Menus

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• A menu is a list of food and beverage items
  served in a food and beverage operation.
• It can be printed on paper, written on a chalk
  board, displayed on a sign behind the register,
  etc.
• The menu is the basic game plan for the
  restaurant and a tool used to meet the needs and
  wants of a customer.

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• The menu expresses the concept and theme through
  the choice of foods on the menu, the prices, and
  the design of the menu itself.
• The menu serves as a type of contract between the
  foodservice establishment and the customer.
• Consumer groups, governmental regulatory bodies,
  and even industry self-regulatory bodies ensure
  that what is seen on the menu is what the
  customers get on their plates.

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Types of Menus

• A fixed menu offers the same foods every day.
  Once it is developed it hardly ever changes.
  These are typically found in fast food
  restaurants, ethnic restaurants, and steakhouses.

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Types of Menus

• A cycle menu changes foods daily for a set period
  of time and at the end of that time the menu
  repeats itself every week, 2 weeks, or month.
  Some are written on a seasonal basis to take
  advantage of fresh foods. They provide variety
  for people who eat in the same place everyday
  such as schools, hospitals, and other
  institutions.

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Types of Menus

• A market menu changes with the availability of
  food products. It takes advantage of foods that
  are in season, inexpensive, and easy to get.
  These menus challenge the chefs creativity to
  use fresh and seasonal products. As soon as a
  product is no longer available it is removed from
  the menu. These menus often change each day.

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Types of Menus

• A hybrid menu is a combination of two types of
  menus. A popular combination is the fixed menu
  and the cycle or market menu. Part of the menu
  changes and part remains the same. For example a
  restaurant may serve a different type of soup
  every day of the week or have a special every
  night that features the fresh foods of the season.

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Parts of the Menu

• Appetizers
• Small portion of food served before the meal to
  stimulate the appetite
• Also called hors d oeuvres
• Soups
• Salads
• Entrees
• Main Course of a meal
• Side Dishes
• A portion of food that goes with the entree
• Desserts
• Beverages

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Pricing

• There are three methods of pricing
• A la carte Every food and beverage item is
  ordered and sold separately
• Common in cafeterias, delicatessens, and many
  fine dining restaurants.
• Table dhote A complete meal is offered at a
  set price, also called fixed price
• Common in buffets and very fine dining
  restaurants
• Combination Some food items are priced and
  ordered separately and other food items are
  grouped together and priced as a group
• Common in full service restaurants
• Appetizers, beverages, and desserts are often
  sold separately and entrees are priced with side
  dishes and or salads

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Menu Planning

• The following factors must be considered when
  planning a menu
• Taste
• Variety
• Appearance
• Nutrition
• Production
• Price

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Menu Planning - Taste

• Taste is a major reason customers go to
  restaurants.
• Different individuals and cultures have different
  taste preferences.
• Foods should be selected that taste good
  together.
• It is also important to offer different textures
  in dishes such as crispy fried chicken, cream
  style tomato soup, and firm broccoli.

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Menu Planning - Variety

• Restaurants need to provide enough variety to
  meet their target market plus a few other people
• Some restaurants excel at offering a large
  variety of foods (TGI Fridays) and others
  specialize in a type of food (Red Lobster).
  However Red Lobster has some chicken and steak
  choices.

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Menu Planning - Appearance

• When you are planning a menu you have to think
  about how the foods will look together on a plate
  or on a plate next to each other.
• One color meals look unappetizing. (Macaroni and
  Cheese, Corn, and Applesauce)
• Using different shapes of food in a meal will
  also make the plate more interesting to the eye.

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Menu Planning - Nutrition

• People eat to satisfy hunger because their body
  needs nutrients.
• Nutrients are chemical substances in food that
  help maintain and supply energy for the body.
• Because people have so many choices in places to
  eat restaurants are mainly concerned with taste
  and appearance. However, due to a recent trend
  in healthy eating, many restaurants are now
  offering low calorie and low carb options.
• Institutional foodservices are much more
  concerned with nutrition because these people
  have no other choices of places to eat and must
  get all their needed nutrients from that
  foodservice. (hospitals, nursing homes, prisons,
  etc.)

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Menu Planning Production Methods

• The kitchen staff must trained to prepare the
  food and have the equipment needed to prepare and
  cook the food on the menu.
• Some restaurants require deep fryers, large
  mixers, walk in refrigerators, etc.
• Time must also be a factor in production.
  Complicated recipes that take a long time to
  prepare shouldnt be served in a quick service
  restaurant.
• Also a variety of preparation methods should be
  used. Restaurants should offer fried foods,
  sauteed foods, raw foods, and steamed foods.

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Menu Planning Price

• Menu items should vary in price so guests have a
  choice in less expensive, moderate, and expensive
  items.
• Setting menu prices is an important part of any
  foodservice business. The price charged must
  take into account the ingredients used, labor
  involved in preparing and serving the food, rent,
  utilities, and hidden costs such as condiments.
• The price must also include a reasonable amount
  for profit and must be in a range that is
  expected by customers.

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Food Presentation

• This is the art of making food look attractive
  and appetizing.
• Many of the design concepts in food presentation
  are from the study of graphic art.
• Food arranged on the plate should have
• Balance
• Proportion
• Contrast

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Plating

• Is the actual placing of food on the plate.
• It must be done artistically and handled
  properly.
• Plate rims must be clean and neat, many
  restaurants have employees that perform quality
  control on each plate served.

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Portion Control

• Making sure each portion of food is the correct
  size.
• Each customer should be served the same amount of
  food.
• Portion Control helps control food service costs.
  
• They do not always follow the USDA portion sizes.