How the questions are made
Each question is drawn on a document a kitchen really uses, with invented items and prices: a glass measure, a standardized recipe card, a produce yield card, a butcher’s yield test form, a recipe cost card, a menu, a bread formula or a month’s food cost report. The levels run from measuring (FACS, ProStart Level 1) to food costing (ProStart Level 2, Food Costing chapter; culinary school and college math for food service). Wrong answers that match a common slip get a note: using AP where EP belongs, dividing the wrong way, rounding an order down, or a percent written as a decimal.
Example: how much broccoli to order
In set PREP42 you need 40 portions of 5 oz of trimmed broccoli, the yield is 58%, and broccoli comes by the 1.50 lb bunch. The EP needed is 40 × 5 = 200 oz, or 12.50 lb. Dividing by the yield, 12.50 ÷ 0.58 = 21.56 lb as purchased (rounded up). That is 14.37 bunches, so order 15. Open set PREP42
Questions
How do you calculate yield percentage?
Divide the edible portion (EP) weight by the as-purchased (AP) weight and multiply by 100. If 20 lb of carrots trim down to 16.4 lb, the yield is 16.4 ÷ 20 × 100 = 82%. Trim is AP minus EP, here 3.6 lb.
How do you find the edible portion cost?
Divide the AP cost by the yield as a decimal. Carrots at $1.15 per lb with an 82% yield cost $1.15 ÷ 0.82 = $1.40 per usable pound. EP cost is never lower than AP cost; if yours is, you multiplied by the yield.
How much do I need to buy for a given number of portions?
Work out the EP you need (portions × portion size), divide by the yield as a decimal, then round up to whole purchase units. Rounding down leaves the kitchen short.
How do you find a recipe conversion factor?
New yield ÷ old yield, then multiply every ingredient by it. If the portion size changes too, compare total yields: portions × size. 40 portions of 6 fl oz from a card of 24 portions of 8 fl oz is 240 ÷ 192 = 1.25. Taste and adjust salt and spices.
What is a butcher’s yield test?
You weigh a cut as purchased, break it down, and weigh the fat, bones, usable trim and loss. The by-products are credited at what they are worth, and the net cost is divided by the saleable weight. The cost factor (cost per saleable lb ÷ AP price per lb) reprices the test when the AP price changes.
How do you work out food cost percent and menu price?
Food cost % = portion cost ÷ menu price × 100. To set a price, divide the portion cost by the target food cost as a decimal: $4.20 at 30% is $4.20 ÷ 0.30 = $14.00. The contribution margin is price minus food cost, here $9.80.
What is baker’s percentage?
Every ingredient is written as a percent of the flour weight, and the flour is 100% (with two flours, they add up to 100%). 650 g of water to 1,000 g of flour is 65%. The percents add up to more than 100, and dough weight ÷ (total percent ÷ 100) gives the flour.
Is a cup 237 mL or 240 mL?
The US cup is 8 fl oz, about 236.6 mL (NIST lists 237 mL). Nutrition labels round it to 240 mL, a tablespoon to 15 mL and a teaspoon to 5 mL. US measures here are exact; each metric question says which value to use.
Sources, read October 26, 2026: The Culinary Institute of America, Kitchen Calculations (PDF); The Culinary Pro: culinary math, recipe conversion, butcher’s yield test, calculating food cost and baker’s percentage; Institute of Child Nutrition, Basic Culinary Math (2016); USDA Food Buying Guide, introduction (PDF); NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C and NIST SP 811 (PDF); 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii), food label metric values; VCC Learning Centre, Baker’s Percentages (PDF); LeBruto, Quain and Ashley, Menu Engineering (FIU Hospitality Review, PDF): contribution margin.