Chicken Caesar wrap: how much it costs to make, per serve
Cooked chicken strips, shredded cos lettuce, Caesar dressing and grated Grana Padano rolled in a 12-inch flour tortilla. One wrap, costed from JJ Foodservice prices dated 10 October 2026.
The menu price is the one ChefSums uses for this dish on its sample café menu, a realistic UK menu price. 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.
VAT: cold food such as a sandwich or wrap sold to take away is zero-rated; eaten on your premises (including your own tables outside) it is standard-rated at 20%, and so is anything you heat before selling it. HMRC VAT Notice 709/1, section 4.1: “Cold takeaway food and drink is zero-rated, as long as it’s not of a type that’s always standard-rated” (Catering, takeaway food).
Open in ChefSums — edit, cost, scale →
Ingredients and cost, one serve
| Ingredient | Pack price | Pack size | Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flour tortilla, 12-inch | £16.99 | 72 each | 1 each | £0.24 |
| Cooked chicken strips | £20.49 | 2500 g | 90 g | £0.74 |
| Caesar dressing | £18.99 | 4540 ml | 30 ml | £0.13 |
| Cos lettuce (a tenth of a head) | £12.49 | 10 each | 0.1 each | £0.12 |
| Grana Padano, grated | £16.49 | 1000 g | 10 g | £0.16 |
| Total | £1.39 | |||
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 | £1.39 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.07 |
| Staff time: 6 min hands-on per serve at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £1.59 |
| Food, waste and staff per serve | £3.05 |
At the sample café menu price (£6.25 ex VAT) that is 49% 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
- Shred the lettuce and toss it with the dressing.
- Lay the chicken and dressed lettuce down the middle of the tortilla and scatter the cheese over.
- Fold in the ends, roll tightly and cut in half on the diagonal.
Costing notes
The chicken is £0.74 of a £1.39 wrap. Lettuce is costed as a tenth of a head; weigh what you actually use from one case. Packaging is not included: add a row for your wrap sleeve or box.
Sold cold to take away it is zero-rated; eaten in, it is standard-rated at 20%. At the same GP that is £4.34 to take away or £5.21 to eat in. If you toast it, it becomes hot food and is standard-rated either way.
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices as shown on its public search pages on 10 October 2026 (delivery runs about £1-2 a case higher; one line JJ listed on delivery only is marked). JJ does not label VAT on most lines: raw food is zero-rated in the UK, while soft drinks, alcohol, confectionery and some ingredients carry standard-rate VAT. Your supplier's price is the one that matters: open the recipe and type it in.
- Flour tortilla, 12-inch: JJ 12" Flour Tortilla Wraps 6x12, 72 wraps, £16.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-10
- Cooked chicken strips: JJ Chilled Halal Cooked Chicken Strips 1x2.5kg (CHI105), 2.5 kg, £20.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-10
- Caesar dressing: Lion Caesar Dressing 2x2.27L (SAU509), 2 x 2.27 L, £18.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-10
- Cos lettuce (a tenth of a head): Cos Romaine Lettuce 1x10-12, costed at 10 a case, 10-12 heads, £12.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-10
- Grana Padano, grated: Grated Grana Padano Cheese 1x1kg (CHE056), 1 kg, £16.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-10
More costed dishes: café and breakfast
- Bacon roll — £0.68 a serve
- Flat white — £0.41 a serve
- Full English breakfast — £2.24 a serve
- Jacket potato with tuna mayo — £1.31 a serve