Food and Beverage Service: Menu Planning

Module Overview: Food and Beverage Service, Level IV

• This module focuses on food and beverage control skills for analyzing and solving specific operational problems.
• Specifically designed to meet the industry standards and is aligned with the Food and Beverage Control Occupational Standard.

Key Module Units

• Menu planning and development.
• Costing menus to ensure profitability and manage spending
• Production control based on the menu.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Students should be able to develop menus effectively.
• Students should understand menu costing for profit and spending management.
• Students should understand menu-based production control.

Unit One: Planning and Developing Menus

• This unit introduces trainees to concepts, content, costs, key characteristics.
• Trainees will understand planning, design, sequencing in menu items, balance/variety, and considerations for courses, facilities, equipment and staff skills.
• Upon completion, trainees will understand menu concepts, identify key characteristics, know how to plan/design menus and understand sequencing, realize menu balance/variety and relate/ plan menus to course offered, and kitchen equipment.

Menu Concepts: Content and Cost

• A menu is a list of dishes for diners to choose from and acts as the primary selling tool for a food service establishment
• Menus categorize items by time of day or event and serve as a communication bridge between the hotel and customer.
• A caterer’s work centers around menu compilation, requires experience and study, and effective menus are carefully planned by the food and beverage manager.
• The menu dates back to 1718, and menus were initially lengthy, but evolved to smaller in size with increased copy numbers as time progressed.

Types of Menus

• The basic types of food menus include: table d’hôte and à la carte, each with practical adaptations
• A table d’hôte menu offers a set meal at a fixed price and has a limited choice within each course.
• Table d'hôte menus work well for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• Banquet menus: Fixed menu with a set price.
• Buffet menus: Meals that Vary in price depending on occasion.
• Coffee house menus: Set menu often offered for 12–18 hours a day.
• Cyclical menus: A series of table d'hôte menus repeated over a set period, helpful in hospitals and industrial catering.
• À la carte menus: Allow free choice from the card or menu.
• Such menus are more extensive compared to table d'hôte.
• à la carte menus can be more expensive and feature seasonal foods.
• Part of an à la carte menu may include a plat du jour or 'specialty of the house’.
• Special promotion menus are a form of à la carte that aims to sell a particular part of the menu to the customer.

Beverage Menus

• Beverage menus state in clear terms what is available and serve as a selling tool
• Proper technique will help the customer decide what to buy
• Beverage lists are specifically prepared for where they are sold.
• There are several types of beverage menus such as wine, bar, room service, and special promotion.

Wine Menus

• Full Wine Menu: Used where average customer spending power is high and meal times upwards of 1.5 hours
• Restricted Wine Menu: Used where demand for full wine menu is very limited.
• Banquet/Function Wine Menu: Of the restricted type with limited options.

Menu Criteria

• Effective menus should be judged on Menu contents, menu presentation, size and form, layout ad nutritional content
• Content can be examined under headings such as language, accuracy, pricing and sales mix
• Language must be in keeping with the type of operation and be accurate
• Pricing is essential to success and must cover costs while being competitive
• Sales mix is the actual or potential sales mix of items that the customers will choose.

Menu Presentation and Layout

• Menus should always be kept clean and presentable, and use modern materials to ensure they are
• Prices should be overprinted in some cases where acceptable to customers to follow establishments standard
• Menus should be easy to read and clear to enable a customer to calculate expected amount to spend
• Accurate descriptions and images should reflect the restaurant's style and customer expectations.
• The menu shape and style complements uniqueness
• Layout should consider how a customer normally reads a menu
• Nutritional content is very important

Key Menu Characteristics

• Menu costing builds in menu volume and ensures availability is marketed correctly.
• Decisions on paper, print, color, listing of items, size, and cover design must be made..
• Balance, variety, composition, descriptive copy, truth-in-menu and menu labeling should all be considered.

Types of Paper For Menus

• Consider the quantity and type of paper when designing menus.
• Strength, texture, color and opacity must be considered before submitting for printing.
• Roman type should be used in the descriptive copy.
• Headings may require Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Entrees and Desserts..
• Type size is measured in points, at least 12-point type and space between lines must be allowed
• The type on a menu should be dark, and the background should be light, white and reversible

Variety

• Variety refers to diversity of food offerings within categories.
• Variety ensures diversity of product, food temperature, and cooking techniques
• Menu planners must evaluate how well certain accoutrements go with particular entrées.
• Descriptive copy is an explanation of how an item is prepared and served to help sell item on menu

Truth in Menu

• Must accurately describe each and every item on menu by following laws of truthful description in menus that deter deceiving
• Fines and negative publiciy may be a consequence if you violate.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration in USA) Requires the following

• Identify the eight major food allergens

Listing of items

• When listing items they must be presented in the order they are going to be prepared
• It should list appetizers, soups, salads, entrées+ accompaniments,and desserts.
• The most profitable food items should be listed first and the most least profitable are listed last.
• Most commonly popular menu are likely to be ordered regardless.

Size of menu

• The menu should be large enough to merchandise food items.
• However it shouldn't be to much to have problems to handle.

Front to back cover

• The front and back cover should reflect the decor and theme of the operation.
• it should carry Restaurant name with recognizable symbol or logo.
• The back may list address/Number hours of operation restaurant history as well as other info.

To Plan the menus one Must Consider

• Type of clientel to be addressed.
• The local competition.
• Number of Items to be sold
• The price range available
• Staff Capability as a whole.
• Size for Facilities/equipment
• If season supplies and storage is possible.
• Production costs, as these are big aspects.

One must also consider

• Eating/Health ratio this is good.
• Diet and special requirements.
• Understanding of Vegetarianism.

Basic Menu Principles

• List cold and warm dishes in specific ways .
• In every group lighter items listed before richer ones.
• Salads should be highlighted.
• low calories or foods indicated and number of caloris stated.
• Highlight organically made ingredients for the customer.

Other details

• Food should be simply describe and clear
• seasonal Items advertised for attentino use special insers!

Menu Sequence Information

• How many courses or dishes can vary depending
• The size and type of Restaurant

Menu Sequence 18th Century

• Chef Marie-Antoine Careme Established the full 17 Course menu.

Menu Sequence For Today

• Depends on the type of event. ex weeding or business lunch.

Menu balance and Variety

• is balancing menues to please your customers through flavor.
• textures and colours are needed and require to be paired as much as possible.

One must not repeat

• Avoid foods with the same or simular tasks
• unless you are running a food specific house steak house etc..

Menu factors to Consider

• color of food needs to be looked at
• Texture is the feel of dishes in the mouth
• Not to have the same again, have a clear soup rather than thic.
• Make sure to serve things of diffrent nature.

Cost and Planning menues Factors

• Keep eye om cooking supplies and staff skills
• number of course to offer.
• selling prices must be thought of.
• Consider foods in season and what can be given.

Unit Two: Menu Costing, Profitability, and EXpenditure Control

• To Understand the trainees must know information covering
  • Calculate ingredient with expenses labor and production
  • Portion cost as well as waiste and yield of products
  • Incorporanting sales analysis into menu plan
  • and menu pricing

Unit 2 will to assit the trainees by

• being able to calculate ingredients , expenses for labor and products.
• caluclating portion cost
• Knowing to include sales analysis into menu.
• pricing understanding

Ingredient, Labor, Production Costs

• to gain max profit look into and awares of expenses.

The 3 Major areas are

• *Ingredients, Labor , and Over head

Food

• is directly with production of items.

Beverages

• is costs with beverages , labor cost and the labour force

Overhead is

• Any other expenses that is not Food or Labour.
• Once a sales transaction has happen the remaing profit after payment.

Calculating ingredient cost

• this cost refers to ingredienct cost in recipies.

To calculated

• Must list needed ingrediancts
• find unit cost for ingrediant per cup or Oz or watever the unit is
• Multiple qunaity and unit

Over head Costs include

• Payroll
• rent
• utilities
• advertising amongst others.

To follow costs

• Identify the fees
• Find the method.
• allocated cost in it.

Labor Costs

• payroll is wages made

• Other costs

• Compo

• Employee Meals

• training

• transportation etc .

• MOST FOOD SERVICE HAVE CONTROL OVER expence.

• A VARIABLE PAYROLL DEPENDS in amount of work done.

• SALARIED EMPLOYEES are one cost to part of payroll expences.

• Productivity , the amount of work employee gets done

Productivity Ratio

Output/ Input.

Calcuclating Production Cost .

-Find Cost Ingredient

• Include all costs direct
• caculate overhead ,rent ,Utilities.
• What the production uantity is.
• and add up the total. calculate Cost by the unites. .

protion waiste yield percantage

• protions will be identical in 4 ways -- ingredents and how much
• • qunaity method protions.

standard recipes to consider 8 ways

--Item and how much. product servings.

• portiosn ingredinets..