Topic One: The MenuThe menu dictates much about how an operation will be organized and managed, the extent to which it will meet its goals and even how the building itself should be designed. For guests, the menu is much more than just a list of available foods. The menu also communicates the operation’s image and contributes to the overall dining experience by helping to set a mood and building interest and excitement. For production employees, the menu dictates what foods must be prepared. The task of service employees are also influenced by what items are offered on the menu. For managers, the menu is the chief in-house marketing and sales tool. The menu also tells them what food and beverages must be purchased, the types of equipment they must have, the number of workers they must hire, and the skill level of those workers. In short, the menu has an impact on almost every aspect of a food service operation.

Commercial Menu Pricing Styles

Menus come in all shapes and sizes, reflecting the extreme diversity of food service operations. All menus in commercial operations can be categorized by how the menu items on them are priced. Three basic categories of menus are:

• Table d’hôte

• A la carte

• Combination

Table d’hôte

A table d’hôte menu offers a complete meal for one price. Sometimes two or more complete meals are offered on the menu, with each meal having its own price. Some table d’hôte menus offer guests limited choices within the meal they selected. Table d’hôte menus are sometimes called prix fixe menus. (Prix fixe means fixed price in French)

A la Carte

With an a la carte menu, food and beverage items are listed and priced separately. Guests need not choose a meal that has been planned for them; they can choose from the various appetizers, entrees, side dishes, and desserts listed to make up their own meal. The price of the menu items they select are added together to determine the cost of the meal.

Combination

Many operations have menus that are a combination of the table d’hôte and a la carte pricing styles. Table d’hôte menus may offer a selection of individually priced desserts; many a la carte menus include a choice of salads, dressings, vegetables, and potatoes or rice with the price of the entrée. A few operations have combination menus that offer an extensive list of complete meal packages and an extensive a la carte section. Chinese and other ethnic restaurants are most likely to feature this type of combination menu.

Noncommercial Menu Styles

Many noncommercial food services offer the same types of menus as do their commercial counterparts. The menu may be written on a presentation board with a la carte pricing. Some noncommercial operations use a menu without pricing like those offered to patients in hospitals, residents in retirement centers, and business people in executive dining rooms. All menus in all types of operations have two things in common: they inform guests about items that are available, and they drive planning for all resources that are required to produce and deliver the items.

Menu Schedules

Menus can also be categorized by how often they are used. Some operations have a fixed menu, a single menu that is used daily, or a menu for each meal period. Other operations use a cycle menu. A cycle menu is one that changes every day for a certain period of days; when the period ends, the cycle repeats.

Fixed Menus

Restaurants such as those in hotels and chain restaurants often use a single menu for several months or longer before replacing it with a new fixed menu. Daily specials may be offered to give frequent guests some menu variety, but a set list of items still forms the basic menu. Fixed menus work best at foodservice establishments where guests are not likely to visit frequently, or where enough items are listed on the menu to offer an acceptable level of variety for repeat guests.

Cycle Menus

Cycle menus are designed to provide variety for guests who eat at an operation frequently, perhaps even daily. Noncommercial operations, both self-operated and those that are operated by contract management companies in schools, healthcare facilities, business and industry facilities, and other settings, frequently use cycle menus. Commercial operations whose guests are likely to visit every day, such as restaurant in isolated resorts or downtown cafeterias may also use them. Typical cycle range from a week to four weeks, but some are longer. Establishing the right cycle length is important. With too short a cycle, the menus may repeat too often and guests may become dissatisfied. If the cycle is too long, production and labor costs involved in purchasing, storing, and preparing the greater variety of foods may be excessive. The optimum cycle length varies by type of operation and how often its guests are expected to eat there. For example, in large university, a cycle menu of 28 days may be appropriate. The daily menus used in a cycle can be a la carte or table d’hôte. Schools, hospitals, prisons, and other institutions may use table d’hôte menus in the cycle; that is, they may offer one set meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day.

Types of Menus

Three basic types of menus are breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. The types of menus a foodservice operation offers depends on the number of meals it serves and the type of operation it runs. Many operations have a separate breakfast menu because they have a cutoff time for serving breakfast. Combining lunch and dinner menus is a common practice. Below are some of the common types of menus:

Breakfast

Breakfast menu are fairly standard. Many operations offer choices of fruit, juices, eggs, cereals, pancakes, waffles, and breakfast meats like bacon and sausage. Typical breakfast menu items are simple, fast, and inexpensive. Most guests are likely to be in a hurry to get to work or an appointment, so they want to be served right away.

Lunch

Like breakfast guests, lunch guests are usually in a hurry. Therefore, lunch menus must also feature menu items that are relatively easy and quick to make. Lunch menus must have variety; many guests eat lunch at the same restaurant several times a week because it is located close to where they work or go to school. Lunch menus usually offer smaller portions than dinner menus, because most guests do not want to feel full and sleepy during the afternoon.

Dinner

Dinner is the main meal of the day for most people, and menu items offered at dinner usually are heavier in character and more elaborate than those offered at breakfast or lunch. Dinner is more likely to be eaten in a leisurely fashion because guests are often seeking a dining experience or celebrating a special occasion at dinner. Guests are willing to pay more for dinner and expect greater selection of menu items.

Specialty

There is a wide range of specialty menus, from poolside menus to those for afternoon teas. Some of the most common specialty menus are the following:

• Children’s

• Dessert

• Room service

• Banquet

• Ethnic

Children’s menus do not necessarily have to blend in with the restaurant’s theme or décor; the important things are to ensure that the menu is entertaining and that items appealing to children are offered at a value price. The food offered o children’s menus should be familiar, simple, and nutritious. Portions should be small and prices should be modest.

Dessert. At the end of the meal, many guests will not recall the dessert items they saw listed on the menu. Some operations have a separate dessert menu so that food servers have something to give to guests at the end of the meal to remind them of the desserts available.

Room Service. Many full-service hotels offer room service to guests. Room service menus offer a limited number of menu items. Most room service menus are limited because it is difficult to offer high-quality food that does not deteriorate during delivery from the production area to the guestroom, suite, or outlying guestroom area.

Banquet. Hotel f & b operations and restaurants that do extensive banquets business often develop preset banquet menus in varying price ranges from which guests may choose. They can also plan custom banquets menus when guest request them. The pricing style of banquet menus is usually table d’hôte. Managers who plan banquet menus must be careful to select food that can be produced in quality and still hold its quality.

Ethnic menus are offered by restaurants that seek to appeal to guests who like a particular cuisine. Restaurants that feature Italian, French, Indonesian, Thai, Middle Eastern, and Japanese foods are

familiar to most of us and becoming increasingly popular nowadays. An ethnic menu typically features a variety of dishes popular in the applicable country or area; it may also offer items for the more adventurous diner.

Menu Planning

The success of a foodservice operation is largely in the hands of its menu planning team. Not all foodservice managers plan or help plan a menu. Those in multi-unit, quick- or casual-service restaurants, for example, may not do any menu planning at all; their menu will be likely being developed at corporate headquarters after extensive market research. In hospitals and schools, menus may be planned by staff dietitians. Menu planning is complex, and requires knowledge of the entire operation.

Knowing Your Guests

The relevance of all decisions about the menu depends on knowing your guests well. What kinds of guests visit your operation? What do they want to eat? What are they willing to pay for a meal?

Knowing Your Operation

The type of operation helps determine what kinds of menu items are appropriate. Several factors have a direct impact on what kinds of menu items the operation can offer:

• Theme or cuisine

• Cost (budget)

• Ingredient availability

• Equipment concerns

• Personnel concerns

• Peak volume production and operating concerns

• Sanitation concerns

• Layout concerns

Theme or Cuisine. The restaurant’s theme or cuisine helps determine what types of menu items are appropriate.

Cost (Budget). Menu planners must recognize financial constraints when planning menus. Commercial properties cannot attain profit objectives and noncommercial operations cannot minimize expenses unless product and related production costs fall within budgetary limits.

Ingredient Availability. Not too long ago, menu planners were hampered by the inability to obtain ingredients for some menu items during certain season. Transportation problems, weather, and global economic conditions can also affect the availability and cost of items.

Equipment Concerns. Menu planners must know the types and capacities of equipment in the kitchen. They can choose a wider variety of menu items if there is equipment on hand for baking, steaming, broiling, frying, etc. and vice-versa. When choosing menu items, planners should spread the workload evenly among the equipment.

Personnel concerns. The number of employees and their skills will help determine what items can be placed on the menu. Just as with equipment, personnel workload and task should be spread evenly among employees.

Peak Volume Production and Operating Concerns. Equipment limitations affect the quantity and variety of food that can be produced, as do food preparation processes. Planners can determine the best way to make each menu item, and the available kitchen equipment and staff members must be able to efficiently produce the correct number of items when they are required.

Sanitation Concerns. Food service managers should recognize sanitation concerns when menus are initially planned, especially those involving potentially hazardous food.

Layout Concerns. Menus in existing operations are typically influenced by the kitchen layout and space available to produce the required items.

Selecting Menu Items

How do menu planners create a pool of possible menu items in each of these categories from which to create or revise menus? There are many possible sources:

• Old menus

• Books

• Trade magazines

• Cookbooks for the quantity food and home markets

• Websites

Menu Balance

Once all of the items are selected, the menu should be reviewed for business, aesthetic, and nutritional balance.

Business balance refers to the relationship between food costs, menu selling prices, the popularity of items, and other marketing and financial concerns.

Aesthetic balance refers to the degree to which meals have been constructed with concern about the colors, textures, and flavor of foods.

Nutritional balance is important to many guests and must therefore be important to restaurant managers.

Menu Design

Menu items must be organized into a menu that encourages guests to order them. A well-designed menu complements and operation’s overall theme, blends in with the interior décor, communicates with guests, and helps sell the operation as well as its menu items. Menu design depends on the type of operation.

Copy

After the menu planner has selected the menu items that will appear on the menu, copy must be written. Menu copy can be divided into three elements: headings, descriptive copy for menu items, and supplemental merchandising copy.

Headings include major heads (“Appetizers”, “Soups”, “Entrees”), subheads (“Steak”, “Today’s Special”), and names of individual menu items. Menu item names must be chosen with care. If menu items in foreign language, a simple description in English may help guests understand.

Descriptive menu copy informs guests about menu items and helps increase sales.

Supplemental merchandising copy includes information such as:

• Address

• Telephone number

• Days and hours of operation

• Meals served

• Reservations and payment policies

• History of the restaurant

• A statement about management’s commitment to guest service

Truth-in-menu laws. One of the reasons that descriptive copy should not oversell a menu item is that it leads to disappointed guests. Some of the areas to be careful about include:

• Grading

• Freshness claims

• Geographical origin

• Preparation

• Dietary or nutrition claims

• Portion sizes

Layout

Planning a layout includes listing menu items in the right sequence, placing the menu items’ names and descriptive copy (if any) on the page(s), determining the menu’s format, choosing the correct typeface and paper, and integrating artwork into the menu.

Sequence. A meal has a beginning, middle, and an end. When there are no separate appetizer and dessert menus, menu items sometimes appear on the menu in the following order: appetizers and soups first, entrees next and desserts last. The order in which the various items are placed within their categories is usually determined by popularity and profitability.

Placement. Once menu items have been placed in a tentative order, designer (if the menu is outsourced) or the menu planning team can make a rough sketch of the menu. It is important not to make the menu too crowded

Format refers to a menu’s size, shape, and general makeup. Some adjustment may be necessary when working out the size and format of the menu. If there are too many menu items, adjustment may include: (1) eliminating some menu items, (2) reducing the descriptive copy, (3) shortening the supplemental merchandising copy, or (4) changing to a format with more space. If there are not enough menu to fill the space, options include: (1) adding more menu items, (2) using the extra room for artwork, more extensive descriptions of menu items, or cross-selling of other products, (3) allowing more white space, or (4) changing to a smaller format or larger typeface.

Typeface. Some operations that want to project informal, relaxed image use hand-lettered menus. Most menus, however, are printed. There should be a comfortable amount of space (called leading) between lines of type. It is generally easier to read a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters than all capitals. Some typeface has a dark, heavy appearance on the page, while other typefaces create

an open, light feeling. Drafts of the menu should be reviewed to see how the type looks and whether more adjustments are necessary.

Artwork includes drawings, photographs, decorative patterns, and borders used to attract interest, highlight menu copy, and reinforce the operation’s image. If artwork will be included on the menu, it should be compatible with the theme, interior design, and/or overall decorative scheme of the property. Artwork should not be so plentiful and complicated that the guest is overwhelmed or the menu is so difficult to read.

Paper. Most menus are handled by guests. The right paper depends in part how often the menu will be handled.

Cover

Many menu formats feature a cover. A well-designed cover communicates the image, style, cuisine, and even the price range of the operation. It helps set the mood and creates expectations of the dining experience offered. The name of the restaurant is generally all that is necessary on the cover. Some menus also include such basic information as the operation’s address, contact number, and hours of operation. However, covers should not appear cluttered. For most restaurants, cover stock should be heavy, durable, and grease-resistant (or laminated). The cover’s design must be suitable to the operation.

Common Menu-Design Mistakes

Common menu-design mistakes include the following:

• Menu is too small. Crowded menus are usually unappealing and are not effective sales tools because they are harder to read.

• Type is too small. Makes it harder for guests to order as guests cannot order what they cannot read.

• No or inadequate descriptive copy. Sometimes the name of the menu item does not describe the item or sufficiently spark guest interest.

• Every item is treated the same. A menu designer should use positioning, boxes, color, decorative borders, larger type, or some other device to call attention to the most profitable and/or best-selling items.

• Some of the operation’s food and beverages are not listed.

• Basic information about the property is not included. Many restaurants do not include their

address, phone number, hours of operation, and payment policies on the menu.

• Blank pages. A blank menu page does nothing to sell the restaurant or its menu items.