Recipes (Recipe Engineering)

Common Tasks

How to Create a Recipe Manually (Add Recipe, New Recipe)

Create a new recipe from scratch when you want full control over ingredients and instructions.

1. Go to Restaurant → Recipes in the left sidebar
2. Click the + New Recipe or Add Recipe button
3. Enter the Name and Code for the recipe
4. Select the Recipe Type: FINISHED_PRODUCT (final dish), SUB_RECIPE (component like sauce or dough), PREP_ITEM, or BEVERAGE
5. Enter Yield Quantity and select Yield Unit (e.g. portions, kg)
6. Optionally enter Prep Time, Cook Time, Instructions, Allergens, and Dietary Flags
7. Set Status to DRAFT, TESTING, APPROVED, or ARCHIVED
8. Click Save or Create Recipe

Result: The recipe is created. You can then add ingredients and link them to inventory products or sub-recipes.

How to Generate a Recipe with AI (AI Recipe, Create Recipe from Description)

Use AI to generate a recipe and suggested ingredients from a dish description.

1. Go to Restaurant → Recipes
2. Click New Recipe and choose the AI option, or use Generate with AI
3. Enter a description of the dish (e.g. "Classic beef burger with lettuce, tomato, and special sauce")
4. Click Generate
5. Review the generated recipe, ingredients, and optional conversion suggestions for matching to inventory
6. Edit any fields as needed and Save

Result: A new recipe is created with AI-suggested ingredients. You can link each ingredient to an inventory product and set conversion factors.

How to Add Ingredients and Link to Inventory (Add Ingredient, Link Product)

Add ingredients to a recipe and link them to inventory products so cost and deduction work correctly.

1. Open the recipe from Restaurant → Recipes
2. Go to the Ingredients section and click Add Ingredient
3. Select either an Inventory Product or a Sub-Recipe
4. Enter Quantity and select the Unit (recipe unit)
5. Set Waste Factor and Yield Factor if applicable
6. If the product's inventory unit differs from the recipe unit, enter Conversion to Recipe Unit (e.g. 1 inventory unit = X recipe units)
7. Save the ingredient

Result: The ingredient is linked. If conversion was needed and is set, recipe cost and inventory deduction will use it correctly.

Note: Ingredients with MATCHED status have a linked product and optional conversion. UNMATCHED ingredients need linking; use Rematch Ingredients to run AI matching again for unmatched items.

How to View Recipe Cost (Cost Breakdown, Food Cost)

See the cost breakdown per ingredient and cost per portion for a recipe.

1. Go to Restaurant → Recipes and open the recipe
2. Open the Cost or Recipe Cost tab/section
3. Review Ingredient Cost (quantity, unit, cost per unit, total), Cost Per Portion, and Target Food Cost %

Result: You see which ingredients need conversion configuration and whether cost is complete. Fix any ingredients marked as needing configuration so deduction and reports are accurate.

How to Deduct a Recipe from Inventory (Recipe Deduction, Portion Deduction)

When you have sold or used portions of a recipe, deduct the ingredients from inventory.

1. Open the recipe from Restaurant → Recipes
2. Use the Deduct or Deduct from Inventory action
3. Enter the number of Portions to deduct
4. Confirm the deduction

Result: Inventory is reduced for each ingredient according to the recipe and conversion factors. An adjustment record is created.

Key Concepts

• Recipe types: FINISHED_PRODUCT is the final dish; SUB_RECIPE is a component used in other recipes (e.g. sauce, dough). Use sub-recipes as ingredients in finished products.
• Conversion to recipe unit: When inventory is in one unit (e.g. bottle) and the recipe uses another (e.g. grams), set how many recipe units per inventory unit so cost and deduction are correct.
• Waste and yield factors: Adjust quantity for trim waste and yield (e.g. edible portion) so cost reflects real usage.
• Match status: MATCHED means the ingredient is linked to an inventory product; UNMATCHED means it still needs linking or rematching.

For linking recipes to menu items, see Menu Builder. For inventory stock levels, see Inventory Management.

Troubleshooting