The True Cost of One Tapsilog: A Rice, Tapa, Egg, Oil and Packaging Worksheet

A posted tapsilog price says little about whether a home seller makes money. One plate uses raw meat that shrinks during cooking, rice measured before and after water absorption, an egg, frying oil, garlic and seasonings. Take-away service may also require a box, sauce cup, tissue and bag. A defensible unit-cost worksheet starts with the actual recipe and receipt, not a national average for beef or rice.

Separate raw weight from cooked portions

Use ten planned plates to separate purchase weight from saleable portions. For example, 1.2 kg raw beef yielding 900 g cooked would provide ten 90 g meat portions. That yield is hypothetical; weigh your actual batch. Record the rice separately, because its cooked weight changes with water absorption. Count each egg, including breakages, and every takeaway box.

Record the full batch cost

1. Write down supplier, date, pack size and receipt total for beef, rice, eggs, garlic, sauces and cooking oil. Divide multi-use purchases by grams or millilitres actually used.
2. Weigh beef before marinating and after cooking. Record trim discarded, liquid retained and cooked portion count; cooked meat cost is based on the original purchase plus the ingredients consumed.
3. Cook a measured raw-rice batch and weigh the finished usable rice. Divide finished rice by the actual serving weight to determine plate yield.
4. Count eggs cracked, damaged and successfully served. Allocate cooking oil and seasonings across the number of finished plates rather than adding a vague lump sum.
5. Add boxes, bags, fuel, wages or the value of your own labour, transport and a planned spoilage allowance. Note whether delivery commissions or taxes apply.
6. Sell a pilot batch, then compare total cash collected with total batch cost. Recompute cost per sold plate if any finished meals go unsold.

An example cost sheet

Invented example values for the arithmetic, not observed prices or a Department of Agriculture quotation. Replace every amount with your receipts and measured usage.

• Beef used: Illustrative batch cost — ₱420.
• Rice used: Illustrative batch cost — ₱40.
• Ten eggs: Illustrative batch cost — ₱90.
• Oil, garlic and seasonings: Illustrative batch cost — ₱30.
• Packaging: Illustrative batch cost — ₱50.
• Fuel: Illustrative batch cost — ₱30.
• Labour allowance: Illustrative batch cost — ₱40.
• Total batch cost: Illustrative batch cost — ₱800.

Recalculate when fewer plates sell

In this example, ₱800 divided by ten sold plates is ₱80 per plate. If only eight sell and the remaining meals bring no revenue, the recovered cost is ₱100 per sold plate. At ₱120 each, ten sales collect ₱1,200, leaving ₱400 after the listed batch costs; eight collect ₱960, leaving ₱160. These balances still need to cover any unlisted overhead or tax. Count unsold food once—do not also add its full cost again as a separate loss. DA price monitoring can provide market context, while your own receipts establish the amounts paid. Source 1