1. Chapter 5 The Menu
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

2. Outline Menu planning Organizational mission and goals The customer
Budget guidelines
Production and service capabilities
Availability of food
Style of service
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

3. Outline continued Menu planning continued Menu writing Types of menus
Menu patterns
Food characteristics and combinations
Menu writing
Timetable for planning, development, and implementation
Steps in menu development
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

4. Outline continued Customer satisfaction Summary
Surveys and comment cards
Frequency ratings or popularity indexes
Sales data
Summary
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

5. Outline continued Menu writing continued The printed menu
Menu evaluation
Writing menus for modified diets
The printed menu
Menu design and format
Menu marketing
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

6. Introduction
The menu is the single most important tool in a foodservice operation.
A well-planned menu serves as a catalyst that drives all operational functions: purchasing, production, assembly, distribution, service, and sanitation.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

7. Menu Planning
In planning a menu, there are many factors to consider. These factors tend to fall into three categories of influence including:
Organizational
Customer
Operational and managerial
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

8. Menu Planning Organizational mission and goals The customer
The menu must reflect the organization’s stated purpose as defined in the mission statement.
The customer
The demographics, sociocultural influences, and eating habits of a population must be taken into consideration when planning a menu.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

9. Menu Planning Demographics
Trends in the statistics of populations, such as age, gender, and ethnicity are important to the menu planner because they vary among population groups and change frequently.
Sociocultural influences
Factors such as marital status, lifestyle, ethnic background, values, and religion of the customer greatly impact menu planning.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

10. Menu Planning Nutritional Requirements
Nutritional requirements vary depending on the type of foodservice and population served.
For example, in the Child Nutrition Program, the meals must comply with nutrient standards to quality for federal reimbursement.
RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance): levels of essential nutrients considered to be adequate to meet known need of practically all healthy persons; some foodservices use as a nutrient guide.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

11. Menu Planning Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI)
Nutrient recommendations that address the needs of specific groups and individuals
Food consumption, trends, habits, and preferences
Food habits are mostly based on ethnic and cultural background, but in today’s society, people are becoming more knowledgeable about ethnic and regional foods.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

12. Menu Planning Budget guidelines
In retail operations, the amount to be budgeted is based on projected income from the sale of food.
This income must generate adequate revenue to cover raw food cost, labor, operating expenses, and allow for desired profit.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

13. Menu Planning: Production and Service Capabilities
Equipment and physical facilities
The menu planned for any given day must be one that can be produced in the available work space and with the available equipment.
Personnel
Understanding the relationship between the menu and the availability and the skill of employees are factors to consider in determining the complexity of the menu.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

14. Menu Planning: Production and Service Capabilities
Availability of food
The location of the foodservice operation to the source of food and the dynamics of the market can affect what foods are available on the menu.
Style of service
Some foods are more adaptable to seated service, some to cafeteria style.
The distance between the point of preparation and point of service needs to be considered.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

15. Menu Planning: Production and Service Capabilities
Extent of selection
Selective menu: a menu that includes two or more food choices in each menu category such as appetizers, entrees, vegetables, salads, and desserts.
Semiselective menu: a menu that includes one or more food choices in at least one menu category.
Nonselective menu: a menu that offers no choice of food items.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

16. Menu Planning: Production and Service Capabilities
Extent of selection continued
Static menu: a menu that is used each day, such as a restaurant menu.
Single-use menu: a menu specifically planned and used only once, usually for a holiday or catered event.
Cycle menu: a carefully planned set of menus that is rotated at definite time intervals.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

17. Menu Planning: Production and Service Capabilities
Extent of selection continued
Table d’hôte menu: a menu that offers a complete meal at a fixed price.
Du jour menu: menu of the day.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

18. Menu Planning: Production and Service Capabilities
Menu patterns
An outline of food to be included in each meal, and the extent of choice at each meal.
Food characteristics and combinations
One must consider presentation, color, texture, consistency, shape, flavor combinations, and variety in preparation when planning a menu.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

19. Menu Writing Timetable for planning, development, and implementation
How far in advance of production and service menus should be planned depends on the type of menu, extent of selections, and size and complexity of the foodservice operation.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

20. Menu Writing: Steps in Menu Development
Entrees
Soups and sandwiches
Vegetables and “sides”
Salads
Desserts
Garnishes
Breads
Breakfast items
Beverages
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

21. Menu Writing Checklist for menu evaluation
The menu should be evaluated prior to use, and on an ongoing basis.
Figure 5.10 is an example of a menu evaluation tool.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

22. Menu Evaluation Form
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

23. Menu Writing Writing menus for modified diets
In many foodservice departments, especially those affiliated with health care, the foodservice department is responsible for ensuring that physician-ordered diets are provided accurately.
Menus as documents
Printed master menus for both general and modified diets are excellent documents for department evaluation and budget planning.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

24. The Printed Menu Menu design and format Descriptive wording
A menu should appeal to the guest, stimulate sales, influence the client, and be clean and simple in design and format.
Descriptive wording
Menus should present an accurate word picture of the foods available.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

25. The Printed Menu Truth-in-menu legislation Menu marketing
Truth-in-menu laws require that the menu accurately describes the foods to be served. Giving misleading names to menu items is illegal.
Menu marketing
The manner in which food choices are presented to potential customers can have a significant impact on sales.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

26. The Printed Menu Spoken menus
A means of communicating menu choices by reading the menu to the customer in lieu of a printed menu.
In hospitals, as a result of shorter stays and the cost of printing menus, spoken menus have become an alternative.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

27. Customer Satisfaction
Surveys and comment cards
Satisfaction surveys can be done formally via written surveys and comment cards, sometimes conducted by outside agencies.
Statistics and trends reported by these outside agencies can be used in benchmarking, where satisfaction levels determined for one facility can be compared with those of other similar facilities.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

28. Customer Satisfaction
Frequency ratings or popularity indexes
These are established via formal or informal surveys in which customers are asked to rate or rank menu items according to preference.
Sales data
Sales data that is tracked by modern registers can be used to revise an existing menu or plan a new one.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

29. Summary In planning a menu, many factors must be considered.
The menu can take different forms, each written for the needs of a particular type of foodservice.
Systematic planning procedures that include continuous evaluation of the menus as served should be followed.
Introduction to Foodservice, tenth edition © 2005 Pearson Education, Inc.
Payne-Palacio/Theis Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458