Prep Quantity Calculator
How much to prepare for tonight, from the covers you expect and what they order.
Part of the 👨🍳 Chefs and Cooks toolkit, with more tools made for the job.
The service
How many guests you expect, and how much spare you want to keep.
The number of guests.
So you do not run out. Leave empty for 10%.
The dishes and the portions
For each item: the portion size, and the share of guests who order it. Use your sales history if you have it.
The portion sizes and shares in the boxes are only examples. Use your own recipes and what your guests really order.
Type the covers and a few dishes, and how much to prepare appears here.
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Type the covers you expect, then each item with its portion size and the share of guests who order it. This shows how much to prepare, with a little spare so you do not run out.
Prep is a guess, and both ways of getting it wrong cost money. Too little and you run out in the middle of service, too much and you throw it away. The best guess comes from numbers: how many guests you expect, what share of them order each dish, and how big the portion is. Your sales history tells you the shares. This tool does the multiplication and adds a buffer for the night that goes better than expected, so you can write a prep list in a couple of minutes, and adjust it as you learn how your guests order.
How it’s worked out
- For each item, the number of portions is the covers times the share of guests who order it.
- The amount to prepare is the portions times the portion size.
- A spare allowance is added on top. If you leave it empty, 10 percent is used.
- Each amount is shown in the unit you gave for that item, such as grams, millilitres or each.
For 100 covers, a dish ordered by 30 percent with a 200 g portion is 30 portions and 6 kg. With 10 percent spare that is 6.6 kg. A dish ordered by half the guests with a 150 g portion needs 7.5 kg, and 8.25 kg with the spare.
Common mistakes
- Guessing the shares. Use your own sales for the same kind of night, and update them as the menu changes.
- Forgetting what is lost in prep. If you buy raw, work back to the amount to order with the yield and trim calculator.
- Using the same covers for every night. A Friday and a Tuesday are different, so prep from the covers you expect for that night.
- Setting the spare too high. A big buffer on every dish adds up to waste, so keep it small for items that spoil.
Questions
Where do I find the share of guests who order a dish?
From your sales report: the number of that dish sold divided by the covers, for similar nights. If you are new, ask the chef or start with a cautious guess and adjust.
What does the spare cover?
A busier night than expected, and the odd portion that goes wrong. It is a percentage of the amount, and you can leave it small for items that do not keep.
Does it work for ingredients, not dishes?
Yes. Treat each ingredient as an item, with the amount per cover as the portion and the share of guests who use it.
What about items that serve everyone?
Use 100 percent for items that go with every cover, such as bread or a side.
Estimates only
These are estimates and general information, not financial, tax or food safety advice. Prices, yields, portion sizes and target percentages depend on your kitchen, suppliers and menu, so use your own figures, and follow your local food safety rules.
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