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TH2306 MENU DEVELOPMENT Menu Development Guidelines (Palacio & Theis, 2021) Staff and customer acceptance of a new menu can be enhanced by actively solici...

TH2306 MENU DEVELOPMENT Menu Development Guidelines (Palacio & Theis, 2021) Staff and customer acceptance of a new menu can be enhanced by actively soliciting their input during the menu planning process. The menu planner is expected to have an inherent appreciation of good food, a flair for planning based on creativity and imagination, and the ability to merchandise food attractively. They must also get input from the purchasing, production, and service personnel of the foodservice establishment of which they are a part. Many foodservice operations assign the menu planning responsibility to a team rather than an individual. Input from the actual and potential customers through market research or food preference studies, test marketing (e.g., selling products on a limited basis before full product launch), and participation on food or menu committees can be of assistance. Menu items are dependent on the type of restaurant. The depth (number and variety) of items on the menu is critical to the restaurant's overall success. The guidelines for developing a menu for each of the food groups or categories are the following: Entrées. Plan the choices of meat and other entrées for the entire period or cycle because these are generally the most expensive items on the menu. Costs can be controlled greatly through careful planning by arranging the frequency of high-cost versus low-cost entrées. If the menu pattern provides entrée choices, it is recommended that the selection includes at least one (1) vegetarian option. Normally, a table service restaurant should have at least eight (8) entrées. It allows for a minimum selection that is cooked in various ways (baked, broiled, sautéed, pan-fried, deep-fried, grilled, poached, and simmered). There should be an item or two (2) from each major food category (meat, poultry, seafood, fish, and pasta) to maintain balance. For example, chicken can be cooked in these ways: lemon herb chicken (broiled), chicken breast marinated in ginger vinaigrette (grilled), or chicken fajitas (sautéed). Appetizers and Soups. Six (6) to eight (8) appetizers are adequate for most restaurants. Most of these can be cold or cooked ahead and put in a microwave to speed up service and avoid too much use of equipment for the entrées. Offer a balance in the appetizer list to accommodate a variety of guests' taste preferences. For example: o Chilled tiger prawns cooked in paprika and lemon tea with almonds, angel hair pasta, and avocado purée. o Pesto ravioli served with herbed chicken, zucchini, and red bell pepper. o Waldorf salad served with strawberry vinaigrette and tender lettuce, dressed with cream cheese and rosemary. Sometimes, soups are considered as appetizers as these are normally served before the main dish. The kind and number of soups on a menu depend on the restaurant's concept and its guests (target market). Soup selections may be thick, thin, clear, creamy, cold, or hot. These must be served with toppings (croutons, crumbled bacon, and fried herbs) and accompaniments (tortilla chips or breadsticks) to complement them. Salads. The variety of ingredients that can be combined to make salads is almost endless. Salads range from classic garden salads with mandarin oranges and almonds to crispy noodles and chicken topped with a light oriental dressing. Select salads that are compatible with the entrées and vegetables. If a protein-type salad, such as chicken, tuna, or deviled egg, is planned as an entrée choice, it should be coordinated with other entrée selections. If only one (1) salad is offered, choose one (1) that complements or is a contrast in texture to the other menu items. 03 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 1 of 5  TH2306 Vegetables and Sides. Decide on the vegetables and side dishes appropriate to complement the entrées. Potatoes, rice, pasta, or other grains may be included as one (1) choice. Pair a less popular vegetable with a well-patronized one on a selective menu. Garnishes. It is recommended that a planned garnish must be considered for each meal to maximize plate appearance. The garnishes should be part of the master menu or a separate cycle. The planned garnishes eliminate last-minute decision-making and allow adequate time to ensure that proper ingredients are available to assemble for each meal. Breads. Vary the kinds of bread offered or provide a choice of white or whole grain bread and hot bread. Differ the shape and ingredients of bread selections as well to maximize variety. Many food services use homemade bread as one of their specialties. Breakfast Items. Certain breakfast food items are standard. These generally include fruit juices, hot and cold cereals, and toast. It is customary to offer eggs in some form and to introduce variety by adding entrées, hot bread, and fresh fruits. Desserts. For nonselective menus, plan a light dessert with a hearty meal and a richer dessert when the rest is not too filling. On a selective menu, the choices may be limited to two (2) or three (3), plus a daily offering of fruit, ice cream/sherbet, and yogurt. The dessert selection may be extensive for a commercial cafeteria, including a two-crust pie, cake or cookies, pudding, fruits, ice cream or sherbet, and gelatin dessert. Beverages. Most foodservice establishments offer a choice of beverages, including coffee, tea, and a variety of milk. Decaffeinated coffee and tea are generally provided, and soft drinks and juices may be included. Recipe Development and Standardization (Gisslen, 2018) A recipe is a set of instructions that produce a certain dish. To duplicate the desired preparation, it is necessary to have a precise record of the ingredients and their amounts and how these are combined and/or cooked. The main purpose of learning basic cooking principles is not just to be able to cook without recipes but also to understand the recipes being used. Recipe Development The development of new recipes and the improvement of existing ones are not easy tasks. Keeping a file of new recipe ideas that seem practical and desirable for development and testing is good. A program of developing new recipes and revising old ones ensures progress and efficiency for a foodservice establishment. The following reasons justify the need for food production facilities to develop recipes constantly: Cost efficiency. Cost requirements may also necessitate the need for recipe changes. Most of the time, reviewing recipes frequently for price list updates and extracting possible savings is desirable. Substitutes can be found, or revisions in portion size or ingredients may eventually lead to lower costs, which can bring higher profits for the food production establishment. Operational efficiency. Food production establishments sell food and services for a price. It implies that they have to make a profit to operate continually. To do this, the establishment must achieve both operational and cost efficiency. Recipe development is essential for the procedures and their sequence to be set, improved, and corrected, simplifying the work and resulting in a more productive flow of operations. Response to market trends and changes. The market is very dynamic, and changes in consumer preferences for food are a normal occurrence. People often look for new gastronomical experiences and, more often than not, patronize places where innovative menu ideas are present. It is here that the primary value of recipe development is realized. McDonald's, for example, launched the new 03 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 2 of 5  TH2306 McCafé specialty coffee menu in 2008, a product of recent development and market research. It was designed to offer new options to existing customers and entice a new type: busy businesspeople who get coffee in the mornings. Creating new products and services is an essential part of the foodservice business. Response to changes in food ingredients and equipment. Today's market is saturated with convenience products that have complemented, if not replaced, certain ingredients. The consequence is that recipes must be constantly reviewed to see if there are ways to integrate these new developments. It should then simplify and improve the procedure of making the product and the quality of food and service. Recipe Development Process A careful study of the different aspects of the recipe is needed before the actual testing can be done. These are the steps in developing a recipe: 1. Develop the recipe ingredients. Well-defined ratios among ingredients must be maintained to ensure a successful product. The overpowering taste should be avoided in the recipe. Consider the likes and dislikes of the market rather than just those of the chef, manager, or someone in authority. Availability and seasonality of ingredients must be considered, too. The different ingredients' combination of texture and color must be well-thought-out to achieve a completely balanced food product. The ingredient measurement must also be set and, as much as possible, expressed in the metric system (grams, milliliters, degrees Celsius, etc.). 2. Develop methods and procedures. The ingredients must be visualized as they go through the production process. All procedures and sequences must be correct, simple to follow, and require minimal effort from those who will use or perform them. It must also consider the utilization, quality, and availability of equipment and tools. 3. Develop packaging and serving presentation. It is often said that the best-tasting dishes are incomplete without mouthwatering presentations. Therefore, in developing a recipe, visualize how the product will eventually be plated, packaged for serving or presented to customers. This visual display increases the palatability of the product and its salability. 4. Develop a marketable name. Emphasize developing a matching name that is both descriptive and catchy to complement the recipe. Avoid hard-to-pronounce ones. (Note: The succeeding weeks under the Menu Writing module will cover more details on how this is done.) 5. Standardize the recipe. The recipe must be tested, adjusted, and written in a standard format. The recipe's yield must also be adjusted to the most frequent production need of the establishment. Recipe Standardization Production personnel should know how to produce the items on a menu, and the management team should also know how these food items are prepared. If a chef cannot be at work, the manager must take over if no production staff is available. Suppose a manager is unfamiliar with the preparation and cannot fill in for a chef. In that case, the food quality will lack consistency, which can cause customer dissatisfaction, loss of sales, and perhaps a damaged reputation. In this instance, a standardized recipe is necessary. A standardized recipe is the only recipe used to prepare a particular menu item. Writing, maintaining, and using standardized recipes aims to guarantee consistent product quality. Standardized recipes have been tested and revised repeatedly to produce good results. 03 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 3 of 5  TH2306 Differentiated from a typical recipe, a standardized one characterizes the following qualities (McVety et al., 2009): ✓ Tried and tested. Standardized recipes undergo developing, testing, adjusting, and retesting before they can be used. The recipe is tested and adjusted several times until the trials produce a product of the desired quality and quantity. ✓ Uniform product results. The end product of a standardized recipe is consistent in quality, flavor, and appearance. These have been standardized to achieve this uniformity independently of the production staff's skills. ✓ Standard yield or portion size. The standardized recipe has been adjusted to produce a yield based on the production needs of the operation. This yield must be consistent. ✓ Written in a standard format. The standardized recipe must be recorded to best suit production activities. It can be done using recipe cards or templates organized in a recipe file or a computer database (see sample on Page 5). Standardized recipes are one of the essential elements for successful food preparation as they enable the chef to predict and control the final product's quality, quantity, and portion cost. The consistency in product quality and quantity can be assured because most ingredients and preparation details are accurately stated. Accuracy saves time, minimizes leftovers and wastes, and eliminates guesswork and dependence on a single person to perform a job. Recipe Standardization Process Standardizing the recipe is the last part of the recipe development process. Look first into existing recipes or those that are marked for revision, then proceed with the following process: 1. Revise an old recipe or develop a new recipe. This step specifies ingredients, methods and procedures, packaging and presentation, and dish or product name. 2. Test the recipe. The flavor, color, texture, presentation, methods, and procedures are observed during this step by essentially producing the dish or product. It is recommended for the testing that the recipe yields only 25 servings. 3. Adjust the recipe. Any change (removal or improvement) from Step 2 must be documented in this step. 4. Retest the recipe. In this step, another test must be performed after making adjustments in Step 3. 5. Adjust the yield. When the retest is successful, finalize the yield. If not, go back to Steps 3–4 until this is achieved. 6. Fix in a standardized recipe card or template. Once Steps 1–5 are accomplished, the last thing to do is to transfer the tested or draft recipe to a card or template used by the production facility. Structure of a Standardized Recipe Recipe file number – It is a filing number assigned to each recipe card for easier organization, storage, and retrieval. These are set dependent on the establishment's discretion. Recipe name – It is a descriptive name for the recipe. Product classification – It describes which category the recipe is a part of (see Pages 1–2) and indicates if it is an appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, dessert, and the like. A more specific category is acceptable. Date revised – It indicates when the recipe was last reviewed and modified. Yield – This is the total amount of the end product or several portions the recipe produces. Portion size – It describes the amount of product found in one (1) serving. 03 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 4 of 5  TH2306 Cooking time and temperature – These describe how long and at what temperature the product will be prepared. It is especially important in baked and roasted products. Note, however, that the ingredients in the recipe card are already considered pre-prepared (have undergone preliminary or initial cooking and preparations, such as peeling, slicing, portioning, or weighing, especially if not indicated in the recipe card). Hence, cooking time covers the actual preparation or cooking procedure only. Ingredients – This is a list of the required raw materials for the recipe. The ingredients' order and corresponding quantities and methods must be sequentially written according to how the dish was made. Quantity – It accurately accounts for how many ingredients should be used and its common measuring unit. Procedures or methods – This column describes the steps to produce a satisfactory product. These are written with direct, simple sentences corresponding to the ingredient/s used. Only the ingredients corresponding to the procedure or method must be specified to avoid confusion. Standardized Recipe Card Recipe file no. : 122915 or S-122915 Recipe name : French Onion Soup Product classification : Soup Date Revised : January 18, 2019 (Option 1: Picture of the finished product) Recipe yield : 1.25 L Portion size : 5 servings (250 mL each) Cooking time : 40 minutes Cooking temperature : 185–200°F or 85–93°C (Simmering) or Low to Medium Heat Ingredients Quantity Methods Oil 10 g Heat in the pan. Butter 30 g Add and melt. White onions, peeled and thinly sliced 400 g Add and cook until golden brown for about 3–5 minutes. Dry white wine 150 mL Add and reduce for about five (5) minutes over medium heat. Beef broth 1L Fill in and simmer for 30 minutes. Salt and pepper 20 g Season. Croutons 125 g Garnish onion soup in a cup. Grate and garnish onion soup in a cup and place in salamander Cheese 100 g and brown slightly. (Option 2: Picture of the finished product) Table 1. Standardized Recipe Card Sample References: Copley, L. (n.d). Food service & catering – McDonald's. In Weebly. Retrieved 21 November 2023 from https://foodserviceandcateringmcdonalds.weebly.com/index.html Gisslen, W. (2018). Professional cooking (9th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. International Culinary Studio, (n.d). Benefits of standardized recipes. In Future Learn. Retrieved 21 November 2023 from https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/how-to-manage-food-costing-in-the-catering-and-restaurant- industry/0/steps/317545 McVety, P., Ware, B., & Ware, C. L. (2009). Fundamentals of menu planning (3rd Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Payne-Palacio, J. & Theis, M. (2021). Foodservice management: Principles and practices (13th Ed.). Pearson Samson, J. J & Borja, M. A. (2018). Food production management. Mindshapers Walker, J. (2022). The restaurant: From concept to operation (9th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 03 Handout 1 *Property of STI  [email protected] Page 5 of 5