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Catering cost per head: how to work it out
Cost per head versus price per head
Cost per head is what one guest costs you. Price per head is what you charge. The gap between them has to pay for the costs you carry whether you work or not, and then leave you a profit. Mixing the two up is how caterers end up with a price that looks fair and a business that does not make money.
Searches for "catering price per person" want a market figure. We do not publish one, because we have no source for an Australian average that we could stand behind, and a number that is wrong for your menu is worse than none. What we can show is the method that gives you your own.
Step 1: cost one portion of each dish
Start with the ingredient price per kilo or per unit, then correct it for what you lose. A shoulder of pork bought raw does not arrive on the plate at full weight; it loses water and trim. Divide the raw price by the yield to get the cost of cooked meat.
In the example, pork costs $11.5 a kilo raw and yields 55% after cooking and trim, so cooked pork costs $20.91 a kilo. A 90 g portion is $1.88. Add a bun at $0.55 and slaw at $0.40, and one slider costs $2.83.
Step 2: multiply by what a guest actually eats
A guest choosing one of three mains eats one of them, not three. A guest at a canapé function eats a number of pieces, not a plate. Multiply each portion cost by how many of that item a guest takes.
| Item | Per guest | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pulled pork sliders | 2 | $5.66 |
| Corn on the cob | 1 | $0.85 |
| Side salad | 1 | $1.10 |
| Dessert | 1 | $1.60 |
| Food, as planned | $9.21 | |
| Over-catering allowance (5%) | $0.46 | |
| Food per head | $9.67 |
Example prices, not market rates. The 55% yield and the 5% allowance are assumptions; measure your own by weighing what you buy and what you serve.
Step 3: add the costs that are not food
Disposables and napkins are a real cost per guest ($0.60 in the example). Crew is the larger one: 4 people for 6 hours at $36 an hour across 100 guests is $8.64 a head. Labour is the layer most often left out of a per-head figure because it feels fixed. It is not; it scales with the job.
The cost per head in this example is therefore $9.67 food + $0.60 disposables + $8.64 labour = $18.91. At a 35% margin on the price, that cost needs a price of about $29.10 a head, before any overhead recovery.
Where the number goes wrong
Most cost per head figures are wrong for one of four reasons.
- The ingredient prices are old. A dish costed a year ago carries a year of supplier increases invisibly.
- Yield is ignored. Trim, cooking loss and off-cuts are real costs you paid for.
- Labour is left out because it feels fixed. It is not.
- Travel and hire are forgotten, because they are not on the menu.
Questions
Short answers
- How do you calculate catering cost per head?
- Add up the cost of the food one guest eats (each dish costed per portion, corrected for yield), the non-food items such as disposables, and the crew cost divided by the number of guests. The total is your cost per head. Divide a whole job’s cost by its guest count for a check.
- What is the average catering cost per person in Australia?
- There is no single average that applies to every caterer, and we do not publish one because we have no source for it we could stand behind. Prices differ by style of service, menu, location and date. The reliable approach is to work out your own cost per head and add the margin you need.
- What is the difference between cost per head and price per head?
- Cost per head is what one guest costs you to serve. Price per head is what you charge. The price must cover the cost, a share of your overheads, and a profit.
- Should cost per head include labour?
- Yes. Labour scales with the job: a 200-guest event needs more people than a 40-guest one. Leaving it out understates your cost and makes jobs look more profitable than they are.
- How do I account for food waste when costing a dish?
- Divide the raw ingredient price by its yield (the share that reaches the plate), then cost the portion. Add a small over-catering allowance for the food that is prepared but not eaten. Measure both rather than guessing.
Next
Do the sum with your own numbers
Use the catering food cost calculator, or see how catering software does it for every job.
- Also read: catering food cost percentage
- Also read: how to price catering