Chefs know the importance of a standardized recipe. It documents an established flavor profile and method of preparation so that your crew can duplicate your creations in a consistent manner. AnExcel recipe template offers not only the opportunity to write a recipe for your staff, but also adds the number crunching power which Excel is known for, making it easy to calculate your costs at the same time as writing the recipe.
Below you’ll find a variety of recipe templates available for download which are created in Excel. We also have a plate cost template. The images show examples of the templates in use. The download will be a clean recipe template with only the formatting and not all the content shown in the example. Grid lines have been turned off so the sheets look clean.
The best way to use a recipe template is to set it up with all the basic info you want to appear on all your recipes, such as restaurant name, chef’s name, etc. Save it as “Recipe Template“. When you want to create a new recipe, open the “Recipe Template” file and immediately “save as” the name of your new recipe. Then add all of the content for your new recipe. This will keep yourtemplate blank and clear so it will be easy to use repeatedly. Do not open your template, add all the content for your new recipe, and simply click “save”. This will overwrite your blank template with all the content from your new recipe.
Each Excel recipe template below has a “scale” feature in the header.If a 1 times batchyields 20 servings and you need a 5 times batch for a total of 100 servings, all you need to do is put “5” in the “scale” box and your entire recipe is recalculated to make a 5 times batch. If you know how to do some Excel formulas then this is a big help for scaling your recipes. The video below gives a tutorial on how to add formulas to make your Excel recipes scalable. You may also be interested in reading how to organize recipes on your computer. A separate article has a special Excel recipe template geared towards plate costing and managing your food cost.
Below are several versions of Excel recipe templates which are available for download.
If you need to unprotect the sheet and don’t know how to do it then view my video on how to unprotect an Excel sheet.
To see how to change the currencyfrom U.S. dollars to any other standard view thisvideo.
David,
Oh, my! Yes, it is at the very bottom!!! I apologize.
Korina, Alina – I’m sorry, I gave you the password for one of the other sheets. The password for the Scalable Recipe Template is “recipe” all lowercase. As an FYI, it is also documented on the “Instructions” tab.
David and Korina,
Nope. Still doesn’t work.
If I go to: info -> permissions -> I see “one or more worksheets in this workbook have been locked to prevent unwanted changes to the data”. This includes Instructions, Base Recipe, and Recipe Card. If I click on “unprotect” the password window pops up. Like Korina, I pressed enter but I got “The password you supplied is not correct”.
I hit enter, but it says the password is incorrect. Alina, did you get it to work?
What is the passcode to unlock the formatting? I think I figured out how to change it out of date formatting if I know how to unlock it 🙂
I am trying to use the Scaling Template and the amount column is being formatted as a date. I.e. I’m entering 3/4 as in 3/4 cup and it is changing it to March 4. It is Excel 2013 and I cannot figure out how to change the format. Thistemplate will be a lifesaverif I can get it to work. Thank you!
Alina – to unprotect the sheet, go to “Format” and select “Unprotect”. There is no password so just hit Enter.
Good day, everyone!
I have read the instructions on the Scalable Recipe template and I have a question. Every single time I enter the amount (AMT)as “1” or “2” it defaults to date. I can’t change the format because it’s password protected… Help! 🙂
Hi David I can screenshot it to my clipboard but I can not work out how to put it as a document etc to attach it to a e-mail, thanks
Michael
Michael – send me a screenshot of the form w/ the error and I’ll see if I can help. Here is a linkon how to take a screen shot. https://www.take-a-screenshot.org/ send it to chefs-resources @ msn. com (remove the spaces!)
Hello David thanks for the answers, I am trying to use the classic two but when I try to up-scale the card this message appears” Careful, we found one or more circular references in your workbook that might cause your formulas to calculate incorrectly ” and the equation has gone in the box, can you suggest anything that I might be doing wrong. I have followed the video example that you have on your site.
Thank you
Michael
Michael – Great question! Adding a picture is pretty easy. With the recipe template open go to the control bar “Ribbon” at the top of the worksheet.Click on“Insert”, then click “Picture”,find the image on your computer and select it. The image will be added where ever you last had the curser.
You will notice that the image has a box around it with small circles at each corner. By hovering over the lower right or left circle you can resize the image by holding theleft-click button down while you resize the image. You can move the image by simply clicking in the center of the image and dragging it where you want to place it.
Adding allergy info is an excellent idea for a new template which I’ve already starting to use at work. For now, you can pick a spot on the template you are using and insert the info where ever it fits. Which template are you using?
Peter – “Yield” can be used 2 ways: 1) it is the number of eaches a recipe makes. In your example it would yield 8 enchiladas. 2) Yield can also be used to indicate the number of servings a recipe makes. In your example if the recipe makes 8 enchiladas and the serving size is 3 then yield would be 8/3=2.67 servings.
For you example it would be best to say that the Yield is 8 eaches and that the serving size is 3 eaches.
Hello David, do think it is possible to add a photograph of the completed dish onto the template(s) and would it be possible to add on the HACCP/ Risk Assessment say for example Allergy information in a way for guidance and training? Thank you Michael
Hello David.Thanks once again. One other question, when using your template“Classic II Chef’s Recipe Template”, can you help me understand what Yield and Portion Size is? Its not quite clear to me. Say I am writing down a recipe for enchiladas. The recipe I am writing will make a total of 8 enchiladas and my enchilada menu item consists of 3 enchiladas. Look forward to your reply and thanks once again! Peter
Peter – You will need to enter a price into the “Cost” column on the same line that the item is listed on in the recipe.For instance, if you have 3 lbs carrots in the recipe then put the cost/lb for the carrots in the cost column. It is important to enter the price based upon the unit of measure you used in the recipe. Ifyou use 12 oz of butter then the “Cost” column needs to list the cost/oz.
The “Extension” column should automatically calculate the extended cost based upon how many units you enter in the recipe.Hope this helps!
Hello David:
You asked me, “As regards to the FOOD COST CALCULATION TABLE I’m not sure which form you are referring to. Can you add a link if it is on a different page?” and I answered…
Hello David: The FOOD COST CALCULATION TABLE I am referring to is in your “Classic II Chef’s Recipe Template”. This template style has the “Procedures” in the right hand column and has a food cost calculation table to the right of it.
and my original question to you was:
When using your FOOD COST CALCULATION TABLE, I am able to get the total cost but the SALE PRICE field and the FOOD COST field are not calculated. How do I get that working? By the way, I am working on a 30% food cost.
Your help is greatly appreciated! Peter
Hello David: The FOOD COST CALCULATION TABLE I am referring to is in your “Classic II Chef’s Recipe Template”. This template style has the “Procedures” in the right hand column and has a food cost calculation table to the right of it.
ChefTBone – I see that there is a “Microsoft Excel for iPad” available…but I haven’t tried it. Also, Evernote has the ability to store Excel & Word documents on the cloud. It is web-based so as long as you have an internet connection you could use existing Excel sheets, and even share them with staff via a free download app. You have control over editing, but you staff could view recipes on their smart phones.
Hello Peter – thanks for the great feedback. To get the “Yield” to be scalable you will need to follow the same process as you did with making the recipe scalable. Start in the cell where the yield goes (cell F3). The formula will be: =(single batch yield qty)*B4 (scale). For instance, if the recipe yields 12 for a single batch then the formula (starting the cell F3) is: =12*B4.
The portion size should remain the same regardless of the batch size.
As regards the FOOD COST CALCULATION TABLE I’m not sure which form you are referring to. Can you add a link if it is on a different page.
Hello David. Thanks for posting these templates! They are great! One question: I am using your “Classic II Chef’s Recipe Template” I was able to set up the “Scale Feature”; your tutorial was very easy to understand. What I am having problems with are 2 things:
1. when entering my YIELD and PORTION SIZE numbers to your template, shouldn’t this adjust automatically when changing the scale number? When I change the scale, the quantities adjust perfectly but the yield and portion does not change.
2. when using your FOOD COST CALCULATION TABLE, I am able to get the total cost but the SALE PRICE field and the FOOD COST field are blank. How do I get that working? By the way, I am working on a 30% food cost.
I will greatly appreciate hearing back from you. Peter
Is there a good recipe storage/management app out there for iPad? I love the templates here and would like something similar for my iPadiPad
Very glad that you found the site and are sharing it w/ your students…and thanks for the fb like! Sharing helpful pages from this site on social media is what helps me promote it. Thank-you for the help.
I teach High School and this is a great way for students to check their work while getting familiar with using excel sheets! I needed a recipe costing sheet and I found your site (and yes, I liked you on fb too). I appreciate the open access to folks like me who need the support!
Great recipe. Very thorough. I look forward in trying it myself. https://www.domenickpucillorecipes.com/
The Bulk Recipe template has been updated with additional instructions and is now available for download above.
Chef – I’m sorry, I’ll have to add more clear instructions to the sheet.
Every area in yellow is an area which you can add content to. The areas in white you cannot because they contain a formula for the template. In order for the template to work you must add something to these columns: Ingredients, Quantity, Weight -or- Volume, AP$/Unit, and Yield %.
You are correct in how you entered things, except that you didn’t add a number to the Yield % column. The way Yield % is meant to work is as follows: If you click on the the “Produce Yields” link located above the Recipe Quantity you will see a chart giving yields. So, asparagus has a 56% yield. If you put 4 oz of trimmed weight asparagus on the plate and put the cost per pound as purchased, then enter a 56% yield, it will calculate your actual cost for you. I hope that helps.
Sorry just one other thing. With the other more basic templates what goes in the “extension” column?
I’m guessing “cost” is cost price for that ingredient but not sure what extension is.
Thanks
I still don’t fully understand what to put in thequantity, weight and volume columns.
I thought (for example) it would be like quantity=250, weight= gms, volume= blank
or
quantity= 1, weight=blank, volume=cup
But I had a bit of a play around with it and it just says “#VALUE!” when I enter details like that.
If you could put a picture as an example of one being used like all the other templates it would be a great help.
Otherwise, thank you and I will just use one of the other simpler templates
Replying to the below question: In the quantity, weight, and volume columns you list the items as per your recipe, and it doesn’t matter whether they are for US or Metric measurements. For instance, for a basic compound butter recipe you would put:
Butter 1 pound (or kilo)
Fresh Tarragon 1 gram
Fresh Lemon Juice 120 ml
And in the “Number of Portions” box you would indicate how many servings the entire recipe yields.
For a plated entree of grilled salmon it would look something like this:
Salmon 8 oz
Asparagus 6 oz
Lemon Beurre Blanc Sauce 2 oz (I use italics to refer to a separate recipe such as this)
Bread 1 Portion
Butter 2 oz
Regards – David
Hi,
Ignore my previous comment. I assumed I had to login to post so was just testing it.
These tools are just what I needed as me doing it from scratch in excel is nothing like this standard and is also a headache.
I’m about to open a new restaurant and need to type up standard recipes and cost for around 100 dishes.
The only thing i’m not sure about is your bulk recipe template and what to put in the quantity, weight and volume columns
If you could help me to understand it would be great. The picture example for this tool is the only one that is blank of information so there is no example to go by either.
The other thing i’m thinking is it won’t work with metric units like grams and mills or even things like tablespoon and cups. Is that right?
Very nice website anyway. Keep doing good things
Thank you Chefs.These tool are life savers
SJULESBECK – there are several possible solutions depending upon the version of Excel you are using. The problem probably has to do with your Excel security settings. You need to “Enable” Macros. And you need to be sure that the sheet is not protected from editing. To “Unprotect” the sheet, follow the instructions which are on the page when you download the file. To “Unprotect” means that you are able to edit the page. But the problem probably is related to your Macro settings. I just downloaded it and my version asked me if I wanted to “Enable Macros” and make the file “Editable”.
I tried to download the bulk recipe template but get a “read only” file. Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong?
Thanks in advance!
This is a common occurance in Excel. There are two ways to fix it:
1) Go to the Excel tool bar and change that cell’s “number settings” from “date” to “number” or “fraction”. In Excel 2007, click on the “Home” tab. In the center of the tool bar is the “Number” settings. Click on the drop down box to change the settings for the cell or cells selected.
2) Select the cell you want to change. For the first character in the cell type the single quote character ‘ and then type your fraction ( it would look like this ‘1/4 ).
Hi everybody. First let me say that you have a very informative and helpful site. I’m trying to open my first restaurant business ever with my partner and this recipe template is what I,ve been looking for to organize my recipes.I’ve been trying to use the recipe template with the food cost in it but for some reason everytime that I write quantities such 1/2, 3/4 or something similar and then go to the Unit column, the numbers change into Dates!! like 1/2 turn into Jan-2, and 3/4 turn into Mar-4. Sooooo…weard. What I’m doing wrong? Please help
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