ChefSums: Recipe Costing & GP

Nut roast: how much it costs to make, per portion

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Nut roast costs £0.72 a portion in ingredients (£5.75 for a batch of 8), from UK pack prices dated 25 October 2026. To reach 68% GP, the UK food benchmark, it needs to sell for at least £2.70 including 20% VAT (£2.25 without).

The vegetarian main on most UK Christmas menus: green lentils, cashews, chestnuts and mushrooms baked in a loaf tin and cut into eight. It contains egg, so it is vegetarian, not vegan. Costed from JJ Foodservice and Morrisons prices read on 25 October 2026.

Ingredients per portion£0.72
Batch of 8£5.75
Lowest price · 68% GP£2.70 inc VAT (£2.25 ex)
Premium · 75% GP£3.45 inc VAT (£2.88 ex)

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, 8 portions

IngredientPack pricePack sizeUsedCost
Green lentils, dry£4.492000 g150 g£0.34
Cashew nuts£80.9910000 g150 g£1.21
Cooked whole chestnuts£2.00180 g180 g£2.00
Button mushrooms£6.292500 g250 g£0.63
Brown onions£7.4910000 g200 g£0.15
Celery (about 3 sticks)£13.9912 each0.25 each£0.29
Garlic£3.491000 g10 g£0.03
Breadcrumbs£10.493000 g100 g£0.35
Eggs£3.7930 each2 each£0.25
Vegetable bouillon£11.991000 g10 g£0.12
Fresh thyme£1.79100 g5 g£0.09
Dried sage£1.0911 g2 g£0.20
Rapeseed oil£9.495000 ml30 ml£0.06
Table salt£8.9912500 g5 g£0.00
Ground black pepper£22.991750 g2 g£0.03
Batch total£5.75
Per portion (÷ 8)£0.72

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£0.72
Waste allowance, 5% (trim, ends, the odd one binned)£0.04
Staff time: 35 min hands-on for the batch of 8 at £12.71/hr + 25% on-cost£1.16
Food, waste and staff per portion£1.92

At the lowest price (£2.25 ex VAT) that is 85% 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

  1. Simmer the lentils in the stock for 20 to 25 minutes until soft, then drain.
  2. Soften the onion, celery, garlic and mushrooms in the oil.
  3. Roughly chop the cashews and chestnuts and mix everything with the breadcrumbs, herbs and beaten eggs; season.
  4. Press into a lined 1 kg loaf tin and bake at 180 °C for 45 minutes. Rest 10 minutes and cut into eight slices.

Costing notes

Allergens. Tree nuts (cashew), egg, celery and gluten (breadcrumbs). Chestnuts are not one of the listed tree nuts, but tell guests they are in it. Check every label against the 14 allergens.

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.

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