Menu Planning

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 19^th 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.