origin, and flags approximate figures.
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Updated 2026-09-16