MENU PLANNING
What is a Menu?
Ø It is a
sheet of paper or card on which is written, in a specific order, the names of
all the dishes which are to be served in succession, at a given meal.
Ø The word
menu is a French word, derived from the Latin word ‘minitus’ which means small
or minute details ( pertaining to any subject in this case – minute details of
the meal ). The word menu literally means ‘Bill of Fare ‘(to be fed) in
English, which in old French was called an ‘Escriteau’.
Ø HISTORY: There
are two stories which claim to be the origin of menu card.
·
First story - Is about ‘Count Hugo de Monfort’, at
a dinner in 1498 was noticed to have a piece of written parchment (skin of goat
or sheep prepared for writing) with him near his plate. When he was consulted
he had ordered the chef to write on it the various dishes that were being sent
from the kitchen.
·
Second story – Is about the ‘in 1541, was seen to
have a sheet of paper by his side when he was giving a banquet, to which he
occasionally referred. When asked he answered that it was a ‘programme’ of what
they were eating and it helped him to reserve his appetite for those dishes he
liked very much.
Ø Then came
the idea of providing a ‘bill of fare, by the year 1517, which old French was
called ‘Escriteau’ as mentioned earlier. The bill of fare were working menus
which were gives the instructions to the kitchen staff the order in which the
various dishes (or courses) should succeed one after the other at a great
dinner. These were written on large cards, gaudily ornamented.
Ø The
individual menu as we know it today came into use in the early 19th
century. It was customary to show enormous posters on the doors and outside
walls of restaurants. Once the individual cards came into being every effort
was made to make it more artistic and elaborate. Even great and the best
artists were employed to work on it. Now the menu cards need not be made from
paper only. Plastic, cloth and other materials etc are also being made used;
embossed, printed, etc and not merely written by hand, as given in the
definition.
CLASSES
OF MENU:
There are two classes of menus:-
1. A la
Carte
2. Table d’hôte
1) A la Carte: It
translates as ‘from the card’. An ala carte menu is one in which each
individual item is listed separately with its own price.
The customer makes selection from the various
courses and side dishes to make up a meal. He can choose from the card as many
or as few dishes as he wishes.
Dishes
are cooked to order and the customer is expected to wait while the dish is so
cooked. The term ‘ala carte’ is also used to refer to cooking to order as
opposed to cooking ahead in large batches. The portion sizes are normally
specified.
2) Table d’hôte: Originally
meant a fixed menu with no choices – like a meal you would be served if you
were invited to some one’s home for lunch/ dinner. The term table d’hôte means
“host’s table”.
Banquet
menus are examples of this kind of menu.
Table d’hôte
has also come to refer to a menu that offers a selection of complete meals at
given prices. In other words, a customer may choose from among several
selections, each of which includes an entrée and side dishes plus other courses
such as appetizer, salad and dessert. There is a single ‘package price’ for
each full meal selection.
-
In short, table d’hôte is a set menu with a choice
at each course- at a set price that is charged whether or not the full menu is
consumed. Usually cooked in advance.
-
Many restaurants use a combination of ala carte
and table d’hôte selections. For example a steak house may include salad, potato,
vegetable and beverage, with the entrée choice while additional dishes like
appetizers and desserts may be offered at extra cost.
STATIC
AND CYCLIC MENUS
v A static
menu is one that offers the same dishes every day. These menus are used in
restaurants and other establishments were the clientele changes daily or where
there are enough items listed on the menu to offer sufficient variety.
v A cyclic
menu is one that changes every day for a certain period, after this period the
daily menus repeat, in the same order, for example, a seven day cyclic menu
will have a different menu every day for a week and will repeat each week. This
kind of menu is used in operations such as schools and hospitals where a large
number of choices must be kept small. The cyclic menu is a way of offering
variety.
v Some
restaurants use a menu that is part cyclic and part static. This means that
they have a basic menu of foods prepared every day, plus a repeating series of
daily specials to offer more variety without putting too much strain on the
kitchen staff.
FUNTIONS OF A MENU
v Menu is
the backbone of the hotel. It gives basic structure on which the other aspects
can be planned. It also gives the operating needs for the hotel organization
i.e. it dictates what must be done and how it must be done. It is the key focal
point of the entire operation, and in terms of selling it is often, the No.1,
food service salesman.
v Menu is
concise, accurate and complete statement or list of all the items or dishes of
the meal to be served or offered for sale for the customer and at the same time
it is a list of tasks (jobs) to be carried out by the hotel staff.
The menu
tells us (the hotel staff) the following:-
1) The food
items to be purchased.
2) The staff
requirement of the hotel, skilled/unskilled etc.
3) The
equipment needed for the production and service.
4) The
facility, layout and space requirements of the hotel (kitchen, restaurant, etc)
5) The
facilities required in the service area or restaurant and its seating capacity
etc.
6) The total
sales and profit that can be achieved by the establishment.
7) The décor
and design of the restaurant.
8) It
establishes the cost control procedures.
9) The
financial success and popularity of the establishment.
COMPILING
MENUS
Factors
to be considered while Compiling Menus are:
1. Money to be Spent: By the
customer and by the hotel (Food Service Establishment).Smaller Establishments
may not be able to cater to the needs of wealthy customers and vice versa
larger hotels may not be interested to cater to the needs of the average people.
2. Type of customer (guest): Customer
preferences vary widely and it is extremely difficult to satisfy him completely.
However every effort must be made to satisfy him to the best of your ability.
Factors
affecting meal preferences of the guest can be listed as
·
Wants and needs
·
Concept of value for money
·
Item price
·
Object of visit
·
Socio-economic factors
·
Demographic concerns
·
Ethnic factors
·
Religious Factors
·
Nutritional Factors
·
Food Habit
3.
Type of
Service: Self service/Buffet ,Plated /American ,Silver/French ,Russian
,Banquet,
4.
Type of
meals: Morning Tea, Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Evening Tea, Dinner,
Supper, Snack, High Tea, Marriage party, X mas Party.
1)
Type of
Catering : Hotels,
star hotels etc., Restaurants- specialty., Institution schools, colleges, hospitals,
Industrial- canteens, offices, factory, transport- airlines, railways, cruise
lines, mobile vans, cargo ships, etc, fast food outlets, meal boxes- Tiffin’s
etc.
2)
Types of Menus:- Static
or cyclic
3)
Classes of menus:- Ala
carte, Table d’hôte, etc
4)
Quality of item: - Any food
which is included in the menu should be palatable and in conformity to the
establishment’s standards. Any new product is tested for quality and approved
by experts and then if found suitable introduced and normally served in the
staff cafeteria by experts first and then in commercial outlets.
5)
Cost (Budget):- Money
available for food, cost of raw materials, proper ratio between high and low
cost dishes, proportion of food cost to raw material, margin of profit, sale
price, subsidy involved etc.
6)
Availability and seasonal availability of
food:-
Geography – soil, climate, season, fuel
Location – High altitude, desert, hot region.
Transport and food technology: Modern
preservation packaging and distribution has extended the market of many foods.
Economic – Supply and demand, income
elasticity, budget analysis, cross section data.
Location: - Availability of catering
establishments and retail outlets of various types.
Season availability: Foods out of season are
more expensive, lower in quality and their supply is undependable. In season
foods, besides being economical (cheap) they are also better in quality (prime
quality). Use locally available food: they are fresh, easy to get, low in cost
too. Foods from other parts of the country are expensive compared to local
items.
7)
Menu requirement and balance: Avoid
repetition of ingredients, colour, texture, consistency, flavour, cooking
methods and temperature.
Nutritive balance and value of the dishes
should be considered.
Should complement (match with) the other food
and beverage served.
Appearance and presentation.
Popularity of the dishes.
Regional dishes must be included.
Availability of the raw materials
Use of seasonally availability foods
Include at least one starch when planning
continental dishes.
Use of leftovers or trimmings
Seasonal desirability of the dishes (cold
refreshing foods in warm climate and warm piping hot food in cold climate)
Proper alternatives for vegetarians
Menu Balance: Heavy to light
White meats to dark meats
Variation in the appearance of the food
Nutrition balance
Ensure
garnishes are in harmony with the dishes and not repeated.
8)
Sanitary (Hygiene) concerns: Menu
should be planned taking into considered whether it could be kept safe in prime
quality till it reached the guest. All provision possible should be provided
for keeping the hygiene standards. (Use of coal, provision of sugarcane juice,
use of foods which attract flies like dates, jackfruits sweet meats etc.)
9)
Layout/ work space concerns: The
layout and work space should be conducive enough/ to carry out the production
and service of all the items listed in the menu. Area available, equipment
available, bulk service facilities available, bulk production capability.
10)
Equipment concerns: - Know the
capacity of your equipment. Menu should conform to limitation of equipment and
physical facilities available. Spread the work load evenly among your
equipment.
11)
Labour (skilled/ unskilled):-
Kitchen and service staff capability:
Skill and number of employees, employed.
Avoid too many last minute processes
Avoid too complicated processes or emphasis
on use of wrong kind of tools
Avoid too many long jobs-especially for one
cook.
Allow time for portioning and garnishing.
Spread the work load evenly among the
workers.
12)
Peek volume productions and operation
concerns: - The menu should be planned in such a way that
peak volume production also is possible without any difficulties or loss in
quality. The complete production and service operation should be smooth at all
times.
13)
Appearance of the final product, palatability
and variety: - Should be palatable and acceptable hence recipes
should be tried out and standardized before you include an item on the menu.
14)
Menu planning pattern: - It is
necessary to have a well worked out menu pattern which is suitable to the
clientele and workable as related to the staff and equipment.
15)
Recipes should be used: - Have
standard recipes for each item so that all the production staff knows the
preparation and presentation etc.
16)
Policy of the establishment or regulations of
the government: - Certain establishments may not serve non-vegs, or
certain foods – because of their policy- e.g. no pork, no beef, no alcohol etc.
Jains- no root vegetables.
17)
Complete utilization of the food and use of
leftovers in hand: - You cannot afford to throw food away anymore than
you can afford to throw money.
