What to look for in a recipe costing application

Recipe costing software has changed a lot over the past decade and in an industry with small margins this has become to benefit a chef, saving valuable time.Lets face it, recipe costing is not a job chefs enjoy, and one often overlooked due to the time involved.

One of the biggest problems with any software is the input required to data to make it function. With traditional recipe costing software, an ingredient database would need to be set up, detailing ingredient costs, yields and suppliers before you even begun to get any results from it.Once this was done, you could start entering recipes to cost using these ingredients.The next problem would be measuring yields of ingredients, i.e. how much wastage you get when you core an apple, peel a carrot, or bone out a chicken. You would need to test this and enter it into the application.The problem that follows is when you want to use a cup of something i.e. flour in a recipe.You previously entered a weight for a kilogram which is the unit you buy it in and now need to weigh a cup to find the weight.

The worst part is that once this is set up, your prices are now obsolete and have become stagnant. The good news is that recipe costing does not have to be a chore. MenuCoster solves the problems associated with this antiquated software. Being loaded with thousands of ingredients available from NZ suppliers, as prices change these are automatically updated meaning you always know how much your recipe costs to make and what you should be selling it for.

Recipes Entered at no Charge

Indeed recipes still need to be entered into MenuCoster (sorry!).However for the month of October we’ll enter your recipes for you at no charge. All new subscribers can benefit from this offer. Just sign up for a trial and send us through your recipes.

Manukau Institute of Technology chooses MenuCoster

MIT has chosen MenuCoster to assist in student learning within the new Diploma in Culinary Practice Level 5 courses. Senor Culinary Lecturer Stephen Chaney explains that using MenuCoster is seen as closely aligning students learning with the workplace by allowing them to train on the latest industry tools.

MenuCoster uses NZ prices, ingredients and real suppliers that students will work with in the industry. The information is constantly updated so we have a real-time advantage over older systems.Being based online means students can access the system from home, work and the school.

MenuCoster is aligned at the areas of the diploma from ingredient procurement to recipe costing, to nutrition and menu pricing making it a valuable resource. Students are already giving positive feedback on the ease of use and relevance to their learning.