Bread sauce: how much it costs to make, per portion
Bread sauce costs £0.13 a portion in ingredients (£1.28 for a batch of 10), from UK pack prices dated 25 October 2026. To reach 68% GP, the UK food benchmark, it needs to sell for at least £0.48 including 20% VAT (£0.40 without).
The other Christmas sauce: milk infused with onion and clove, thickened with white bread and finished with butter, cream and nutmeg. About 600 g, ten portions, costed from JJ Foodservice and Morrisons prices read on 25 October 2026.
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.
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Ingredients and cost, 10 portions
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole milk | £1.69 | 2000 ml | 600 ml | £0.51 |
| White bread (crusts off) | £1.59 | 800 g | 150 g | £0.30 |
| Brown onion | £7.49 | 10000 g | 100 g | £0.07 |
| Whole cloves (about 6) | £1.00 | 50 g | 1 g | £0.02 |
| Salted butter | £29.99 | 5000 g | 30 g | £0.18 |
| Double cream | £3.79 | 1000 ml | 50 ml | £0.19 |
| Ground nutmeg | £1.09 | 42 g | 0.5 g | £0.01 |
| Table salt | £8.99 | 12500 g | 3 g | £0.00 |
| Batch total | £1.28 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 10) | £0.13 | |||
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 | £0.13 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.01 |
| Staff time: 10 min hands-on for the batch of 10 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.26 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £0.40 |
At the lowest price (£0.40 ex VAT) that is 100% 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
- Stud the halved onion with the cloves and warm it in the milk to just below the boil; leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
- Lift out the onion, add the torn bread and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring, until thick.
- Finish with the butter, cream, nutmeg and salt. Serve about 60 g a portion.
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices (single-unit price, no multi-buy tiers) and Morrisons shelf prices, read on 25 October 2026. Morrisons lines are used where JJ Foodservice listed no equivalent that day; wholesale is usually lower, so treat those lines as cautious. Prices are as listed; JJ does not label VAT on most lines, and most raw food is zero-rated in the UK while alcohol and some ingredients carry standard-rate VAT. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.
- Whole milk: Fresh whole milk (DAI005), 2 litres, £1.69 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- White bread: Kingsmill thick sliced white bread 800 g (BRE062), 800 g, £1.59 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Brown onion: Brown cooking onions (VEG655), 10 kg, £7.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Whole cloves: Indus Whole Cloves (retail), 50 g, £1.00 shelf price — Morrisons (retail), accessed 2026-10-25
- Salted butter: Lakeland salted butter, 20 x 250 g (DAI185), 5 kg, £29.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Double cream: Meadowland double cream (CRE039), 1 litre, £3.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Ground nutmeg: Morrisons Ground Nutmeg (retail), 42 g, £1.09 shelf price — Morrisons (retail), accessed 2026-10-25
- Table salt: JJ table salt (SPI019), 12.5 kg, £8.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
More costed dishes: seasonal
- Braised red cabbage — £0.20 a portion
- Smoked salmon starter — £1.87 a portion
- Prawn cocktail — £1.41 a portion
- Chicken liver pâté with toast — £0.78 a portion