Menu Planning
A MENU or
“bill of fare” is a means of communication, informing what the caterer has to
offer. The compiling of a menu is one of the caterer’s most important jobs –
whether for establishments such as restaurants aiming to make a profit, or for
those working to a budget, such as hospitals and schools.
Function of
MENU:
a) It is like a price list or a list of
wares to the customers in order that he purchases or orders the dishes of his
choice.
b) It helps as a tool for the kitchen in
order to prepare the mise-en-place and equipment, staff required for its
production.
c) It gives a variety to choose from and
alternatives in each type of dishes.
d) It sometimes gives the description of
each dish in brief, so that the customer knows the contents of the dish and
what to expect while ordering a dish.
e) It is a record of cost and control
purposes to regulate portion size and food cost of each item.
Factors
Effecting Menu Planning
1) Type of Establishment: There will be considerable variation,
for example, in menu of five star hotels and restaurants, school meals, heavy
manual worker’s canteen or hospitals.
2) Type of Customer and Age Group: especially for private parties for a
birthday, senior citizens conference, football player after a match, visiting
overseas students on a mayor’s banquet; all need personal consideration.
3) Location: Study the area in which your establishment is situated and the potential
target market of customers.
4) Religious rules if applicable (kosher catering or a
Muslim occasion) – Lack of knowledge or understanding can easily lead to
innocently giving offence.
5) Meat or Non-Meat preferences: The number of non-meat eater is
steadily increasing, so this becomes more important.
6) Time of the Year: a) the prevailing temperature should
be considered as certain dishes suitable for cold weather may not be acceptable
in mid-summer. b) Foods in season are usually in good
supply and more reasonable in price. c) Special dishes on
certain days.
7) Time of Day: Breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea, high-tea, dinner, supper, snack or
special function.
8)
9) Competition: It is wiser to produce a menu quite different to those of nearby
establishment both in terms of price and quality.
10) Space and Equipment: The menu
writer must be aware of any shortcomings or deficiencies in equipment and may
be wary of offering dishes that are difficult to produce.
11) The availability and capacity of both the Production and Service staff labour must be considered.
12) Availability of Supplies and
schedule from the suppliers.
13) Number of Courses: Varies
according to all prior consideration.
14) Correct Sequence of courses: Important
if the menu is to achieve a good balance.
15) Appropriate Language: Always use
a language that customers can understand.
16) Sensible Nutritional Balance: If a selection of dishes with varying nutritional contents are offered
then customers can make their own choices.
17) No repetition of Commodities: Never repeat basic ingredients such
as mushrooms, tomatoes, peas, bacon on the menu.
18) No repetition of Flavour: If using strong seasoning like onion,
garlic or herbs such as thyme, sage or bay leaf, do not repeat in more than one
course. Example: a) do not serve a tomato flavoured sauce on main course
if the soup was cream of tomato. b) do not
or avoid, serving lets say a garlic flavoured noodles with prawn in garlic
sauce. c) try to differ taste in meat
itself by providing a choice between beef. Pork, lamb,
19) No repetition of Colours: Colour of food is important to give
appetite appeal, but avoid repetition of colour.
20) Texture of Course:
Ensure variation is given (food should not be all soft or all crisp, but
balanced).
21) Sauces: If
different sauces are served on one menu, the foundation ingredient of each
sauce should vary.
Cyclical
Menus
These are
menus which are compiled to cover a given period of time: one month, three
months, etc. They consists of a number of set menus for a particular
establishment, such as an industrial catering restaurant, cafeteria restaurant,
canteen, hospital or college refractory. These menus must be monitored
carefully to take account of changes in customer requirements and any
variations in weather conditions which are likely to affect demand for certain
dishes.
Things to consider when planning a cycle menu:
·
Food characteristics and combinations: Visualize how the food will look
on the plate.
·
Color - at least one or two colorful foods should be included on the
menu.
·
Texture - refers to the structure of foods and can be best detected by the
feel of the foods in the mouth. A variety of textures should be included in the
meal.
·
Consistency - is the ways foods adhere together - their degree of
firmness, density, or viscosity - may be described as firm, thin, thick, or
gelatinous.
·
Shape - of food plays a big part in eye appeal, and interest can be
created through variety in the form in which foods are presented. One way to
add interest is to vary the way in which vegetables are cut. Variation in
height of food also aids in eye appeal for the customer.
·
Flavor combinations - in addition to the basic flavors of sweet, sour,
bitter, and salty, vegetables may be thought of as strong and mild flavored,
while chili or other foods may be thought of as spicy or highly seasoned. A
variety of flavors in the meal are more enjoyable than duplication of any one
flavor. Foods with the same basic flavors, such as spaghetti with tomato sauce
and sliced tomato salad, should be avoided in the same meal.
What are the
primary benefits of using a cycle menu……………….
Advantages
include reducing the total time required for menu planning, improving student
acceptability, controlling cost, and improving foodservice operations. Examples
include:
• One set of menus allows the operator to feature
items rated as highly acceptable by the students within daily choices
consistent with the standards.
•
Repeated exposures to foods, including fruits and vegetables, improve
children’s preferences for those foods. Cycle menus offering less-well accepted
foods, in addition to preferred foods, provide students with the opportunity to
learn to like new or less-well accepted items.
•
A 2- or 3-week-cycle menu aids optimizing food procurement, inventory turnover,
and daily production quantities, thereby improving foodservice operations and
helping control costs. Having a consistent inventory uses less storage space.
•
Accurate usage projections can be established, enabling vendors and
manufacturers to project their production schedules and needs and often
resulting in better pricing.
• Delivery
schedules can be easily set up and managed.
Disadvantages
of Cyclical Menu
a) When used in establishments with a
captive clientele, then the cycle has to be long enough so that customers do
not get bored with the repetition of the dishes.
b) The caterer cannot easily take
advantage of ‘good buys’ offered by the suppliers on a daily or weekly basis
unless such items are required for the cyclical menu.
Preplanned
and Predesigned Menus
Advantages
a)
Preplanned or predesigned menus enable the caterer to ensure that good menu
planning is practiced.
b)
Before selecting dishes that he or she prefers, the caterer should consider
what the customer likes, and the effect of these dishes upon the meal as a
whole.
c)
Menus which are planned and costed in advance allow banqueting managers to
quote prices instantly to customer.
d)
Menus can be planned taking into account the availability of kitchen and
service equipment, without placing unnecessary strain upon the equipment.
e)
The quality of food is likely to be higher if kitchen staff are preparing
dishes that they are familiar with and have prepared a number of times before.
Disadvantages
a)
Preplanned and predesigned menus may be too limited to appeal to a wide range
of customers.
b)
They may reduce job satisfaction for staff who have to prepare same menus
repetitively.
c)
They may limit the chef’s creativity and originality.
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