Recipe Costing + Menu Engineering Skill

What it flags

Proven on a labeled example

examples/juniper-bistro-oct/ is a fictional bistro: 14 ingredients (salmon at 80% yield), 23 recipe lines for 7 dishes and an 8-item October product mix, with butter by the tablespoon in one recipe, croutons that aren't on the list, saffron in nothing and a special with no recipe. expected.json labels the plate costs to the cent (chicken 3.13, salmon 6.00, burger 3.34...) and the matrix (2 Stars, a Puzzle, a Plowhorse, a Dog); the tests assert those, yield math, target pricing and category mode.

What you get

Outputs in out/: menu_matrix.csv (cost, food cost %, margin, class, price for target, action), recipe_lines.csv, findings.csv, report.md, summary.json (theoretical food cost %). Exit 0 = everything costed; 1 = items left uncosted; 2 = an input problem.

Quick start

./run_tests.sh
python3 -m menucost --ingredients examples/juniper-bistro-oct/ingredients.csv --recipes examples/juniper-bistro-oct/recipes.csv \
  --menu examples/juniper-bistro-oct/menu_mix.csv --name "Juniper Bistro" --out out/

Inputs

• Ingredients CSV: Ingredient, Purchase Unit, Purchase Qty, Price, optional Yield % (from your latest invoices).
• Recipes CSV: Menu Item, Ingredient, Qty, Unit (one portion).
• Menu CSV: Menu Item, Price, Units Sold, optional Category (your POS product mix report for the period).

Use it from your agent

• Claude Code plugin: this folder is a plugin (.claude-plugin/plugin.json). Try it with claude --plugin-dir ./recipe-costing-menu-engineering-skill, or add the folder to your own plugin marketplace.
• Skill only: copy skills/recipe-costing-menu-engineering/ into ~/.claude/skills/ (or your agent's skills folder) and keep this folder where the agent can run python3 -m menucost.
• No agent: the CLI works on its own; --help lists every flag.

Honest limits

• Weight-to-volume conversion needs a density, so it's flagged rather than guessed; convert those lines yourself.
• Sub-recipes (sauces, doughs) go in as their own ingredient with a batch cost.
• Prices are what you enter; it doesn't read invoices or connect to the POS.
• Menu engineering ranks items; it can't see guest preferences or kitchen effort.

Requirements

Python 3.9+ (tested on 3.10 and 3.13), no dependencies.

Format and license

Zip, 16 KB, v1.0, 15 files. Use and modify it for yourself and for clients you serve; no resale or redistribution of the kit itself. Full terms in LICENSE.txt.

FAQ

POS?

Any sales mix CSV with item and quantity sold works.

Does it change my menu prices?

No; it suggests target prices.

Units?

Converts common weight and volume units; flags ones it can't.

How do I get the files?

Right after payment, Stripe’s confirmation page shows your download link.

Refunds?

Email hello@youraitools.co within 14 days if it doesn’t work and we can’t fix it.

Can I pay with crypto?

Yes. Pay the same price in USDC or USDT on Base, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon or Solana from the "Pay with crypto" button, with no account or KYC. We check the payment on-chain and show your download links as soon as it confirms.

Pairs well with

Related

• Inventory Reorder Point Skill
• Expense Report Audit Skill
• All agent skills