Menu Planning Concepts PDF

TH2306 MENU PLANNING CONCEPTS Principles of Menu Planning (Palacio & Theis, 2021) The menu is the heart of any restaurant. It is the single, most influentia...

TH2306 MENU PLANNING CONCEPTS Principles of Menu Planning (Palacio & Theis, 2021) The menu is the heart of any restaurant. It is the single, most influential plan in any food service operation. It is a list of food and beverages offered for sale with prices corresponding to each menu item. A well-planned menu serves as a catalyst that drives all operational functions: purchasing, production, and service. A menu's purpose also covers the following:  Communication – It advertises what an establishment can offer to the public and assists the staff in preparing food.  Selling – It entices a customer to buy a particular dish.  Advertising – It develops a reputation for culinary specialties or food quality.  Public Relations – It builds awareness in customers' minds and helps promote the establishment by word of mouth.  Management Control – It influences resource acquisition and utilization. These resources include food, labor, equipment, time, money (costs and profits), and facilities. Menu planning is creating and/or selecting different courses to form a menu for a particular market or event. Daily activities and scheduling variations may complicate the menu planning process. Knowing what types of food can be prepared according to the activities and schedules for a particular day is an important part of menu planning. Ultimately, the key to kitchen success leads to customer satisfaction and establishment profitability. The following are principles that can help a menu planner in the technical aspects of conceptualizing a menu: Principle of Good Nutrition. Nutrition is the science of food, its nutrients, and what it does to the body, from ingestion to secretion. When relating this definition to menu planning, one must consider all the food's essential nutrients. There should be vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables, protein from meat, poultry, and seafood, and carbohydrates from starchy sources like rice and potato. Principle of Variety. Menus should be changed from time to time or as needed by a food service operation. Different cuisines or different concepts in food would help ease too much familiarity with the menu. Menus must also adapt to a specific age group, gender, diet, and customer needs. Offering something with various price points must also be considered so that all "pockets" are catered for. Principle of Balance and Contrast. Meals should also be nourishing and appealing besides being tasty or delicious. Nutritional content, flavors, colors, and textures should be balanced to form a winning combination. This principle has three (3) aspects, namely: o Nutritional content. Meals must be well-thought-out, considering the balance of different nutrients that nourish a consumer's body. o Cooking methods. Food's nutritional content is affected mainly by the way it is prepared. Offering a menu with meals produced by different cooking methods promotes balance. It is important to consider customers' personal preferences. o Aesthetic presentation. Food involves both science and art. As an art, food must appeal to different senses and not only by taste. The presentation or appearance of food is also important. A dish should look like a balanced picture with depths of contrasting colors and textures. Proper garnishing and plating help elevate food aesthetically. 02 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 3  TH2306 Principle of Truthfulness. When promoting a menu, it is essential to accurately describe what is being served or provided to the customers. Customers expect to receive an item as indicated or shown in the menu. Principle of Flexibility. This principle involves managing and planning a future menu by modifying an existing one. It is a skill wherein food items are combined or one (1) or more ingredients are incorporated into an existing dish to create a new one. For example, one may write "fish fillet" instead of "salmon fillet" to ensure truthfulness if the availability of a specific ingredient becomes a concern. Types of Menus A menu is traditionally defined as a list of food or drink items available for purchase that can be served. It can be seasonal, fixed, or something in between. Since many eating establishments offer many meal experiences, there are not just one or two (2) types of food menus commonly used according to their regular food items, inclusions, and pricing strategy. The following are the common types of menus (Ward, 2023). Cycle menu. It is a kind of menu or a part of a menu with repeated options over a specific period. Think of a sandwich shop offering a particular sandwich on Monday, then another on Tuesday, and for the rest of the week. It is a cycle menu if it sticks to those sandwiches on those days and repeats that week after week. Static menu. It is a larger menu usually divided into categories that often do not change. Food may include appetizers, salads, and entrees. Beverages may be shots, cocktails, beer, and wine. Static menus are easy to navigate. The fact that a static menu does not change often means the customer experience is consistent. Fixed menu. It is a menu type with fewer options and a fixed total price. It is also commonly called a set menu, and it has two (2) common types: o Table d'hôte/tabhul-dowt/ menus offer a complete meal at a set price and do not offer any choices regarding the inclusions. o Prix fixe /pree-feex/ menu, which means a fixed price menu, will allow guests to choose one (1) selection from each course, and the entire meal costs the single price indicated. À la carte /al-lah-kart/ Menu – Food and drink items are listed separately with their price. A la carte menus have more flexibility where customers can choose individual items and combine any course. Du Jour /du-zhur/ Menu – Du jour is a French phrase that means "of the day." This menu changes daily depending on what's available or what the chef prepared. So, "soup du jour" means soup of the day. Special Menu. It is intended for special occasions like Christmas, Valentine's, and birthdays. Menus can also be classified according to their extent of selection (Palacio & Theis, 2021). Selective Menu. This menu includes two (2) or more choices in some or all menu categories. Categories represent the groups of food offered and usually include appetizers, entrées, side dishes, desserts, and beverages. The exact number of options within each category will vary among different types of food service operations. The selection of food items to be offered in each food category must be carefully planned to meet the needs of the customers and the operation. 02 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 3  TH2306 o Full-selective Menu. It offers at least two (2) choices in every category. The advantage of this type is that it allows maximum choice for the customer. The primary disadvantage, however, is the obvious demand for operational resources. Ingredients and other food products must be available in the inventory to meet menu demand, and the production staff or cooks must have the skills and flexibility to respond to various choices. Semi-selective or Limited Menu. It allows one (1) or more selections in some of the menu categories. For example, a long-term care facility may offer two (2) entrées and two (2) dessert selections at lunch and dinner but no choice in the vegetable and salad categories. On the other hand, restaurants may offer a choice of entrées accompanied by standard side dishes. Nonselective Menu. It is also referred to as a pre-selected or house menu. It offers no choice in any category. Organizations using the nonselective menu usually have a list of alternatives if a customer does not want any of the menu items offered. It is also commonly used in healthcare settings where a set menu is served to patients that is often required for them. References: Association of South East Asian Nations (2013). Plan and manage menu-based catering. Victoria, AUS: William Angliss Institute of TAFE. Davis, B., Lockwood, A., Alcott, P., & Pantelidis, I. (2018). Food and beverage management. Routledge Payne-Palacio, J. & Theis, M. (2021). Foodservice management: Principles and practices (13th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Ward, S. (2023). Types of Menu: 5 Types of Menus to Use In Your Restaurant. In Binwise. Retrieved 21 July 2023, from https://home.binwise.com/blog/types-of-menu 02 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 3