Chef’s Helper vs spreadsheets
Most independent kitchens cost their dishes in Excel or Google Sheets, and keep temperature records on paper. It works until a supplier price changes, a formula breaks or the EHO asks for last month’s records. This page compares the two honestly, including when a spreadsheet is all you need.
Last checked against the app on .
Side by side
Cost to start
Spreadsheet:Free if you already have Excel or Google Sheets.
Chef’s Helper:14-day free trial with no card. Paid plans from £9.99 a month, and a limited Free plan for up to 50 recipes.
Recipe costing and GP%
Spreadsheet:You build and maintain the formulas. One broken cell reference can quietly throw out every GP figure below it.
Chef’s Helper:Cost per portion, cash per plate and GP% are worked out for every recipe, with a VAT toggle and a target GP price suggestion.
Trim loss and batch sauces
Spreadsheet:Possible, but each yield and each sub-recipe link is another formula to get right.
Chef’s Helper:Set a yield to include trim loss. Cost a stock or jus once as a batch recipe and its cost flows into every dish that uses it.
Supplier price changes
Spreadsheet:You type in the new price, then check every tab that refers to it.
Chef’s Helper:You still type in new prices yourself, as Chef’s Helper does not pull prices from suppliers. Recipes and batch dishes recalculate from there.
Allergens
Spreadsheet:A grid of ticks that relies on someone remembering to update it.
Chef’s Helper:Ingredient names are checked against the 14 UK allergens, with manual overrides and owner sign-offs. You still need supplier labels.
Temperature and safety records
Spreadsheet:A printed sheet on the fridge or a shared file that is awkward to fill in on a phone during service.
Chef’s Helper:Log temperatures on a phone with corrective actions, sweep every fridge in one go, run cooling timers and record probe checks.
EHO visits
Spreadsheet:Print the tabs and hope the records are complete and in date.
Chef’s Helper:Export a signed audit pack PDF with an inspector scorecard covering the dates you choose.
Working as a team
Spreadsheet:Shared files, copies saved over each other and no clear record of who changed what.
Chef’s Helper:Invite staff with a kitchen code. They use your plan’s seats and log their own prep, checks and temperatures.
Flexibility
Spreadsheet:Endless. You can build any layout or calculation you like.
Chef’s Helper:A fixed set of kitchen tools. If you need a custom report it does not offer, a spreadsheet is still better.
When a spreadsheet is still the right choice
If you cost a handful of dishes, prices rarely change and one person does everything, a well-built spreadsheet is free and perfectly good. Our free GP calculator and batch recipe cost calculator work in a browser with no account, if you just need a quick check.
When kitchens outgrow it
The switch usually comes when more than one person needs the numbers, when batch sauces feed several dishes, or when food safety records have to be filled in on a phone during service. That is where one shared app beats a file that lives on somebody’s laptop. See the recipe costing and food safety software pages for the detail.
Moving across from a spreadsheet
Save your recipe sheet as a CSV file and import it, then check each recipe before saving. The import recipes guide shows the columns to use. You can keep your spreadsheet running alongside the trial and compare the GP figures until you trust them.
Questions
- Can I move my recipes out of a spreadsheet?
- Yes. Save your sheet as a CSV file and import it, or paste text, use a web link or take a photo of a recipe sheet. You check and edit every recipe before it is saved.
- Does Chef’s Helper update ingredient prices automatically?
- No. You enter supplier prices yourself, the same as in a spreadsheet. The difference is that every recipe, batch sauce and menu margin that uses the price is recalculated for you.
- Can I get my data back out?
- Yes. Recipes and whole recipe books export as a CSV backup, and stock, waste and safety records export as spreadsheets or PDFs.
- Is a spreadsheet enough for food safety records?
- It can be, if it is filled in every day and kept up to date. Inspectors look for complete, dated records and corrective actions, whatever you keep them in.