# Food Cost & Menu Planner AI Agent Connect

> Food Cost & Menu Planner MCP gives your AI client the math needed to run a profitable kitchen. It handles the heavy lifting of calculating dish costs, adjusting for ingredient waste, and setting menu prices that hit your specific margin targets. Instead of manual spreadsheets, you just tell your agent what you're cooking and let it handle the financial breakdown.

## Overview
- **Category:** finance
- **Price:** Free
- **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_W69DQoJ9aFseQz4AasJPQqFDjxplOYmyd8wq4ByF/ai-agent-connect
- **Tags:** food-cost, menu-planning, profitability, culinary, margin-analysis

## Description

Running a kitchen means constantly balancing ingredient prices against what customers pay. This MCP turns your AI client into a specialized financial analyst for your menu. You can quickly determine the exact cost of a single serving by feeding it your ingredient list. If you're dealing with high-waste items like produce or meat, the MCP accounts for preparation loss so your margins stay realistic. 

Beyond just counting pennies, you can use it to set your selling prices. If you know you need a 30% food cost, the MCP calculates the necessary menu price for you. You can also run a full profitability check on your current menu to see which dishes are actually making money and which ones are dragging down your contribution margins. It's a direct way to move from guesswork to data-driven menu engineering without leaving your chat interface.

## Tools

### calculate_item_cost
This tool calculates the total cost to produce one serving of a dish based on its ingredients.

### calculate_target_price
Use this to find the exact menu price needed to hit a specific profit margin goal.

### get_ingredient_yield_adjusted_cost
This tool finds the true cost of an ingredient by factoring in weight lost during prep work.

### analyze_menu_profitability
This tool compares your current menu prices against your margins to show how much profit each item generates.

## Prompt Examples

**Prompt:** 
```
What is the total cost for a burger using 0.2kg of beef at $15/kg and 0.05kg of cheese at $20/kg?
```

**Response:** 
```
The total cost for the burger is $4.00.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
If a steak costs $12.00 to make, what should I charge to maintain a 30% food cost?
```

**Response:** 
```
To maintain a 30% food cost, the suggested price is $40.00.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Analyze the profitability of a pasta dish that costs $5.00 and sells for $15.00.
```

**Response:** 
```
The pasta dish has a food cost percentage of 33.33% and a contribution margin of $10.00.
```

## Capabilities

### Ingredient Costing
Your agent calculates the exact cost of a recipe based on ingredient weights and prices.

### Yield Adjustment
The AI accounts for prep waste to ensure you aren't underestimating ingredient costs.

### Price Optimization
Your agent suggests menu prices that align with your required profit margins.

### Margin Analysis
The AI evaluates how much money each dish contributes to your bottom line.

## Use Cases

### New Menu Development
Input new recipes to see if they meet your target food cost before they hit the menu.

### Waste Management
Adjust ingredient costs to reflect the actual usable weight after trimming and prep.

### Price Adjustments
Recalculate menu prices immediately when your supplier raises ingredient costs.

### Profit Audits
Check your current menu to see which items have the best contribution margins.

## Benefits

- Eliminates manual math for recipe costing.
- Accounts for real-world prep waste in ingredient pricing.
- Sets menu prices based on target margins rather than guesswork.
- Identifies high-margin and low-margin items instantly.

## How It Works

Connecting this MCP to your workflow takes seconds and gives your AI client immediate financial intelligence.

1. Connect the MCP to your client like Claude or Cursor via Vinkius.
2. Provide your ingredient prices and recipe quantities to your agent.
3. Ask the agent to calculate costs or target prices.
4. Review the financial breakdown provided by the AI.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How do I use this MCP with Claude?**
You connect the MCP through the Vinkius platform. Once connected, your Claude client can immediately use the costing and pricing tools.

**Does this account for food waste?**
Yes. You can use the tool that calculates yield-adjusted costs to factor in weight lost during preparation.

**Can I set specific profit margins?**
Yes. You can tell your agent what target margin you want, and it will calculate the necessary menu price.

**What kind of clients work with this MCP?**
Any MCP-compatible client such as Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, or VS Code.

**Do I need to host this myself?**
No. Vinkius hosts and manages the MCP for you, so it is ready to use as soon as you connect.

**How do I calculate the cost of a specific dish?**
Use the `calculate_item_cost` tool by providing a list of ingredient IDs and the quantities used in the recipe.

**Can I account for ingredient waste?**
Yes, use `get_ingredient_yield_adjusted_cost` to calculate the effective cost of an ingredient after accounting for its yield percentage.

**How can I set a profitable price for a new menu item?**
Use `calculate_target_price` to determine the suggested selling price based on your desired food cost percentage.