X Tables
Real World Maths Adventures

The breakfast café maths question prompts

Adult prompts and extension questions for run a pretend café with menus, prices, orders, change and recipe quantities.

Quick answer

You can use maths to run a pretend breakfast café with menus, orders, prices, change, and recipe quantities. This helps you practice counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and real-world money skills.

Learning outcome

By the end of this page, you will be able to use maths to plan and run a pretend breakfast café, including counting items, calculating prices, working out change, and understanding how ingredients are shared among customers. Success signs:
  • You can count how many items are in a breakfast order
  • You can add up prices to find the total cost
  • You can work out how much change someone should get
  • You can share ingredients or food items equally

Why this matters

Running a breakfast café is a fun way to use maths in everyday life. You'll learn how to count, add, subtract, and share things fairly. These skills help you when you go shopping, cook at home, or play games where you need to keep score or share prizes. You'll also practice using money, which is important for real life.

How it works

To run a breakfast café, you need to:
  1. Create a menu with prices
  2. Take orders and add up the total
  3. Work out how much change to give
  4. Share ingredients or food fairly

Examples you can see

Let’s imagine you are running a breakfast café. Here are some examples of how maths helps you: Example 1: Counting items You have 3 plates of pancakes. Each plate has 4 pancakes. How many pancakes are there in total? 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 pancakes Example 2: Adding prices A toast sandwich costs £2 and a juice costs £1.50. How much does the order cost? £2 + £1.50 = £3.50 Example 3: Working out change A customer pays with £5 for a £3.50 order. How much change should they get? £5 – £3.50 = £1.50 Example 4: Sharing ingredients You have 12 pieces of fruit to share equally among 4 customers. How many pieces does each customer get? 12 ÷ 4 = 3 pieces each

Try it as a mini adventure

Adventure: The Breakfast Café Challenge You are the chef and owner of a breakfast café. You must:
  1. Design a menu with at least 3 items
  2. Set prices for each item
  3. Take an order from 3 customers
  4. Calculate the total and give change
  5. Share 12 pieces of fruit among 4 customers
Let’s start with the menu:
  • Scrambled eggs £2.50
  • Toast £1.00
  • Orange juice £1.20
Customer 1 orders 1 scrambled egg and 1 toast. Customer 2 orders 2 scrambled eggs and 1 juice. Customer 3 orders 1 toast and 1 juice. Step 1: Add up each customer’s order Customer 1: £2.50 + £1.00 = £3.50 Customer 2: £2.50 + £2.50 + £1.20 = £6.20 Customer 3: £1.00 + £1.20 = £2.20 Step 2: Total all orders £3.50 + £6.20 + £2.20 = £11.90 Step 3: Work out change if each customer pays with £10 Customer 1: £10 – £3.50 = £6.50 Customer 2: £10 – £6.20 = £3.80 Customer 3: £10 – £2.20 = £7.80 Step 4: Share 12 pieces of fruit among 4 customers 12 ÷ 4 = 3 pieces each

Common mistakes

  • Mistake: Forgetting to add decimals when calculating prices. Why it happens: Children may not notice that £1.50 is more than £1. Fix: Always line up the decimal points when adding money.
  • Mistake: Not knowing how to share items equally. Why it happens: Children may not understand division. Fix: Use physical objects or drawings to show sharing.
  • Mistake: Confusing how much to give as change. Why it happens: Children may subtract in the wrong order. Fix: Always subtract the smaller number from the bigger one.

Parent and carer guide

You can help your child by:
  • Playing the breakfast café game together
  • Using real coins and notes to practice money skills
  • Letting them design their own menu
  • Asking them to calculate prices and change
  • Encouraging them to share items equally
What to say: “Let’s pretend we are running a café. What would you like to sell?” “Can you add up how much this order costs?” “How many pieces of fruit can each customer get if we have 12 pieces?” What not to worry about: It’s okay if they make mistakes. Mistakes help them learn. Focus on the fun of the game, not perfect answers.

Practice questions

  1. How much does 3 cups of tea cost if each cup is £1.20?
  2. If a customer pays with £10 for a £7.50 order, how much change should they get?
  3. You have 20 pieces of toast to share among 5 customers. How many pieces does each customer get?
  4. How much does 2 sandwiches and 1 juice cost if a sandwich is £2.50 and a juice is £1.30?
  5. If a customer orders 3 scrambled eggs at £1.80 each, what is the total cost?
Answers:
  1. £1.20 + £1.20 + £1.20 = £3.60
  2. £10 – £7.50 = £2.50
  3. 20 ÷ 5 = 4 pieces each
  4. £2.50 + £2.50 + £1.30 = £6.30
  5. £1.80 + £1.80 + £1.80 = £5.40

FAQ

What is a breakfast café?

A breakfast café is a pretend shop where you sell food and drinks for breakfast, like eggs, toast, juice, and pancakes.

How can I practice maths with a breakfast café?

You can practice counting, adding prices, giving change, and sharing food equally with your customers.

Can I use this with my friends?

Yes! You can play together and take turns being the chef, customer, and cashier.

What if I don’t have real food to use?

You can use toys, drawings, or pretend with items you have at home.

Why is it helpful to play this game?

It helps you learn how to use maths in real life and makes maths more fun and exciting.