Chapter 1
It All Starts with
the Menu
Principles of Food and
Beverage Management
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
• Tell why menus are important, explain who should be on
the menu planning team, and describe basic menu
planning tactics.
• Describe basic procedures useful to design a menu.
• Provide information useful in establishing menu selling
prices.
• Explain procedures to analyze the menu sales mix and
implement menu improvements.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
MENU PLANNING
Importance of Menu Planning
Menus Attract Customers
Menus Impact Financial Success
Menus Impact Daily Operations
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
The Menu Planning Team
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Menu Planning Steps
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
MENU DESIGN
Background Information
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Menu Design Procedures
Location of Menu Items
Menu Item Descriptions
Nutrition and Menu Design
Menu Accuracy
Menu Appearance and Construction
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
MENU ITEM SELLING PRICES
Objective Menu Pricing Methods
Food Cost Percentage Method
Contribution Margin Pricing Method
Ratio Pricing Method
Prime Cost Pricing Method
More About Objective Menu Pricing
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Managers Math
Answer the Questions:
1.
$17.11
2.
$14.22
3.
$ 17.44
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
ANALYZING SALES MIX: MENU ENGINEERING
Performing a Sales Mix Analysis
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Managers Math
Answer the Questions:
1.
2.80%
2.
5.83%
3.
11.67
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Managers Math
Answer the Questions:
1.
$9.10
2.
$16.30
3.
$7.57
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Sales Mix analysis and Menu Change
Stars
Plow Horses
Puzzles
Dogs
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu - Summary
1. Tell why menus are important, explain who should be on the menu
planning team, and describe basic menu planning tactics.
•
Menus are important because they attract customers, impact the
establishment’s financial success, and influence many aspects of
daily operations.
•
Members of the menu planning team should include the ownermanager, kitchen manager, dining-room manager, purchasing
agent, and accountant because persons with these responsibilities
will have special views about menu planning concerns.
•
There are several important menu planning steps that include
considering the customers and other external priorities, thinking
about how the menu will impact internal operations, and ensuring
that the menu will be in line with the establishment’s basic concept.
•
Other menu planning steps require the manager to determine the
number of menu item classifications, evaluate potential menu items
for each classification, and select specific menu items that will be on
the menu.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu - Summary
2. Describe basic procedures useful to design a menu.
•
There are four common types of menus: à la carte menu, table
d’hôte menu, cyclical (cycle) menu, and du jour menu.
• Menus must be planned to be effective customer information and
operation sales tools.
• To do this, it is important to consider where specific menu items will be
located, to provide accurate and tempting menu item descriptions,
and to incorporate nutrition concerns into the menu.
• Other tactics include ensuring that menu descriptions are accurate,
that the menu appearance and construction meets the
establishment’s standards, and that space is available for other
purposes such as cross-selling opportunities and general property
information.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu - Summary
3. Provide information useful in establishing menu selling prices.
• The best pricing methods consider the operation’s financial goals and
use information available in the property’s operating budget.
• One common pricing method uses the budget’s approved food cost
percent-age to determine the menu item selling price.
• Three additional menu pricing methods consider the contribution
margin (Revenue – Food cost), the ratio between food cost and
contribution margin, and the prime cost percentage to develop base
selling prices.
• A challenge with any objective menu pricing method is to determine
the actual food cost for items being processed.
• This requires knowledge of a menu item’s ingredients, current food
cost, and yield (number of servings) of the recipe.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu - Summary
4. Explain procedures to analyze the menu sales mix and implement
menu improvements.
• A menu sales mix analysis is undertaken to determine the popularity
and profitability of food items that compete with each other on an
establishment’s menu.
• A sales mix analysis involves determining the popularity and
profitability of each menu item and then comparing these
benchmarks against the average popularity and profitability of a
menu item on the menu.
• Menu items can be classified according to popularity and profitability
and, when this information is known, menu improvements can be
made.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Key Terms:
Àla carte menu A menu that has different prices for each menu item.
Brand The combination of qualities that makes an establishment’s
products and services different from those of its competitors.
Call brand (spirits) A specific brand of liquor requested by a customer.
Contribution margin (CM) The difference between an item’s revenue
(selling price) and food cost.
Cross-selling Strategies used to promote products and services offered
in addition to those noted on a specific menu.
Cyclical (cycle) menu A menu that is planned for a specified time
period and then repeated.
Du jour menu A menu that changes daily.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Key Terms continued:
Fire suppression system A system containing chemicals that are
automatically sprayed on equipment surfaces below the system if a fire
begins.
Food cost percentage The percentage of all food revenue that was
spent to purchase the food products required to generate that revenue.
Garnish An edible decoration used to make a menu item attractive.
Investment The amount of money an owner has used to start and
operate a business.
Market form The way a food product is purchased, such as frozen or
fresh.
Menu classification A similar group of items such as entrées, soups, or
salads.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Key Terms continued:
Menu mix The frequency with which a menu item is ordered compared
to other menu items.
Menu mix percentage A number obtained by dividing the number of
each specific item sold by the total number of items sold.
Menu mix popularity percentage The percentage of total menu items
that must be sold for a menu item to be considered popular when sales
mix analysis is performed.
Prime costs Food costs and labor costs together.
Repeat business Revenue from customers who return because they
enjoyed their experience during previous visits.
Sales mix analysis A study designed to determine the popularity and
profitability of competing items on a menu.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Key Terms continued:
Serving cost The cost to produce one serving of a menu item prepared
according to a standardized recipe.
Standardized recipe The set of instructions to produce and serve a food
or beverage item that will help ensure that quality and quantity
standards will be consistently met.
Suggestive selling The tactic of using recommendations to ensure that
customers know about the products and services offered by the
restaurant or foodservice operation.
Table d’hôte menu A menu that offers an entire meal at a set price.
Table turn The number of times a dining-room table is occupied during
a meal period.
Target market A group of people with similar characteristics and similar
demands of the marketplace.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Key Terms continued:
Temperature danger zone The temperature range at which most
microorganisms grow best: 41°F to 135°F (5°C to 57°C).
Trend A gradual change in customers’ food preferences that is likely to
continue for a significant time.
Value The relationship between selling price and quality.
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Chapter Images
Chapter 1 It All Starts with the Menu
Chapter Images continued