EZchef
EZchef is a paid Windows program built with Microsoft Excel for restaurant and bar inventory management, menu costing, and menu analysis.
What EZchef is
EZchef is a paid Windows program built with Microsoft Excel for restaurant and bar inventory management, menu costing, and menu analysis. It supports counts by category or location, inventory valuation, printed vendor order guides, location transfers, and recipe costing. Costing tools include 100 menu templates in each of 10 user-defined categories and 400 sub-recipe templates. The program calculates portion cost, cost of goods sold, and gross margin from selling prices. POS sales-mix data can graph menu items by gross-profit dollars and cost-of-goods-sold percentage, with what-if analysis available. Distributor-specific versions import current items and prices from supported distributor order guides; other vendors use an Excel transfer template, followed by manual price updates. EZchef maintains listings for counts, order guides, and costing, but does not track food and beverage purchases. It requires Windows and Windows Microsoft Excel, not Mac Excel or Excel Online. A server file allows only one user at a time. Standard costs 289.00 USD one time; distributor-specific costs 359.00 USD one time, with a 15-day trial.
Good
- Supports category and location counts
- Includes 400 sub-recipe templates
- Provides POS-based menu analysis
- Offers distributor order-guide imports
- Phone and email support are free
Watch out
- Windows and Windows Excel required
- Incompatible with Mac Excel and Excel Online
- Does not track food and beverage purchases
- Only one user can access a file
Who it suits
It suits restaurants and bars using Windows and Microsoft Excel for inventory, recipe costing, and menu analysis. It is also relevant to operations working with supported distributor order guides.
Verdict
EZchef combines restaurant inventory records, menu costing, and POS-based analysis in an Excel-based Windows program. Its purchase-tracking gap and Windows-only, single-user file access are important constraints.
Plans and prices
From EZchef's own pricing page, checked 9 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $289, paid once | Accommodates all food and beverage vendors · One time |
| Distributor-specific version | $359, paid once | Imports order guides from a selected supported distributor; also accommodates other vendors · One time |
The facts
Each one read from EZchef's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Backup feature
- A backup feature creates a date- and time-stamped copy of the EZchef file in the same directory as the program file.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Concurrent access
- A file can run on a server, but only one user can access it at a time.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Demo
- The free demo is a fully functional copy preloaded with inventory, menu items, sub-recipes, and menu engineering data, accessible for 15 days after it is sent.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Distributor imports
- Distributor versions can import current inventory items and prices from supported distributors' order guide files.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Inventory
- It supports inventory counts by category or location, inventory valuation, and printed vendor order guides.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Menu analysis
- It uses POS sales mix data to graph menu items by gross profit dollars and cost of goods sold percentage, and supports what-if analysis.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Multi-location licensing
- Each restaurant requires its own EZchef license, with additional licenses discounted according to the number of restaurants.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Other vendors
- Inventory from other vendors can be imported via an Excel transfer template, with prices updated manually afterward.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Purchases limitation
- EZchef does not track food and beverage purchases; it maintains inventory listings for counts, order guides, and menu costing.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- EZchef is a Windows-based Microsoft Excel program for restaurant and bar inventory management, menu costing, and menu analysis.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Support
- Technical support by phone or email is free.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Supported distributors
- The site lists Sysco, US Foods, Gordon Foodservice, Ben E. Keith, Shamrock, Performance Foodservice, Cheney Brothers, Flanagan Foodservice, and other US and Canadian distributors as supported.checked 9 Oct 2026
Money
- Cost calculations
- It calculates portion cost, cost of goods sold, and gross margin based on each menu item's selling price.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Menu costing
- It includes 100 menu costing templates in each of 10 user-defined categories and 400 sub-recipe templates.checked 9 Oct 2026
The company
- Maker
- The site identifies John Nessel as EZchef creator and president of Restaurant Resource Group, Inc., which he created in 1999.checked 9 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platform requirement
- EZchef requires Windows and the Windows version of Microsoft Excel; it is incompatible with Mac Excel and Excel Online because it uses macros.checked 9 Oct 2026
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