8 oz beef burger and fries: how much it costs to make, per portion
The 8 oz pub burger: a 227 g patty of coarse mince, a toasted brioche bun, a slice of burger cheese, iceberg, tomato, gherkin and 200 g of fries. Costed for ten plates from wholesale case prices dated 7 September 2026.
The menu price is the one ChefSums uses for this dish on its sample pub menu, a realistic UK menu price (also on the takeaway menu £10.00). The lowest price is the one that just reaches 68% GP, the UK food GP benchmark (UKHospitality × Christie & Co, 2022: 65.9–69% food GP across every segment). It covers the ingredients at a normal margin, not staff, rent or energy, and most cafés, pubs and takeaways charge more for simple dishes. Check what places near you charge. GP is worked out on the ex-VAT price.
Open in ChefSums — edit, cost, scale →
Ingredients and cost, 10 portions
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef mince | £14.99 | 2000 g | 2270 g | £17.01 |
| Brioche burger bun | £0.35 | 1 each | 10 each | £3.50 |
| Burger cheese slices | £9.99 | 112 each | 10 each | £0.89 |
| Iceberg lettuce | £13.49 | 12 each | 1 each | £1.12 |
| Tomatoes (fresh) | £16.99 | 6000 g | 568 g | £1.61 |
| Gherkins | £8.49 | 2450 g | 200 g | £0.69 |
| Onions | £6.99 | 10000 g | 333 g | £0.23 |
| Potatoes (chipping) | £15.49 | 25000 g | 4489 g | £2.78 |
| Vegetable oil | £8.50 | 5000 ml | 200 ml | £0.34 |
| Batch total | £28.19 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 10) | £2.82 | |||
Cost per line is pack price × (amount used ÷ pack size), the same sum the tool runs. Change one pack price and every line that uses it moves.
What it really costs: waste and staff time
| Ingredients | £2.82 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.14 |
| Staff time: 30 min hands-on for the batch of 10 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.79 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £3.75 |
At the sample pub menu price (£12.92 ex VAT) that is 29% of the price, before rent, energy and everything else. Many UK sites aim to keep food plus staff (prime cost) at or under 60–65% of sales. The staff line counts hands-on prep only, not unattended cooking, and uses the April 2026 National Living Wage; put your own rate, minutes and waste in the calculator's real cost section or the prime cost calculator. Every dish side by side: the UK dish cost index.
Method
- Portion the mince into 227 g balls and shape gently into patties slightly wider than the bun; keep cold. Season only at the grill.
- Cut the potatoes into 10 mm chips, rinse, blanch in the fryer at 140 °C (285 °F) until soft but pale; drain and chill.
- Grill or griddle the patties hard on the first side, flip, add the cheese slice and finish to a core of 70 °C (160 °F) or to spec.
- Toast the cut faces of the buns. Finish the chips at 180 °C (355 °F) until golden and crisp; salt.
- Build: base, lettuce, tomato, patty with cheese, gherkin, sliced onion, lid. Fries on the side.
Costing notes
The patty is three-fifths of the cost, and the wholesale mince line found that day was 10% fat, which is lean for a burger; a 20% fat spec makes a better patty and cost £6.50 a kilo at retail. Sauce is not costed (no priced line for mayonnaise or ketchup on the day): add your own row. Fryer oil is costed as 20 ml a portion, a share of the fryer's life, not what sticks to the chips.
Prep loss is costed in: each fresh vegetable line is the weight you buy, not the prepared weight that goes in the pan. 200 g of fries a portion takes 449 g of whole potatoes as bought, 4,489 g for ten: 44.55% usable (81% peeled × 55% after frying, from our potato yield page); Onions: 300 g peeled is 333 g as bought at 90% (onion yield); Tomatoes: 500 g cored and trimmed is 568 g as bought at 88% (tomato yield).
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices as shown on its public search pages on 7 September 2026 (delivery prices run about £1-2 a case higher). The site does not label VAT on most lines: raw food is zero-rated in the UK, while oil, vanilla and alcohol carry standard-rate VAT. Where JJ had no line that day, a Tesco retail price is used and marked. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.
- Beef mince: JJ Frozen Minced Beef 10% Fat 2x1kg (MEA379), 2 kg, £14.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Brioche burger bun: JJ 4.5-inch Sliced Brioche Buns (BUN036), £0.35 per bun as listed, 1 bun, £0.35 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Burger cheese slices: Kerrymaid Burger Cheese Slices 1x112 (CHE142), 112 slices, £9.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Iceberg lettuce: Iceberg Lettuce 1x10-12 (VEG476), costed at 12 a case, 12 heads, £13.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Tomatoes (fresh): Loose Tomatoes Class I 1x6kg (VEG007), 6 kg, £16.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Gherkins: Kuhne Whole Pickled Gherkins 1x2.45kg (VEG748), 2.45 kg jar, £8.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Onions: Brown Cooking Onions 1x10kg (VEG655), 10 kg, £6.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Potatoes (chipping): Chipping Potato 25kg (POT112), 25 kg, £15.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-09-07
- Vegetable oil: Tesco Vegetable Oil 5 Litre (list price, not the Clubcard promo), 5 L, £8.50 — Tesco (retail), accessed 2026-09-07
More costed dishes: pub and restaurant classics
- Fish and chips — £4.04 a portion
- Chicken tikka masala with rice — £1.34 a portion
- Sticky toffee pudding — £0.87 a portion
- Roast tomato soup — £1.19 a portion