Leek and potato soup: how much it costs to make, per portion
Leek and potato soup costs £0.60 a portion in ingredients (£6.01 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 £2.25 including 20% VAT (£1.88 without).
A café soup of the day that costs little and holds well: leeks, potato and onion simmered in stock, blended and finished with cream. Ten 300 ml bowls with bread, costed from JJ Foodservice 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeks | £11.49 | 4500 g | 1100 g | £2.81 |
| Potatoes | £16.99 | 25000 g | 800 g | £0.54 |
| Brown onions | £7.49 | 10000 g | 200 g | £0.15 |
| Salted butter | £29.99 | 5000 g | 80 g | £0.48 |
| Vegetable bouillon | £11.99 | 1000 g | 30 g | £0.36 |
| Double cream | £3.79 | 1000 ml | 200 ml | £0.76 |
| Table salt | £8.99 | 12500 g | 6 g | £0.00 |
| Ground black pepper | £22.99 | 1750 g | 1 g | £0.01 |
| Bread, to serve | £1.59 | 800 g | 450 g | £0.89 |
| Batch total | £6.01 | |||
| Per portion (÷ 10) | £0.60 | |||
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 | £0.60 |
| Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned) | £0.03 |
| Staff time: 20 min hands-on for the batch of 10 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost | £0.53 |
| Food, waste and staff per portion | £1.16 |
At the lowest price (£1.88 ex VAT) that is 62% 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
- Trim and wash the leeks well and slice; peel and dice the potatoes and onion.
- Sweat the leeks and onion in the butter for 10 minutes without colour.
- Add the potatoes and 2 litres of stock and simmer for 20 minutes until soft.
- Blend, stir in the cream and season. Serve 300 ml with bread.
Costing notes
Leek trim is costed in. USDA figures put the white and pale green at about 44% of a whole leek (leek yield), so 1.1 kg bought gives roughly 480 g. The leek line is costed on the weight bought; put the dark tops in the stock.
Where the prices came from
JJ Foodservice collection prices (single-unit price, no multi-buy tiers), read on 25 October 2026. 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.
- Leeks: Fresh leeks (VEG386), 4.5 kg, £11.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Potatoes: Chipping potatoes (POT112), 25 kg, £16.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Brown onions: Brown cooking onions (VEG655), 10 kg, £7.49 collection — JJ Foodservice, 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
- Vegetable bouillon: Gomo vegetable bouillon (MIS112), 1 kg, £11.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Double cream: Meadowland double cream (CRE039), 1 litre, £3.79 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Table salt: JJ table salt (SPI019), 12.5 kg, £8.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Ground black pepper: JJ ground black pepper (SPI596), 1.75 kg, £22.99 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
- Bread: Kingsmill thick sliced white bread 800 g (BRE062), 800 g, £1.59 collection — JJ Foodservice, accessed 2026-10-25
More costed dishes: café and breakfast
- Cheese omelette — £0.82 a serve
- Scrambled eggs on toast — £0.70 a serve
- Lemon and sugar pancakes — £0.30 a portion
- Bubble and squeak — £0.29 a portion