Develop Menus For Special Dietary Requirements: Learner Guide

Learner guide
Develop menus for special

dietary requirements
SITHKOP004
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Contents
Overview ........................................................................................................ 3
Section 1: Identify menu requirements........................................................... 4
Section 2: Develop menus and meal plans for special diets ........................ 21
Section 3: Cost and document special menus and meal plans .................... 43
Section 4: Monitor special menu performance ............................................. 63
Glossary ....................................................................................................... 69
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SITHKOP004 Develop menus for special dietary requirements
Overview
‘I’ll have a decaf, sugar-free vanilla, with soy not too hot latte, please.’
‘Is that sandwich vegan? If not, could you make me something completely vegan?’
‘Mr McGinnity requires his food pureed, didn’t I tell you about the problems he’s having
swallowing?’
‘Have you even assessed the cost-effectiveness of these dishes at all? Your department
is losing money …’
‘You know that decaf, sugar-free vanilla, with soy latte I ordered? Yeah I changed my
mind. Make it extra hot’.
Are you stuck between a rock and a hard place?
Do you feel trapped between customers demanding special food, health professionals
wanting the best for their patients and a manager who just wants to maintain the bottom
line?
You’re not alone.
So how can you escape unscathed? That’s exactly what we’re going to find out! And
instead of feeling trapped by these requests, you’ll use them as an opportunity to soar in
your profession.
Let’s look at what you will learn on completion of this unit.
Section 1: Identify menu requirements
Section 2: Develop menus and meal plans for special diets
Section 3: Cost and document special menus and meal plans
Section 4: Monitor special menu performance
About this unit

Much of the content in this unit is also covered in two other units of competency.
Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements
Plan and cost basic menus
You’ll find references to these units throughout this resource.
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Section 1:
1 Identify menu requirements
In this section you will learn the following.
• How to identify the menu requirements of different customer groups.

• How to identify health consequences of ignoring special dietary requirements of
customers.
• How to liaise with other professionals about customer requirements.
• How to assess contemporary dietary trends and regimes.
What influences food and beverage choices?

There are many factors which influence food preferences: taste, mood, gender, age,
socioeconomic status, available time, health consciousness, family background, habit,
culture, religion, advice from others, price, availability. The list goes on and on!
Customers’ menu requirements vary widely depending on who they are. What kinds of
customers do you serve?
You have 30 seconds to list them.
Click start to begin.
List the different kinds of customers you might serve.
How did you go?
Click to the next screen to compare your answers to the ones provided.
What are the different customer groups?

Different customer groups have a wide variety of dietary and cultural menu requirements
for you to identify and meet when developing your menus.
Click on the pictures to learn the different customer groups.
 Infants
 Children
 Adolescents
 Elderly
 Athletes
 Defence forces
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 Health care/ill/injured
 Obese or overweight
 People from different socio-economic groups
 People from specific cultural or religious groups/international tourists
What are the dietary guidelines for Australians?

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) created five general dietary
guidelines to help all Australians live a healthier lifestyle, no matter what customer group
they come from.
These are stated in the Dietary Guidelines for Australians 2013.
Guideline 1: Choose the right amount of nutritious foods and beverages.
Guideline 2: Eat from the five food groups every day.
Guideline 3: Limit unhealthy foods and drinks.
Guideline 4: Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding.
Guideline 5: Care for your food.
You’ll learn more about each of these guidelines throughout this unit. For now, look at the
first one.
What’s the ‘right’ amount?

When asking how much is the ‘right amount', it’s important to remember that the answer
depends on many factors including age, height, weight and level of activity. The perfect
amount of fat for an infant would be too much for an elderly person. Likewise, a sedentary
office worker requires lower energy intake than an athlete or construction worker.
Consider this when planning your menus.
Click to the next screen to learn more.
What are their dietary requirements?

Dietary Guidelines for Australians 2013
Guideline 1: Choose the right amount of nutritious foods and beverages.
When developing menus and meal plans for a captive audience or customers of varying
age, height, weight and level of activity, you can consult the estimated energy
requirements (EERs) table provided by the NHMRC.
This helps ensure you provide the required nutrients in the recommended proportions.
(More on this in Section 2.)
Click on the people and pictures to learn more about dietary requirements.
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Infants 0 to 6 months
Guideline 4: Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding.
Why is this guideline so important?
Breast milk is an easily digestible, healthy food which contains just the right amounts of
essential nutrients for infants’ growth and development. It also has antibodies, living cells,
enzymes and hormones which help foster a healthy immune system. Not only that, it
settles babies and keeps them happy. Breast milk is all infants require in the first six
months of life.
Infants 6 to 12 months
It’s recommended that infants continue to breastfeed until they’re 12 months (or for as
long as mother and baby wish to). However, between five and seven months of age
babies are usually ready to experiment with other foods.
Consult with parents to determine their needs. Here are some general guidelines to use in
menu planning.
• First, introduce iron-fortified cereal mixed with breast milk or formula.

• Then, add unsweetened, unseasoned, pureed fruits (banana, pear, apple) and
vegetables (sweet potato, carrot) one at a time.
• Gradually vary texture as follows: pureed, soft, mashed, minced, as baby gets older
and their chewing function becomes more and more developed.
• At eleven months you can introduce eggs and pureed meats.
• Avoid, small, firm foods such as nuts, which may present a choking hazard.
• Be aware that tomatoes and other acidic foods can cause severe nappy rash. Also,
cabbage and peas can cause wind pains.
Children and adolescents

Children and adolescents need enough nutritious food for normal growth and
development. However, a young person on bed rest in hospital will require fewer kilojoules
than one who’s attending tennis camp!
Adults
Adults need enough nutritious food to meet personal energy needs (but not so much that
they gain too much weight!). Again, how much food this is in terms of kilojoules depends
very much on physical condition and activity levels.
An obese person who’s very sedentary and trying to lose weight or a prisoner confined to
a cell most of the day have different energy requirements to an athlete who’s trying to
build muscle or defence force personnel on manoeuvres.
Elderly
Elderly people need enough nutritious food and physical activity to keep weight healthy
and muscles strong.
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As we grow older, our tastebuds become less sensitive, our jaws weaker and our teeth
worn (or false!). Bland foods become difficult to taste and tough foods difficult to chew.
Here’s what to do for elderly customers in this situation, particularly if you’re cooking in an
aged care facility.
• Provide soft foods with stronger flavours, such as braises and stews, to satisfy elderly
palates (but avoid garlic and onion, which have a tendency to repeat).
• Blend or purée some foods to modify the texture, making them easier to chew, swallow
and digest.
• Try serving creamy mixtures, puddings, and egg dishes.
Captive audience
These people rely on you to prepare and cook meals for them on a daily basis.
• Hospitalised patients and residents of aged care facilities

• Defence forces (Army, Navy, RAAF)
• Miners
• Prisoners
• Passengers on aircraft and cruise ships
• Infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers in child care centres
• Children, adolescents and university students residing on campus or attending camps
• People of diminished capacity in boarding homes
If you’re catering for them, closely follow the Dietary Guidelines for Australians,
Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) (glossary) and EERs provided by the NHMRC, to
ensure you provide the required nutrients in the recommended proportions.
Warning!
Low-fat diets are not OK for infants, growing children, adolescents, pregnant or
breastfeeding women and people recovering from some illnesses or surgery. Why?
Fat is a concentrated form of energy essential to cellular structure and function needed for
cellular growth, development and repair at these times.
Hot tip
Encourage breastfeeding by supporting a mother’s choice to breastfeed her baby in your
dining facility. If you don’t, you’re not only being inconsiderate, you’re breaking the law!
According to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, it’s illegal to discriminate against a person
on the grounds of breastfeeding.
You can promote breastfeeding by placing supportive signage in your establishment. You
can also make things easy for mums, dads and carers who call upon you to ‘warm’ a
bottle of expressed breast milk. They’ll certainly be grateful for your consideration (and so
will the baby!).
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Extend your learning

To learn more about the EERs provided by the NHMRC for infants, children, adolescents
and adults according to their activity levels, go to www.nrv.gov.au and click on the ‘Learn
more about dietary energy’ link.
Alternatively, click on the ‘Use the NRV calculator’ link to enter in specific data on a single
customer for a tailor made recommendation.
The energy requirements in the tables are listed in megajoules (MJ) not kilojoules (kJ).
1 MJ = 1000 kJ
What are their cultural menu requirements?

Australia is a contemporary, multicultural society which hosts international tourists.
Therefore, customers often have special culinary requirements or food restrictions for
religious or cultural reasons. For example, Buddhists and Hindus often follow a range of
vegetarian diets.
Click on the pictures to learn various cultural menu requirements.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians
They eat milk products and eggs, but no animal flesh of any kind.
Lacto-vegetarians
They eat products derived from milk, but no other animal flesh or products.
Ovo-vegetarians
They eat eggs, but no other animal flesh or products.
Vegan
Vegans don’t eat animal flesh of any kind. This includes fish, shellfish, chicken, duck, etc.
They also don’t eat any products which come from animals (eggs, caviar, milk, butter,
cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, cream, honey, oils, pâté).
Kosher
You must use appropriate equipment to prepare and cook Kosher foods. You can’t just
use the same equipment as you do for other foods. Also, Orthodox Jews follow a Kosher
diet which includes the following.
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Grains
• Flour
• Eggs (except those from birds of prey)
• Edible fish (must have both fins and scales)
• Edible animals (must chew their cud, have cloven feet and be killed and processed in a
certain way).
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Non-orthodox Jews apply religious eating laws to suit their taste, but usually don’t eat pork
or pork products.
Halal
Orthodox Muslims don’t eat many commercially manufactured foods from supermarkets
and bakeries. These may contain additives such as gelatine, emulsifiers and fats from
animals which are forbidden or not slaughtered according to their law.
Halal foods usually have the word ‘Halal’ on the packaging. Muslims can eat beef, buffalo,
lamb, goat, camel, chicken, turkey, duck, kangaroo and deer as long as it’s slaughtered
according to their law.
Note
For more specific details on vegetarian, Hindu, Kosher and Halal requirements, please
review Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements.
What are their special dietary requirements?

When cooking for customers who are ill, injured or have medical conditions, be aware that
some foods (such as grapefruit, garlic, ginger and capsicum) interact with prescription
medicines in a way that could cause health problems. This is known as a drug-food
interaction.
Click on the customers to learn more about medically related dietary requirements.
People with diabetes

People with diabetes produce no or insufficient insulin (glossary). However, they can
control their blood glucose levels through insulin injections, exercise and diet control.
You can help by providing the following.
• Regular meals spread evenly throughout the day

• Meals and protein foods which are low in saturated fat
• Meals based on high-fibre carbohydrates such as vegetables, legumes, beans, fruits
and whole grains
• Foods low in added sugar or with alternative sweeteners instead of sugar
• Non-alcoholic and sugar-free beverages
People with coeliac condition

Some people are sensitive to gluten (glossary), so prefer a low-gluten diet. However,
people with coeliac condition (glossary) depend on a diet which is completely gluten-free.
They must not have even the minutest trace of gluten. If they do, they become very sick.
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To cater for them, you must provide meals free of the following foods.
• Wheat
• Barley
• Rye
• Oats
• Spelt
• Kamut
• Couscous
• All products derived from the above (flour, bread, semolina, pasta, noodles)
• Beer (stout and lager)
• Vitamin E pills made from wheat
• Soy sauce (fermented with wheat flour)
• Cloudy lemonades and ginger beers that contain wheat flour
• Sweets and lollies dusted with flour
• Some commercial stocks and stock cubes
• Gravy or sauce thickened with flour
• Any sauce, mayonnaise or dressing with wheat starch-based thickener
• Crumbed, battered or floured items
• Croutons
• Icing sugar which contains wheat starch
• Baked products which have been in a floured tin
Be aware that ice cream, dried meals, packet and tinned soups as well as curry, baking
and mustard powder might contain wheat flour which isn’t declared on the contents list.
People with allergies

Food intolerance/sensitivity is difficulty digesting something (usually milk, gluten or
fructose). It doesn’t involve a histamine (glossary) response. Allergic reaction is when the
immune system over-reacts to a normally harmless substance (usually venom, drugs or
food). Here are ingredients that commonly cause allergic reactions.
• Eggs (the egg itself or the sulphur in it)

• Nuts (particularly peanuts)
• Nut oils
• Seafood (especially shellfish and crustaceans)
• Soybeans
• Sesame seeds
• Acids from some fruits
• Lactose (the sugar present in milk)
• Gluten (the protein present in flour)
• Chemical preservatives
• Artificial food colourings
• Flavour enhancers such as monosodium glutamate (MSG)
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People with fructose malabsorption or hereditary intolerance

Fructose malabsorption is the inability of a person’s intestines to absorb fructose. This
leads to a high concentration of fructose in the whole intestine. Fructose hereditary
intolerance is the inability of the liver to break up fructose. This can be fatal! Customers
with these conditions need to avoid the following foods.
• Food containing added sugar (corn syrup, agave nectar, fruit juice concentrates)
• Dried fruit (apples, dates, pears, sultanas, figs, etc.)
• Fruit (apples, guava, nashi pears, papaya, star fruit, quince, watermelon, pears,
honeydew melon)
• Fortified wines (Port, Sherry, Madeira, Marsala, Commandaria wine and vermouth)

Adding special dietary requirements, food allergies and intolerances to your existing
workload can be a bit overwhelming. Luckily, there are apps to help you! While they can’t
replace your good judgement, they can sometimes give you the extra assistance you need
to protect your customers and provide the safest, most nutritional food available.
Start by investigating these apps. Then, see if there are any others out there that could
help you further.
• Allergy Guard by CovertApps.com
• Food Intolerances by Baliza GmbH
For more specific details on drug-food interactions, please review Prepare food to meet
special dietary requirements.
Do you remember the consequences?

In Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements, you learned the key health and legal
consequences of failing to address customers’ special dietary requirements.
You have one minute to list the symptoms your customer might experience if you ignore
their requirements.
List the symptoms your customer will experience if you ignore their requirements.
Ignoring diabetic requirements Ignoring coeliac requirements
Ignoring drug-food interactions

Ignoring allergy requirements
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Did you remember all the health consequences?

Click to the next screen to review what you learned in Prepare food to meet special
dietary requirements and check your answers.
What happens if you ignore special dietary requirements?

Failure to heed medical advice can lead to health consequences for your customer and, in
some cases, legal consequences for you! Health consequences range from discomfort or
inconvenience through to very serious medical problems.
Click on the pictures to learn more.
Consequences of ignoring diabetic requirements

Hypoglycaemia relates to low blood sugar. Symptoms include the following.
• Rapid, weak pulse

• Bounding pulse
• Shaking
• Cold, clammy skin
• Confusion and disorientation (may be mistaken for being drunk)
• Hunger
• Unconsciousness
Hyperglycaemia relates to having high blood sugar. Symptoms include

the following.
• Excessive thirst
• Frequent urination
• Dry skin
• Dehydration
• Rapid pulse
• Nausea
• May smell of acetone (similar to nail polish remover)
• Unconsciousness
Consequences of ignoring coeliac requirements

Inflammation in the small intestine which can result in the following.
• Swelling
• Acute soreness
• Persistent diarrhoea
• Internal bleeding
The condition may progressively worsen if a strict diet isn’t adhered to.
• The cells lining the small intestine (villi) break down and flatten.
• They lose the ability to absorb nutrients, minerals and fats from digested foods.
• This leads to deficiencies in vitamins, minerals and sometimes calcium, proteins,
carbohydrates and fats.
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Consequences of ignoring allergy requirements

Allergic reaction! This can range from mild to life threatening (anaphylaxis) (glossary). The
following signs and symptoms may occur almost immediately after exposure (rapid onset)
or within two hours. They may initially appear mild or moderate, but can progress to
severe very quickly.
• Swelling of throat and tongue, leading to difficulty swallowing and breathing

• Wheezing
• Itching
• Hives or generalised flushing of the skin
• Abdominal cramps and nausea
• Tingling in the mouth
• Increased heart rate
• Loss of consciousness or collapse
• Pale face (in children)
• Floppy body (in children)
• Fits
• Coma
• Death
Consequences of ignoring drug-food interactions

Just a small amount of grapefruit can interact with some medications, causing the
following.
• Bleeding of the intestinal tract

• Kidney toxicity
• Tachycardia (very rapid heart rate)
• Rapid destruction of skeletal muscles
Consequences of ignoring fructose issues

• Fructose malabsorption: depression, bloating, nausea, flatulence, reflux, diarrhoea,
constipation, stomach pain, vomiting.
• Hereditary fructose intolerance is a potentially fatal condition.
What are the legal consequences?

Food allergies and intolerances are emerging risks. Consider and handle them in the
same systematic way you would any other risk such as food safety and hygiene.
Depending on the situation, failure to address special customer requirements could result
in civil or criminal action against you and/or your employer. For more information about
the legal consequences, check with your local environmental health officer or food safety
supervisor.
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Hot tip
Be sure to confirm health consequences of ignoring customers’ special dietary
requirements with any health professionals involved in their care.
Don’t ignore cultural or religious requirements either! Confirm them with the customers
involved and always tell the truth about whether or not the food you’re serving is
vegetarian, Halal, Kosher, etc. False advertising is unethical and against the law.
How do you know what’s in the food?

Read recipes and packaging to identify ingredients that could cause health consequences
due to food allergies or intolerance.
Click on the labels to learn about food labelling and interpretation.
Ingredients
• Ingredients are listed from most to least amount.
• If there’s a small amount (under 5%) of a composite ingredient (glossary), the label
shows this ingredient only rather than listing all the ingredients within it.
• However, if one of the ingredients in the composite is an additive which affects the
food, it’s listed.
Characterising ingredients
If the food contains more than 5% of an ingredient, the percentage is sometimes listed in
brackets after the ingredient, especially if this ingredient is mentioned in the food’s name
or in ads.
Nutrition claims
Companies use nutrition claims on labels to put their product in the best possible light.
Always check the nutrition information panel in addition to reading the nutrition claim. A
food may say it’s low fat, but could be very high in sugar, salt or some other undesirable
ingredient.
Nutrition information panel (NIP)

This part of the label contains the quantities of key nutrients. This allows you to easily
compare similar products.
• To interpret the differences most accurately, use the average quantity per 100 g
column, rather than the average quantity per serve column.
• To find out what percentage recommended daily intake (%RDI) of that nutrient is in
each serve, look at the percentage in brackets next to the quantity.
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Allergen warning!
Labels must contain warnings if the food contains one of the eight most common allergens
as a main or composite ingredient.
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Sesame seeds
• Fish
• Crustaceans
• Eggs
• Milk
• Soybeans
A warning is also provided if traces of the allergen may be found in the food due to
sharing processing, harvesting or storage equipment with other foods containing the
allergen.
Food additives and preservatives

Manufacturers put additives in commercially prepared foods to enhance presentation and
help retain nutritional qualities and flavour. The four most common are: artificial colours,
flavour enhancers, preservatives, and antioxidants.
All food additives in Australia have a number allocated to them. By law these must be
clearly written on the packaging along with a common or chemical name. Most food
additives have chemicals that are specified by an E number.
What are some common additives and preservatives?

Artificial colours
Tartrazine 102 Sunset yellow FCF 110
Cochineal 120 Carmoisine 122
Amaranth 123 Ponceau 4R 124
Erythrosine 127 Allura red AC 129
Indigotine 132 Brilliant blue FCF 133
Food green S 142 Brilliant black BN 151
Brown HT 155
Flavour enhancers
Glutamates 620, 621, 622
(including MSG 621) 623, 624, 625
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Preservatives
Benzoates 210, 211, 212, 213
Sorbates 200, 201, 202, 203
Sulphites 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 228
Propionates 280, 281, 282, 283
Nittites, nitrates 249, 250, 251, 252
Antioxidants
Gallates 310, 311, 312
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) 320
Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) 321
In a nutshell
Read ingredient labels on packaged foods to ensure that the meal you’re preparing
doesn’t contain any allergens, undesirable ingredients, or substances which may interact
with people’s medications.
Who can help you identify and clarify requirements?

Of course, it’s always a good idea to consult relevant government tables and ask
customers or their family members to identify and clarify their requirements. However, you
may need to liaise with other professionals to ensure your customers get exactly what
they need.
Click on the checkboxes to find out who these people may be.
 Allied health professionals

 Diet technicians
 Dieticians
 Medical specialists
 Health and medical personnel
 Nutritionists
 Religious personnel
 Supervisors and managers
Click to the next screen for the communication skills necessary to get the information you
need.
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How do you identify and confirm customer requirements?

Liaising with health and other professionals involves using your communication skills to
determine customers’ special diet requirements. Remember, you’re a team! Work
together. Invite the input of everyone involved and consider what they say in the menu
planning process.
Click on the chefs to find out more.
Ask questions
• How can I best help this customer?
• How can I adapt the menu for them?
• What are their specific needs in terms of their diet?
Listen actively
• Give other professionals your full attention.
• Show sincere interest in what they have to say.
• Maintain eye contact.
Paraphrase and ask more questions

• You said that Mr Banks is having trouble chewing. I can puree his food so it’s
completely smooth or leave soft, pea-sized chunks in it. I can also provide soft foods
such as soft-boiled eggs, mashed potatoes, etc. Which is best for him?
• You mentioned one of the children is allergic to peanuts. Is she allergic to other nuts as
well?
• I heard you say the tour group is from India and some of them are Hindu. Are they all
vegetarians? Or will some of them want meat?
Confirm you’ve understood

• OK, I didn’t realise he was having trouble swallowing too. It sounds like it’s best to
completely puree his food. Is that right?
• So if I understand you right, you’d like me to avoid nuts altogether?
• So let me just clarify exactly what they want: both vegan and lacto-vegetarian meals,
as well as meat dishes as long as they’re Jhatka.
Assess contemporary dietary trends and regimes

Name the food and there’s a diet for it: cabbage soup diet, grapefruit diet, watermelon
diet, detox diet, juice diet. There’s even a junk food diet! Obviously, not all diets are
created equal. It’s up to you to assess contemporary dietary trends and regimes against a
customer’s nutritional requirements.
Click on the pictures to learn more about contemporary dietary trends and regimes.
Elimination
This is a way to identify foods a person is allergic to or intolerant of. The food is removed
from the diet for a period of time to see if the person’s symptoms resolve. The foods
removed are often common allergens.
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Liver cleansing
This diet is based on The Liver Cleansing Diet by Sandra Cabot MD. It involves an 8-week
menu plan which is mostly dairy free, vegetarian, high fibre and low fat.
Low carbohydrate
These diets restrict carbohydrates to 20 to 60 g per day (less than 20% of caloric intake)
and are often for treatment of obesity. Amount of carbohydrates allowed varies according
to the diet. The carbohydrates are replaced by fats and proteins.
• Atkins diet
• Dukan diet
• ITG diet
Low fat and low cholesterol

Low-fat diets usually restrict saturated fats and lower LDL cholesterol. (More on this in
Section 2.)
Low kilojoule
Depending on the customer, ‘low’ may mean lower than their previous kJ intake or just low
compared to an average person with a similar body type.
‘Very low’ is consuming less than 3,350 kJ.
For anyone under 21, these diets must be implemented under medical supervision as they
may interfere with growth. Likewise, they aren’t suitable for pregnant women.
Some contemporary low-kilojoule diets and regimes include the following.
• CRON-diet (Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition): This diet reduces calories
while at the same time trying to follow recommended daily amounts of nutrients. (More
on this in Section 2.)
• Body for Life (BFL): This is a 12-week nutrition and exercise regime. The diet
component is meant to lower caloric intake enough to lose body fat while at the same
time providing sufficient calories, protein and carbohydrates to build muscle and
endurance.
• Weight Watchers: This diet assigns point values to foods and the participant stays
within a daily points limit.
Sugar free
Sugar doesn’t have any essential nutrients, so should be limited to less than 5 to 10% of
total energy intake. This mainly means eliminating foods with added sugar (as foods such
as fruits and vegetables which contain natural sugar are also high in fibre and essential
nutrients).
You’ll learn more about how to reduce sugar in meals in Section 2.
Macrobiotic
These customers will be eating mostly grains and veggies but avoiding nightshade
vegetables (glossary), processed foods and animal products. They match their foods and
cooking methods to the seasons.
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A typical Japanese macrobiotic diet is as follows.
• 5% miso soup
• 5% sea vegetables
• 5 to 10% traditionally or naturally processed foods
• 5 to10% beans and legumes
• 25 to 30% vegetables
• 40 to 60% whole cereal grains, especially brown rice
(Source: Kushi, Michio; Blauer, Stephen; Esko, Wendy (2004). The Macrobiotic Way: The
Complete Macrobiotic Lifestyle Book. Avery. ISBN 1-58333-180-8. Accessed May 2014)
Vegetarian
Being vegetarian isn’t just a matter of avoiding meat. It requires careful planning to ensure
that all vitamin, mineral and protein requirements are met. When this is so, vegetarianism
has proven health benefits.
• It lowers cholesterol.
• It reduces the chance of getting heart disease and cancer.
• It decreases the likelihood of becoming overweight.

Research these and other emerging dietary trends on the Internet. Assess them using the
information you learn on macro- and micronutrients in Section 2. How do they stack up?
You’ll also learn more about nutritional requirements in Section 2. This will help you
assess contemporary dietary trends and regimes to ensure they include the macro- and
micronutrients required, while at the same time following any restrictions recommended by
health care professionals.
End of section
You have reached the end of Section 1.
Click to the next section to continue.
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2 Section 2:
Develop menus and meal
plans for special diets
• How to prepare cyclic menus.

• How to identify appropriate combinations of food to meet nutrient requirements.
• How to select foods and meals for specific requirements.
• How to incorporate sufficient choice of dishes into the menus.
• How to develop menus and meal plans.
• How to recommend food preparation and cooking methods to maximise nutritional
value of food.
What is a cyclic menu?

The institutional catering sector, whose customers are a ‘captive audience’, use these
menus, as may cruise ships and airlines. Sometimes, private clubs, cafés and restaurants
have repeat clientele. Their whole menu or some parts of it (daily specials, roasts, fish,
soups, desserts, etc.) may be cyclic.
Click on the tabs to learn more about this style of menu.
Characteristics
• An organised series of set menus that rotate from day to day or week to week.
• Caters for all meal periods throughout the day (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon
tea, dinner and supper).
• The cycle period repeats itself after a set time. (More on this soon.)
• Provides variety and a nutritionally balanced diet when catering to a captive audience
or repeat clientele.
Advantages
• Provides structured variety and nutritionally balanced meals three times a day, seven
days a week, 52 weeks of the year.
• Prevents boredom.
• You can fine tune and standardise the menu over a period of time due to the repetition.
• Provides a stable structure from which to regulate standards, labour use and staff
training.
• Allows for set production schedules, bulk buying, accurate forecasting, ease in
purchasing and other cost-saving benefits associated with knowing exactly what you
need in the future. This is important for institutional enterprises on tight budgets.
Disadvantages
• Initial planning and setup is complex and time-consuming.
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• The menu’s repeat nature can become tedious and lacking in challenge for staff
preparing and serving the food.
• If the cycle period is too short, the menu can become predictable for customers.
Click on the icon to see examples of cyclic menus
Cyclic menu
Week 1
Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Breakfast Corn flakes Semolina All-Bran Muesli Porridge Sultana Rice Bubbles
Bran
Poached egg Grilled Baked Scrambled Mushrooms Eggs Boiled eggs
with bacon sausage beans on eggs and and Florentine with buttered
and tomato toast bacon asparagus on toast fingers
toast
Lunch Beef broth Pea and Pumpkin Beef French onion Cream of Cream of
ham soup soup consommé soup chicken asparagus
soup soup
Grilled trevally Vegetable Quiche Roast Crumbed Minute Roast veal and
with avocado lasagne and Lorraine scotch fillet whiting with steak mushroom
and hollandaise salad tartar sauce Dianne sauce
Lunch is served with a choice of seasonal vegetables or salad of the day.
Dinner Cream of carrot Tomato & Vegetable Oxtail & Spicy lentil Potato & Chicken &
basil broth barley leek sweet corn
Marinated Roast pork Ravioli with Chicken Lamb satay Salmon Butterfly pork
chicken kebabs fillet with mushroom Kiev with peanut and chops and
béarnaise cream sauce vegetable basil pesto
sauce patties
Compote of fruit Butter- Strawberry Cassata Vanilla Cinnamon Banana split
scotch pie bavarois with topping cheesecake pears
Dinner is served with seasonal vegetables.
Week 2
Breakfast Just Right Vita Brits Fruit Cheerios All-Bran Rice Grapefruit
compote Bubbles
Grilled Buttermilk Lamb’s fry Poached Grilled Spaghetti in Ham and
sausage with pancake stack and bacon fish with tomato and tomato cheese
hash browns with maple lemon bacon sauce on croissants
syrup toast
Lunch Tomato and Italian bean Chunky Mushroom Carrot and Cream of Vegetable
zucchini soup soup vegetable and rice orange soup cauliflower and barley
soup soup soup broth
Nasi goreng Beef Oriental Roast Country Corned Roast
topped with a stroganoff with stir-fried turkey with terrine and silverside chicken and
fried egg rice pilaf vegetables cranberry salad and mustard vegetables
sauce sauce with gravy
Lunch is served with a choice of seasonal vegetables or salad of the day.
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Week 2
Dinner Spring Creamy Leek and Cream of Minestrone Cream of Vichyssoise
vegetable pumpkin soup bacon chicken soup soup celery soup soup
soup soup
Chicken and Escallop of Traditional Baked fish Beef shish Chicken and Pork
corn patties veal with eggplant mornay kebab on cashew schnitzel
spinach cream moussaka steamed rice vol-au-vents with lemon
Fresh fruit Italian Caramel Profiteroles Sherry trifle Passionfruit Bread and
tartlet cheesecake oranges with brandy soufflé butter
custard pudding
Note
When preparing cyclic menus, make sure they’re varied enough to keep customers
interested. Click to the next screen to find out how.
How do you provide variety in cyclic menus?

There’s nothing worse than eating the same meal over and over again for days or weeks
at a time.
Click on the tabs to learn how to avoid inflicting this pain on your customers.
Clarify your cycle period

Begin with a cycle period. This is the time elapsed before the menu repeats itself. It varies
from three days to 13 weeks depending on the establishment and how ‘captive’ your
audience is. Here are some examples.
• Private hospitals, where patients usually stay less than 10 days, use a 14-day cycle
period as do cruise ships.
• Aged care facilities, where clients stay for rehabilitation, use a longer cycle period of
four to six weeks.
• Defence forces, boarding schools and aged care facilities may have cycles which last
three months or longer.
Vary quality points

When developing menus and meal plans for special diets, create culinary balance as you
would with any other menus or meals.
• Taste: Vary flavours (strong, mild, bland, subtle, salty, sweet, tart, acidic and bitter).
Ideally, it’s best not to repeat strong flavours (garlic, chilli, curry, shrimp paste, etc.).
• Colour: Avoid repeating a similar colour throughout the dish or, more importantly,
across several dishes on the menu.
• Size and shape: Vary these on each plate’s components as well as the dishes on the
menu as a whole. This adds to the overall presentation and visual appeal.
• Texture: Vary how the food feels in the mouth and prevent monotony on each plate
and over the whole menu.
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Use delicacies and seasonally available ingredients

Native spinach fettuccine in a creamy bush tomato and macadamia sauce? Lemon myrtle
linguine tossed with prawns? Local delicacies go a long way in creating a varied menu. So
do seasonally available ingredients. Use them when possible.
Vary your cooking methods

Using different cooking methods is nutritionally sound, provides variety, and also evenly
distributes use of key kitchen equipment so staff can get dishes out quickly during peak
service times.
• Boiling
• Poaching
• Steaming
• Stewing
• Braising
• Roasting
• Baking
• Shallow frying
• Deep frying
• Grilling
Vary major ingredients

Australia has an amazing number of foods (beef, pork, lamb, veal, chicken, game,
seafood, vegetarian, etc.) to choose from. Include a dish of each on your menu! It’s OK to
repeat major ingredients on an à la carte menu, but not on restricted cyclic menus.
Serve the same food in different ways

If you need to use a food more than once in the cycle period, provide structured variety.
Next time serve it:
• on a different day of the week

• at a different service period (lunch instead of dinner)
• with different accompaniments
• with a different sauce.
Vary nutrients
When developing meals and menus for people on special diets, you need to pay careful
attention to ensure a balance of nutritional requirements.
How do you check for variety?

List the characteristics on a chart! Examine it to get an overall view of the menu. On this
menu there are three imbalances. Can you spot them? Try for yourself.
Read this menu and then click on it to see its characteristics listed in a chart.
2016 Edition 24
Appetiser
Terrine of sea perch with a spiced pumpkin coulis
Soup
Cream of chicken and spinach
Main course
Mustard crust rosettes of lamb with a pear and rosemary jus
Dessert
Individual chocolate tart with rhubarb ice cream
Click on the speech bubbles to find out the imbalances on the menu.
There’s an imbalance of There’s an imbalance of There’s an imbalance of size and

colour. The main and texture. The appetiser, soup shape. The appetiser, soup and
dessert are brown. and dessert are all smooth. dessert are all one large round item.
Dish Colour Main Flavour Cooking Texture Size & Temp.

ingredient method shape
Appetiser White & Sea perch, Subtle & Baked Smooth One large Cold
orange pumpkin spicy item/
triangle
Soup Pale Chicken & Subtle Boiled Smooth & One large Hot
green spinach creamy item
Main Brown Lamb Strong Grilled Tender Two Hot
course (mustard/ medium
fruit/herb) round items
Dessert Brown & Chocolate Rich, sweet Baked Smooth One large Cold &
red & rhubarb & tart round item frozen
What are macronutrients?

Nutrients are the chemical composition of food: water, proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The body uses some of these in large
amounts. These are called macronutrients.
Click on the tabs to learn about each macronutrient.
Water
Water comprises over 60% of our body weight. Every system depends on it. On average,
adequate daily intake is 3 L for men and 2.2 L for women.
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Protein
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Our bodies can’t make the following ones,
so we need to consume these minimum daily amounts.
• Histidine
• Isoleucine (10 mg)
• Leucine (14 mg)
• Lysine (12 mg)
• Methionine (13 mg)
• Phenylalanine (14 mg)
• Threonine (7 mg)
• Tryptophan (3.5 mg)
• Valine (10 mg)
Fat
• Alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 fatty acid)
• Linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid)
Carbohydrates
There are three categories of carbohydrates.
• Sugars (simple carbohydrates)

• Starches (complex carbohydrates)
• Dietary fibre

To learn more about these macronutrients, go to www.nrv.gov.au and click on the ‘Browse
the nutrients’ link.
What are micronutrients?

Our bodies use micronutrients in small amounts.
Click on the tabs to learn about each micronutrient.
Water-soluble vitamins
Our bodies use these vitamins immediately.
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Niacin
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin C
2016 Edition 26
• Biotin
• Folic acid (Folate)
• Pantothenic acid
Fat-soluble vitamins
These vitamins stay in our bodies until we need them.
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
Minerals and trace elements

• Calcium
• Chromium
• Copper
• Fluoride
• Iodine
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Molybdenum
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sulphur
• Selenium
• Sodium
• Zinc

To learn more about these micronutrients, go to www.nrv.gov.au and click on the ‘Browse
the nutrients’ link.
For specific recommendations of macro- and micronutrient requirements according to age
group and gender, go to www.nrv.gov.au and click on the ‘Use the NRV calculator’ link.
What happens if customers don’t get enough nutrients?

Like it or not, food choices have positive and negative health implications. Lack of
nutrients results in undernutrition and malnutrition (glossary). This, in turn, causes dietary
disease.
Click on the tabs to learn the negative consequences of poor food choices.
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Insufficient water
Adults require two and a half to three litres of fluid per day. Otherwise, there’s long-term
risk of developing the following.
• Kidney stones
• Urinary tract cancers
• Colon cancer
• Obesity
• Diminished physical performance
• Diminished mental performance
• Diminished salivary gland function
• Diminished oral health
Insufficient protein
• Weakened respiratory system
• Loss of muscle mass
• Lowered immunity
• Weakened cardiovascular system
Insufficient carbohydrates
• Ketosis (headache, nausea, lack of concentration, bad breath)
• Fatigue
• Constipation
Insufficient essential fatty acids

Such as omega-3 and omega-6.
• Hair loss
• Mood swings
• Vision problems
• Dry skin
• Memory loss/dementia
Insufficient vitamins
Insufficient vitamins table

Vitamin A Chronic eye infections
Vitamin B1 (thiamine) Degeneration of nerves, muscles and cardiovascular system
Vitamin B6 Depression, dermatitis, impaired immune system
Vitamin B12 Nerve degeneration and paralysis
Vitamin C Scurvy (wounds don’t heal, internal bleeding)
Vitamin D Rickets (weak and deformed bones)
Insufficient iron
• Fatigue
• Health risk in pregnancy
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• Breathing difficulty
• Pale skin
• Slow learning in children
• Impaired immune function
• Poor mood and cognitive performance
The following people are most at risk.
• Pregnant women
• Menstruating women
• Women who have two or more children in a short timeframe
• Vegetarians or others following poorly planned diets
• Athletes in heavy training
Insufficient calcium
Weak teeth and bones, predisposition to osteoporosis (glossary), stunted growth in
children, abnormal blood clotting
In a nutshell
Good nutrition plays an important role in avoiding dietary disease.
What happens if we get too much of certain foods?

You can reduce the incidence of diet-related health problems by knowing which foods are
problematic and using them sparingly (or avoiding them altogether!) when planning meals
and menus.

Guideline 3: Limit unhealthy foods and drinks.
Click on the tabs to learn what foods to limit or avoid and why.
Saturated fat
Low-fat diets are one of the main types of diet in contemporary Australian society. They
usually restrict saturated fats and lower LDL cholesterol.
Too much saturated fat can lead to heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, stroke, high
blood pressure, some forms of cancer.
Saturated fats include lard, dripping and many animal fats. It’s also found in palm and
coconut oil. Limit the following as they pose the greatest risk to health.
• Desserts (cake, ice cream, pastries, biscuits, pies)

• Fast foods (burgers, pizzas, chips, chicken nuggets, fried foods)
• Savoury snacks (potato chips, tortilla chips)
• Processed meats (ham, bacon, salami, pepperoni, sausages, hot dogs)
29 2016 Edition
Added salt
Salt occurs naturally in food. Sodium helps control blood pressure and volume and
balances the body cells’ water content. However, over time, excess salt can cause the
kidneys to malfunction and the body to retain too much sodium. This can stiffen the blood
vessels, increasing blood pressure and chances of stroke.
Processed meats are very high in added salt, as are many fast foods. Avoid these and
don’t put extra salt in food as you cook.
Added sugar
Like salt, sugar occurs naturally in most foods. There’s fructose in fruit, lactose in milk and
maltose in flour. These contain a combination of complex carbohydrates, vitamins,
minerals and water and require little digestion to break down.
Sucrose in refined table sugar, however, has few nutrients and actually has to use
vitamins stored in the body to break it down!
Too much sucrose can lead to vitamin deficiency, obesity, cardiovascular disease,
accelerated tooth decay and gum disease.
Besides desserts and lollies, the biggest culprits when it comes to added sugar are drinks.
• Sports drinks
• Energy drinks
• Soft drinks
• Fruit drinks
• Cordials
• Vitamin waters
To further reduce sugar:
• check labels on packaging such as marinades and sauces to choose low or no sugar
varieties
• choose natural yoghurt and add your own fruit
• select oats or high quality muesli over processed breakfast cereals.
Alcohol
Alcohol requires no digestion, so 90% of intake is readily absorbed into the bloodstream.
Regular excessive alcohol consumption (glossary) can cause serious long- term health
damage.
• Liver damage
• Brain damage
• Cancer
• Obesity
• Disorders of the heart, blood vessels and nervous system
• Dependence
• Addiction
Even in the short term alcohol creates health problems.
• Dehydration
• Loss of appetite
• Vitamin deficiency (especially water soluble B and C vitamins)
2016 Edition 30
• Digestive disorders such as ulcers (due to damage to the digestive lining)

• Infections
• Skin problems
• Sexual impotence
Limit alcohol or don’t drink at all (especially if you’re pregnant, planning a pregnancy or
breastfeeding).
As a chef, you can help reduce the impact of alcohol by ensuring that alcohol in food is
correctly burned off before it’s served to the customer.

Remember, good nutrition plays an important role in avoiding dietary disease.
To learn more about optimising diets for lowering chronic disease risk, go to
www.nrv.gov.au.
Click on the ‘Chronic Disease’ tab at the top and follow the links.
Then, click to the next screen to revise the five food groups.
What foods meet macro- and micronutrient requirements?

There are certain foods which contain the nutrients we need, promote good health and
help us avoid dietary disease.

Guideline 2: Eat from the five food groups every day.
Click on the tabs to see ingredients that meet basic nutritional needs.
Vegetables and legumes

Different types of vegetables in a wide variety of colours: dark green leafy vegetables,
broccoli, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, capsicum, etc.
Legumes: dried, canned and cooked beans, peas, lentils and other pod-bearing plants
and their products such as bean curd, tofu and pappadams.
These have high dietary fibre (glossary) which does the following.
• It prevents constipation and haemorrhoids.

• It can assist in lowering blood cholesterol.
• It helps control blood sugar levels.
• It protects against bowel cancer.
• It assists in weight control.
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Fruit
A wide variety of fruits from all classifications: melons, citrus, berries, core, seed, stone,
tropical and vine fruits.
The nutrients in vegetables, legumes and fruits have a protective effect from a variety of
non-transmittable chronic diseases including heart disease, stroke, hypertension
(glossary), cancer, diabetes, muscular degeneration of the eye and cataracts.
Grains (cereals)
Wholegrain wheat, rice, oats, corn, popcorn, barley, quinoa, amaranth, couscous, and
products made from them: flour, polenta, bread, pasta, noodles, breakfast cereals,
porridge.
Grains are the largest component of daily intake. They’re low in saturated fat and a
reliable source of protein, energy, carbohydrates and dietary fibre. They’re also an
important source of vitamins and minerals, including the following.
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
• Vitamin B1 (riboflavin)
• Iron
• Zinc
• Phosphorus
• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Folic acid (folate)
The dietary fibre and nutrients protect against non-communicable chronic diseases
(coronary heart disease, obesity, diabetes, several forms of cancer, hypertension,
constipation and diverticular disease).
Lean meats and alternatives

Lean meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, tofu, nuts, seeds, legumes/beans.
These foods are a very valuable source of protein as well as minerals and vitamins such
as the following.
• Iron
• Zinc
• Vitamin B12
• Omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated oils (only present in fish)
• Calcium (nuts, almonds, oysters, prawns, beans, soft-boned fish such as sardines,
white bait and salmon)
• Protein
Lean meats are an ideal source of absorbable iron, an essential mineral that performs
many functions.
• It assists in forming red blood cells which carry oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the
body.
• It protects the body against infections.
• It helps create the chemical reactions that produce energy.
• It’s a vital component of enzymes responsible for brain development.
2016 Edition 32
The omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in fish protect against heart disease by reducing
the clotting and levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (glossary) in blood. They are also
thought to play a role as an anti-inflammatory agent. They are necessary for growth,
replacement of cells and the functioning of all body tissues.
Dairy and alternatives

Reduced-fat cow, sheep and goat milk and products made from them (cream, yoghurt,
cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese) as well as alternatives such as almond milk and
calcium fortified soy milk.
These provide protein, vitamin A, riboflavin, vitamin B12 and zinc. Not only that, few other
foods provide such a readily absorbable and convenient source of calcium.
Calcium is essential for the body at all stages of life, but particularly during periods of
growth (childhood, adolescence, pregnancy and lactation).
• It’s necessary for strong bone growth and development.

• It strengthens bones and teeth.
• It’s essential for normal blood clotting.
• It plays a role in muscle function.
• It helps transmit nerve impulses.

Go to www.foodnutritiontable.com to get more specific information about nutrients in
various foods. This website lists thousands of ingredients together with the macro- and
micronutrients they contain per 100 g or per serve.
It’s an invaluable resource to help you identify appropriate combinations of foods to meet
your customers’ nutritional requirements.
How do you select suitable foods?

When producing dishes with special dietary recipes, you must substitute restricted foods
with other foods which still meet nutritional requirements.
Click on the foods to learn their common replacements.
Meat
To provide for vegetarians, make sure you replace animal foods with plant foods
containing similar nutrients (protein, iron, zinc, omega-3). For vegans, you must also
replace vitamin B12 and calcium.
• A wide variety of different coloured fruits and vegetables

• Eggs, dried beans, lentils, nuts or seeds
• High-fibre breads and cereals
• Omega-3 fortified foods (flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts and some breads)
33 2016 Edition
• Energy dense foods (tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein, and commercially
prepared meat replacements)
• Small amounts of saturated fats
• Dairy foods (calcium-enriched soy foods for vegans)
• Foods fortified with B12 (for vegans)
Butter
There are many spreads you can use in place of butter.
• Avocado
• Nut butters and pastes (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.)
• Soy butter
• Flaxseed oil
• Jam
• Margarine
Milk
• Soy milk
• Rice milk
• Almond milk
• Oat milk
Cheese
• Notzeralla
• Tofutti ricotta
• Tofutti cream cheese
• Soy cheese
Yoghurt
• Soy yoghurt
• Coconut yoghurt
• White rice flour
• Brown rice flour
Gluten
Just go online or to your local supermarket to find just about any gluten-free product you
want: breads, pastas, biscuits, snacks, breakfast cereals, noodles, salad dressings, etc.
White Wings and Orgran are two popular gluten-free flour brands. Here are ingredients
you can use in gluten-free recipes.
• Amaranth
• Quinoa
• Buckwheat (flakes or flour)
• Rice grains (flakes or flour)
• Soy (flakes or flour)
• Millet (flakes or flour)
• Tapioca flour
• Maize corn flour
• Polenta
2016 Edition 34
• Potato starch flour

• Ground nuts
• Sago
• Lentil, pea or bean flour
Fat
• Replace meat with fish high in omega oils (pilchards, sardines, salmon, tuna, herring
and mackerel).
• Avoid fatty sausages, bacon, salami, meat pies and fried meats. They’re either full of
fat in their own right or have saturated fat in the pastry, fillers and cooking fats.
• If you do choose meat and poultry, select lean cuts, remove visible fat from them and
trim off skin.
• Use reduced or low-fat varieties of milk, cheese, yoghurt, sour cream, cooking cream,
etc.
• Avoid high-fat desserts like cheesecakes and pastries.
• Where practical, use non-stick pans to minimise frying fats. If you do need something
in the pan, replace saturated fats (butter, cooking margarine, coconut oil, palm oil) with
polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (olive, safflower, sunflower, sesame,
canola, corn oils).
Sugar
Choose foods and non-alcoholic beverages which are low in added sugar or contain
alternative sweeteners instead of sugar.
• Aspartame 951 such as Hermesetas Gold ®, Equal ®, Equal spoonful ®, Nutrasweet ®

• Sucralose 955 such as Splenda ®
• Saccharin 954 such as Hermesetas ®, Sweetex ®, Sugarine ®, Sugarella ®
• Acesulphame K 950 such as Hermesetas Gold ®, Sunnet ®, Cyclamate 952, Sucaryl ®
• Alitame 956 such as Aclame

This is not an extensive list. There are hundreds of ingredients that may need substituting
for people with food restrictions or other special dietary requirements. Again, apps can be
very helpful.
Check these out and research some more!
• Substitutions by Gormaya
• Culinary Calculator Pro for Tablet by Couture Catering and Artistic Pastry Notions
How do you select suitable meals?

This involves identifying appropriate food combinations to meet macro- and micronutrient
requirements. Multi-ingredient mains or accompaniments can give your customers a
variety of nutrient-packed foods in one meal!
Looking at the images, can you guess what these nutritionally balanced foods are?
35 2016 Edition
Click on the pictures to learn what they are.
 Green salads
 Fruit salads
 Farinaceous salads
 Soups
 Casseroles
 Stews
 Stir-fries
 Sandwiches on multigrain bread
 Muesli
How do you incorporate sufficient choice of dishes?

No matter what kind of menu you’re creating, customers love it when you give them
choices. Evaluate diet-related health problems common to your customer(s) so you can
design menus and meal plans which provide variety and suit their special dietary
requirements.
Click on the different menus to learn more.
Cyclic Menu
When planning cyclic menus, provide a variety of dishes for customers to experience or
choose from throughout the cycle period. Providing at least two different options for each
meal is ideal. Remember to create culinary and nutritional balance throughout each day.
Week 1
Breakfasts Gluten-free Gluten-free Porridge Fruit salad Natural or Greek Half a Rice Bubbles
muesli cereal with oats/flakes with yoghurt with grapefruit
sliced with mixture of nuts, fruit, seeds with gluten-
banana, skimmed nuts, or honey free toast
yoghurt and milk, honey seeds or and peanut
salt-free nuts and chopped millet butter
and raisins fruit flakes
Poached egg Buckwheat Smoked Bacon, Grilled Pancakes Boiled eggs
with bacon pancakes haddock with egg, baked mushroom, (made from with buttered
and gluten- and dried mushrooms, beans and tomato, rice flour and gluten-free
free toast fruit tomatoes gluten-free asparagus and milk) with toast fingers
conserve and gluten- sausages gluten-free fruit salad
free toast sausage and Greek
yoghurt
Morning Rice cakes Low-fat Low-sugar Dried fruit, Rice cakes with Fresh fruit Raw vegetable
tea with sliced yoghurt and gluten- nuts and cottage cheese, crudites with
bananas or free muesli seeds sesame spread hummus
sugar-free jam bars or peanut butter
2016 Edition 36
Week 1
Lunches Homemade Pea & ham Sardines, Corn pasta Prawn risotto Cream of Prawn
gluten-free soup with mackerel or salad with with brown rice chicken and mayonnaise
pizza gluten-free pilchards chicken, or quinoa with vegetable open sandwich
bread with gluten- mayonnais asparagus, soup with on rice and
free crackers e and beans, wild rice corn bread
sweetcorn mushrooms,
parsley
Jacket potato Rice noodles Rice salad Crackers Beans on Quinoa Cream of
with your and stir-fry with or rice buckwheat salad with asparagus
choice of filling vegetables sultanas, cakes with bread toast sultanas, soup
(cheese, almonds and cheese, walnuts,
beans, tuna, sunflower tomato and cashew nuts
prawns or seeds hummus and sesame
sweetcorn) seeds
Lunch is served with a choice of seasonal vegetables or green salad of the day.
Afternoon Raw vegetable Poppadoms Gluten-free Nachos Fresh fruit and Potato crisps Gluten-free
tea crudites with (made from crisp bread with beans, yogurt crisp bread
guacamole or lentil flour), with cheese, with cottage
hummus with gluten- bananas or sour cream cheese,
free dips sugar-free and sesame spread
jam guacamole or peanut
butter
Dinners Cream of Tomato & Spring Sweet Spicy lentil soup Potato & Chicken &
carrot soup basil soup vegetable potato leek soup sweet corn
soup soup soup
Roast chicken Broccoli and Gluten-free Quorn and Lamb satay with Salmon and Cod with
breast with cauliflower ravioli with sweetcorn peanut sauce vegetable gluten-free
roast potatoes, cheese with mushroom escalopes patties breadcrumbs
and gluten- a jacket cream sauce with new
free gravy and potato and potatoes
stuffing mixed salad
Fresh grilled Stir-fried Poached Salmon Chilli con carne Spaghetti Rice pasta with
fish of the day chicken with salmon with quiche with brown rice bolognaise tomato sauce,
and green vegetables new made with or rice noodles with corn spring onions,
salad potatoes gluten-free pasta or rice sweetcorn,
pastry noodles pine nuts and
fresh herbs
Compote of Gluten-free Strawberry Cassata Jam tarts made Cinnamon Banana split
fruit almond cake bavarois with with gluten-free pears
topping sweet pastry
Source: www.camnutri.com Cambridge Nutritional Sciences Ltd.
Food Intolerances Support Guide. Eating and Cooking without Gluten. Accessed May 2014
À la carte Menu
Consider labelling the meals on your menu vegetarian (V), vegan (VG), gluten-free (GF)
and dairy-free (DF). Ensure you have two choices for each. Remember that you can
rotate daily specials to provide for customers with special dietary requirements as well.
37 2016 Edition
Starters
Soup of the day
Homemade soup served with bread and butter 6.95
Nimbin nachos (V) (VG no cheese)
Smothered in refried beans, melted cheese and salsa fresca 7.95
Magic mushrooms (V) (GF)
Sautéed mushrooms in a creamy garlic sauce with wilted spinach,
on wild rice 7.95
Wings of fancy (GF)
Chicken wings glazed in spicy BBQ sauce 9.95
Mains
Veggie fajita (V) (VG/DF no cheese)
Roasted seasonal vegetables on a bed of sizzling onions served
with grated cheese and classic Mexican sauces 11.95
Tagliatelle carbonara
A white creamy sauce with bacon, sautéed mushrooms and chives
mixed into tagliatelle pasta 12.95
Chilled-out chicken (GF) (DF no cheese)
Succulent chicken breast, layered with bacon and melted cheese,
smothered in BBQ sauce 13.95
Busted cheese burger
Flame broiled just as you like it with toppings of your choice 11.95
Shannon’s salmon (GF) (DF)
Local salmon chargrilled to perfection, served with chips and salad 17.95
Pete’s pilaf (V) (VG) (GF)
Kale, quinoa and roasted pumpkin pilaf packs a healthy punch
2016 Edition 38

Again, these menus are by no means comprehensive. They just scratch the surface of the
possibilities open to you. When it comes to preparing menus and meals for special dietary
requirements, there’s a wealth of information out there on the Internet.
Check out these two free apps. The first colour codes recipes so you can clearly see
which special diet category it belongs to. The second helps you filter recipes by dietary
need.
• Whole Foods Market Recipes by Whole Foods Market, Inc.
• Healthy Recipes by SparkRecipes for iPad by SparkPeople
Research any other apps which could further help you.
How do you develop and write a menu or meal plan?

Use your planning and organising skills to access and sort all information required for
menu design and to coordinate a timely and efficient development process.
Click on the dot points to find out how.
 Consult with health and other professionals to evaluate diet-related health problems.
 List all of your dish ideas on paper.
 Sort them into a draft menu.
 Check feasibility.
 Identify, source and purchase all required ingredients.
 Prepare, cook and present the sample dishes.
 Assess the sample dishes for variety and nutritional balance.
What preparation and cooking methods maximise nutritional

value?
As a rule, fruits and vegetables are most nutritious just after picking. Retaining the
nutrients from then on is an uphill battle!
It’s nearly impossible to retain all of a food’s nutritional value. After all, there’s not a lot you
can do to prevent what happens during transportation! However, you can control further
loss by employing suitable preparation and cooking methods.
Click on the pictures to learn preparation and cooking methods for healthy eating.
Buy fresh
Buy fresh ingredients as you need them. This lessens the time they’re in storage and
minimises the loss of nutrients like vitamins B2 (riboflavin) and vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
39 2016 Edition
Serve it raw
Prepare and serve dishes consisting of raw or lightly cooked vegetables and fruits to
reduce nutrient losses. Salads and sandwiches are good examples.
Start in boiling water

Boil vegetables by starting in boiling water, or steam them. This locks in nutrients that
would otherwise be leached out during the cooking process.
Braise and stew

Braise and stew foods to retain vitamins and minerals that would otherwise be lost in the
cooking liquid. Serve the cooking liquid as part of the dish.
Choose the right cooking method

90% of food’s nutritional value can be lost if you cook it incorrectly.
Grilling, baking, steaming, poaching and boiling are healthier methods of cookery than
deep frying, roasting or shallow frying, which only add more fat.
Cook as needed
Cook foods as needed rather than holding them in a hot bain-marie for extended periods.
This minimises nutrient losses associated with temperature and contact with oxygen.
Wash instead of peel

If possible, wash vegetables and fruits rather than peeling them. This helps maximise
dietary fibre. Boil or bake washed unpeeled potatoes or use unpeeled apples in a fruit
salad, for example.
What storage methods are best?

Guideline 5: Care for your food.
Food poisoning can have serious health consequences, particularly for the elderly, infants,
children and people with compromised immune systems. Use correct food handling to
reduce the incidence of food borne illnesses and maximise the nutritional value of food.
Click on the tabs to find out how you can best care for your food.
Prepare it safely
• Wash fruits and vegetables before you cook them.
• Keep food preparation areas and utensils clean.
• Don’t prepare food if you’re ill.
• Wash and thoroughly dry hands or put on gloves before touching food.
• Keep raw and cooked foods separate during preparation.
• Make sure food (especially meat) is thoroughly cooked.
• Cook, hold and reheat at correct temperatures.
2016 Edition 40
Store it safely
• Keep food at the right temperature.
• Keep containers, fridges and freezers clean.
• Keep foods away from raw meat juices, cleaning products, pesticides.
• Use FIFO stock rotation First In, First Out.
• Check use-by and best-before dates.
Hot tip
Stay up to date!
• Continually refresh your knowledge of food safety.
• Look for ways to improve processes and procedures.
• Think of food safety at each and every step of the food safety chain.
• Revise relevant units you’ve already completed regarding food hygiene and food
safety.
End of section
41 2016 Edition
Section 3:
3 Cost and document special
menus and meal plans
• How to determine production costs of menu items.

• How to calculate portion yields and costs from raw ingredients.
• How to assess cost-effectiveness of proposed dishes against budgetary constraints.
• How to use correct terminology in menus and meal plans.
Why are you in business?

Of course, you want to meet your customers’ special dietary requirements. However, no
matter how happy your customers are or how well-balanced your menu is, here’s the
bottom line. You’ve got to meet your budget and/or make a profit.
We’re in business to generate profit.
We’re in business to serve the public, so we need to operate within a specified budget.
Click on the icon to follow the path to profit.
The path to profit

This equation neatly sums up the path to profit.
Income – expenses = profit or loss
Click and drag the bag of money across the path to see this equation in action.
If your income is higher than

your expenses, you’re on the
Money comes in from
path to profit.
paying customers in a
Money goes out to pay your
commercial operation or
expenses (running costs). If your income is lower than
through budget allocations
your expenses, you’re
in an institutional operation.
operating at a loss and on the
road to ruin.
Your job is to cost and document your special menus and meal plans so your organisation
makes more money than it loses. To do this, you need some idea of the costs involved in
running a business.
Click to the next screen to find out how much you know about this already.
43 2016 Edition
What are your expenditures?

In Plan and cost basic menus, you learned about expenditures.
What do you remember?
You have 30 seconds to list as many as you can.
What do you think a restaurant’s major expenditure items are? List them.
How did you go?
Click to the next screen to compare your answers to ours.
What are your major expenditure items?

To determine the production costs of your menu items, you must be able to accurately
calculate all expenditure items. Money goes out the door on many expenses.
Click on the pieces of the chart to find out what they are.
8%
Net profit
2% 25%
Maintenance (cleaning, Food costs
repairs, upgrades etc.)
21%
Taxes (GST, payroll,
income, etc.)
7%
Business costs (loans,
interest, permits, etc.)
26%
Labour costs
11%
Utilities (electricity, gas,
telephone, council and
water rates, etc.)
Food costs comprise a whopping 25% of business expenses. It’s no wonder accurate
menu costing is such a critical element in all successful food service establishments. It’s
the only way to make confident financial decisions and avoid cost blowouts.
2016 Edition 44
What other expenditure items are there?

You need to know how much it costs to produce the complete menu item. This includes
not only the food itself, but all the proposed components of the dish.
Click on the icon to see other expenditure items.
 Main ingredients  Decorations

 Cooking oil  Take-away containers
 Accompaniments  Wrapping
 Sauces  Chopsticks
 Condiments  Disposable plastic ware
 Seasonings  Serviettes
 Garnishes
Not all ingredients are created equal!

Unfortunately, you can’t just add up the ingredient prices in the vegetarian risotto recipe to
find out how much it costs to make. Why not?
The recipe has different kinds of ingredients which you need to test and cost differently.
This is true of all recipes.
Click on the tabs to learn about the yields of different ingredients.
Ingredients that yield 100%

• Some raw ingredients don’t lose anything during preparation or production.
• You use 100% of what you purchase.
• The yield (glossary) is 100%.
• For example, when you garnish the vegetarian risotto, you use all of the original
shaved parmesan.
Ingredients that yield less than 100%

• Some raw ingredients require cleaning, trimming, peeling, skinning, deboning and/or
portioning before you can use them.
• You lose some of the ingredient during preparation or production.
• The ingredient yields less than 100% of the amount you purchased.
• For example, you need to peel the onions in the vegetarian risotto before chopping
them. Some of the onion is edible, but some isn’t.
Calculate portion yields and costs from raw ingredients

The butter, grated parmesan, shaved parmesan, rice and vegetable stock yield 100%.
Luckily, we don’t have to do a yield test on them! We can calculate the actual cost of the
food straight away by plugging the information from our standard recipe into two
mathematical formulas.
45 2016 Edition
What do you think the total cost for the butter in this table is? How do you think we
calculate it? Click Next to find out.
Ingredients Qty Unit Purchase unit Purchase Cost

unit price $ Yield % Total
cost $
Butter 130 g 1.5 kg 4.85 100 ?
How did you go? The total cost of the butter is $0.42.

unit price $ Yield % Total
cost $
Butter 130 g 1.5 kg 4.85 100 0.42
Note: Round figures up to two decimal places
We get this answer by using these two formulas.
The first formula determines the usage percentage. This is the percentage of the
purchase unit (glossary) you require for the recipe.
What’s the usage %?
Purchase weight ÷ purchase unit x 100 = usage %
130 g butter ÷ 1500 g butter x 100 = 8.6%

So you need 8.6% of the butter for your recipe.
The second formula calculates the actual cost of the ingredient. To do this calculation, you
need the purchase unit cost/price (glossary) (from your invoice or standard recipe) and the
usage percentage (from the last calculation).
What’s the actual food cost?
Purchase unit cost x usage % = actual food cost
$4.85 x 8.6% = $0.42

So the total cost of the butter is $0.42.
Click on the icon to see some tips when calculating.
 Make sure that your quantity unit and purchased unit are expressed in the same
way (either both in grams or both in kilograms). If you try to do the calculations with
different units of measurement, they won’t work out.
 Use standard measurements in all calculations. Meat, fish, vegetables, fruit are
usually weighed in grams (g) or kilograms (kg). Liquids such as juice, milk, stock are
usually measured in millilitres (ml) or litres (L). Some ingredients you may need to
count include items such as sausages, eggs, hash brown patties, slices of bread.
 Use supplier invoices and price lists to identify the purchase price or cost per unit of
each ingredient used in the dish so you can work out your costs for supply.
2016 Edition 46
Can you calculate the costs of the raw ingredients?

What are the actual food costs of these raw ingredients: arborio rice, vegetable stock,
grated parmesan, shaved parmesan, basil?
What’s the usage %?
Can you complete the table using these two formulas? Type your answers into the
available spaces. Click Submit when you’re done.

unit price Yield % Total
$ cost $
Butter 130 g 1.5 kg 4.85 100 0.42
Onion 200 g 10 kg 11.30 -
Button mushrooms 300 g 1 kg 4.99 -
Arborio rice 800 g 10 kg 14.80 100 1.18
Chicken stock 2.3 L 1L 0.80 100 1.84
Grated parmesan 150 g 1 kg 16.20 100 2.43
Shaved parmesan 100 g 1 kg 24.85 100 2.48
Basil 10 sprigs Bunch (30 sprigs) 2.90 - 0.97
Total cost of recipe $
Portion cost $
How did you go? Have a look at the table to see it completed with the correct answers.
How many did you get right?
Remember, you can’t add the cost for the button mushrooms and onions yet because you
must do a yield test first to determine the wastage. We’ll look at this next.
What’s the purpose of yield tests?

As you’ve learned, you need to process raw ingredients such as the onion, mushrooms
and basil in the vegetarian risotto recipe. You do yield tests on these ingredients to learn
what percentage you can actually use after they’re processed. This is called the yield
percentage (glossary).
Click on the calculators to find out why knowing the yield percentage is so important.
The yield percentage helps you calculate the minimum amount of the ingredient you need
to order for your recipe.
47 2016 Edition
It helps you determine actual cost of each ingredient and each dish as compared to the
purchase cost.
It helps you calculate portion yields (the maximum number of servings the amount you
purchase will give you).
Hot tip
Many foods (such as roast meats) require cooking before they’re portioned. You need to
take this shrinkage into account through further yield tests.
Be sure to document and consistently follow the same cooking temperatures and times.
That way, you get the same cooked yield weights every time.
Some ingredients need to be cooked before you portion them. Some of the ingredient is
lost as you cook it. Which ingredients in the vegetarian risotto recipe are like this?
Some ingredients actually expand. You get more after you cook it than you had in the
beginning.
How do you do a standard yield test?

This is how to do a standard yield test on sweet potatoes.
Click on each step to find out.
1. Purchase your potatoes.

2. Weigh them to get the As Purchased Quantity (APQ). Let’s say 10 kg.
3. Clean and peel them.
4. Weigh them again to get the Edible Portion Quantity (EPQ). Let’s say 8 kg.
5. Use this formula to get the yield percentage.
Edible Portion Quantity (EP) ÷ As Purchased Quantity (AP) x 100 = yield %
8 kg ÷ 10 kg x 100 = 80%
What factors can influence yield?

• Ingredient quality: If the ingredient isn’t fresh, less is usable and yield is lower.
• Ingredient size: Peeling smaller potatoes creates more waste and lower yield than
peeling larger potatoes.
• Staff skill: Unskilled employees create more waste and lower yield than skilled
employees.
2016 Edition 48
Note
In reality, you may not have time to do yield tests on all fruits and vegetables. Your
organisation may provide a chart for you to use with approximate yields on it.
Can you calculate the yield percentages?

You buy 1 kg button mushrooms. After cutting off the stems, you have 930 g left.
You buy 10 kg onions. After peeling them, you have 8.2 kg left.
Edible Portion Quantity (EP) ÷ As Purchased Quantity (AP) x 100 = yield %
What are the yield percentages for the onions and the button mushrooms? Type
your answers into the available spaces. Click Submit when you’re done.

$ cost $
Butter 130 g 1.5 kg 4.85 100 0.42
Onion 200 g 10 kg 11.30 82 -
Button mushrooms 300 g 1 kg 4.99 93 -
Arborio rice 800 g 10 kg 14.80 100 1.18
Chicken stock 2.3 L 1L 0.80 100 1.84
Total cost of recipe $
Portion cost $
How did you go? Have a look at the table to see it completed with the correct answers.
How many did you get right?
These figures are important because they’re the next piece of the puzzle! You’ll use them
when you calculate actual food cost on the next screen.
49 2016 Edition

Because the onions only yield 82%, you need more than 200 g to get 200 g. To calculate
costs, you need to find out exactly how much more onion you need to buy. After that, you
can calculate the usage % and actual food costs as before.

$ cost $
Onion 200 g 10 kg 11.30 82 ?
Click on the tabs to learn how to calculate the actual food cost.
1. How much onion do you actually need to buy?
Quantity required ÷ yield % = purchase weight
200 g ÷ 82% = 244 g
2. What’s the usage %?
244 g ÷ 10,000 g x 100 = 2.44%
3. What’s the actual food cost?
$11.30 x 2.44% = $0.27

$ cost $
Onion 200 g 10 kg 11.30 82 0.27
Butcher’s yield test

Fruit and vegetable trim isn’t very valuable and is usually considered waste. However,
some of the trim from meat, poultry and seafood has value. You can use it to make other
saleable dishes. What if you’d like to add a fillet of flathead to each plate of risotto?
Click on the steps to learn how to do a butcher’s yield test on the fish.
Step 1
Weigh the whole purchased product, the whole flathead fish. Record the ‘As Purchased
Quantity’ (APQ).
2016 Edition 50
Step 2
Process the product according to the recipe. Put all useable trim (glossary) in one pile and
waste trim (glossary) in another pile.
Step 3
Weigh the prepared product you’ll use in the recipe. Record the Edible Portion Quantity
(EPQ), the flathead fillets.
Step 4
Weigh the useable trim. Record the weight.
Step 5
Weigh the waste trim. Record the weight.
Results and summary
As Purchased Quantity (APQ) 9.5 kg

Edible Portion Quantity (EPQ) 5.225 kg
Usable trim weight 3.242 kg
Waste trim weight 1.033 kg
Click on the icon to find the yield, usable trim and waste percentages.
What’s the yield %?
EPQ ÷ APQ x 100 = yield %
5.225 kg ÷ 9.5 kg x 100 = 55%
What’s the usable trim %?
Usable trim weight ÷ APQ x 100 = usable trim %
3.242 kg ÷ 9.5 kg x 100 = 34%
What’s the waste %?
Waste trim weight ÷ APQ x 100 = waste %
1.033 kg ÷ 9.5 kg x 100 = 11%
Note
The value of the usable trim depends on the kind of meat it is (fish flakes, mince, chicken
wings).
51 2016 Edition
What’s the actual cost per portion?

You know the yield percentage is 55%. Now you can calculate the exact quantity of
flathead you need to buy as well as the actual cost per kg and per portion.
Let’s say you need 10 prepared portions of flathead fillets weighing 160 g each.
10 portions x 160 g = 1,600 g (1.6 kg)
Click on the questions to work out the answers.
? How much fish do you need to buy?

Quantity required ÷ yield % = purchase weight
1.6 kg ÷ 55 x 100 = 2.9 kg
Buy 2.9 kg (minimum) whole flathead to get 1.6 kg prepared flathead.
? What’s the actual cost of the fish per kg?

Cost of flathead = $13.80 per kg
Purchase weight = 2.9 kg
Processed weight = 1.6 kg
Purchase weight x cost per kg ÷ processed weight = actual cost per kg
2.9 kg x 13.8 ÷ 1.6 = $25.01 actual cost per kg
? How much does the processed fish cost?

Required amount x actual cost per kg = total cost
1.6 kg x $25.01 = $40.02
? How much is the cost per portion?

You need 10 portions
Total cost ÷ number of portions = cost per portion
$40.02 ÷ 10 = $4.00 per portion
? So how do you get the cost per portion?

• Calculate the yield of the ingredients in your recipe.
• Calculate the actual cost of each ingredient.
• Add up the individual costs to get a total dish cost.
• Divide the total cost by the number of portions to get cost per portion.
2016 Edition 52
Hot tip
If you use edible trim to prepare other saleable dishes, deduct the price you would have
paid for them from the purchase price. This gives you an accurate food cost for the
prepared dish.
If you don’t use trimmings, include them in the price of the dish.
Can you calculate the cost per portion?

Let’s go back to our vegetarian risotto recipe. We’ve calculated the yield of all the
ingredients as well as the actual cost of each one.
How much is the total cost of the recipe?

How much is the cost per portion?
Remember, you need 10 portions.
Total cost ÷ number of portions = cost per portion
Type your answers into the available spaces. Click Submit when you are done.

$ cost $
Butter 130 g 1.5 kg 4.85 100 0.42
Onion 200 g 10 kg 11.30 82 0.27
Button mushrooms 300 g 1 kg 4.99 93 1.61
Arborio rice 800 g 10 kg 14.80 100 1.18
Chicken stock 2.3 L 1L 0.80 100 1.84
Total cost of recipe $11.20
Portion cost $1.12
How did you go? Check out the answers in the table to see the correct figures.
53 2016 Edition
What are your constraints?

Now it’s time to set your selling price. Before you do this, you need to check that they’re
cost-effective. To do this, keep in mind budgetary and organisational constraints.
Click on the pictures to learn some things to consider before setting prices.
Type of enterprise
Pub, take-away, restaurant, hotel, fine dining.
Service style
Your service style depends on your customer base. It determines not only your menu and
food prices, but also your layout and décor.
• $ Fast food
• $$ Café or casual dining
• $$$ Bistro dining
• $$$$ Fine dining
• Self-serve: Consider the cost of any food service attendants behind bain-maries at a
self-serve carvery or cafeteria.
• Delivery: This includes not only pizza home delivery and hotel room service, but also
tray service in hospitals and on airplanes. Factor delivery costs in!
Menu price structure

Organisations usually have set price ranges for various courses. The price you set for
your dish should fall within them.
Appetisers $7.00 to $9.50

Soup $5.00 to $8.00
Entree $10.00 to $16.00
Main course $18.00 to $28.00
Dessert $9.00 to $12.50
Competition
In a competitive environment such as a food court or restaurant strip, prices need to
attract customers.
Target market
What can your target market afford to pay?
Sales turnover
If sales turnover is high, a reduced mark-up may be possible. This means you get less
profit on each sale. However, you counterbalance this by a large number of sales.
Labour and overhead costs

These vary greatly from one enterprise to another and are factored into your food cost
percentage.
Click on the icon to learn about organisational contraints.
2016 Edition 54
What are your organisational constraints?

Make sure there aren’t any organisational constraints or other factors that could stop you
from producing the dishes profitably and to high standard. To do this, conduct a feasibility
test.
• Dishes match the organisation’s menu type, service style and cuisine.
• Dishes match customer preferences according to sales data and customer profile.
• Dishes offer something unique to create an edge over competitors in the same
location.
• Dishes match staff skill levels (simple enough to produce to high quality, yet complex
enough to keep staff interested).
• There are enough staff on hand to produce the dishes within specified timeframes.
• There’s enough bench and storage space in the kitchen to produce the dishes.
• There’s enough small and large fixed equipment to produce the dishes during peak
service times.
• Dishes are cooked using a variety of cooking methods. (This helps ease the load on
equipment, too.)
• There are enough fresh, high quality ingredients available at a reasonable price.
(Meeting this requirement may mean changing your menu according to the seasons
and/or sourcing local suppliers.)
• The dish is profitable and factors in labour and overhead costs. Click to the next screen
to learn more.
How do you price menu items?

Remember, the true cost of a dish includes more than the food. There are other expenses
such as labour, utilities, taxes, maintenance, etc. On top of this, the organisation needs to
make a profit. The hospitality and catering industry has desired profit margins, mark-up
procedures and rates.
Your management considers all of this when calculating the selling price. For the dish to
be cost-effective, the selling price must be higher than all of the expenses put together.
Click on the steps to learn how to calculate the price of a seafood salad.
1. Get a profitable selling price

You do this by multiplying the food cost per portion by the standard food cost (SFC)
percentage
Food cost per portion for seafood salad components is $4.85.
Standard food cost (SFC) % set by the management is 28%.
Food cost per portion x 100 ÷ standard food cost (SFC) % = selling price
$4.85 x 100 ÷ 28 = $17.32
If you sell the seafood salad entree for $17.32, you’ll make a profit.
55 2016 Edition
2. Calculate the GST

Selling price x 10% = GST
$17.32 x 10% = $1.73
3. Add the GST to the selling price
Selling price + GST = GST inclusive selling price
$17.32 + $1.73 = $19.05
How do you set the selling price?

Let’s see how the price of an item can change depending on an organisation’s standard
food cost (SFC) %. Remember, this can range between 21% and 35%. Let’s look at both
ends of the scale.
The food cost per portion of vegetarian risotto is $1.12.
The food cost per portion of seafood terrine is $6.70.
Here is your formula.

100
Food cost per portion x = selling price
standard food cost %
Don’t worry about the GST for now.
Click on the icon to see how you can use these calculations to work out the selling
price for each item.
The selling price for each item
Vegetarian risotto with SFC 21% $5.33
Seafood terrine with SFC 21% $31.90
Vegetarian risotto with SFC 25% $4.48
Mushroom risotto with SFC 35% $3.20
As you can see, there is a big price difference between the two sets of selling prices and
between both dishes at the same selling price.
2016 Edition 56
How do you assess cost-effectiveness?

OK, you’ve done your maths. In the previous activities, you priced a seafood salad entree
at $19.05 and a seafood terrine at $26.80.
If your customers are willing to pay this, fantastic!
But what if they aren’t?
What if your establishment has determined that entree prices must fall between $12.00
and $15.00 based on customer profiles and target market?
Uh oh! You’ve crunched all your numbers, but the dishes aren’t cost-effective!
Time to examine your options …
Click on the icon to find out what they are.
Dealing with dishes that are not cost-effective
1. Drop the dish from the menu. Replace it with a more cost-effective one.
2. Examine every detail of the recipe. Consider ways you could produce it more
cheaply (reducing portion size, cutting down on or replacing more expensive
ingredients).
In the seafood salad example, you could replace green king prawns with banana
prawns (a cheaper alternative) and/or replace fresh scallops and crab meat with
frozen.
3. If the dish has wide customer appeal and balances that section of the menu, keep it
in its original form, but sell it at a reduced profit margin. You might be able to offset
the loss by increasing prices on other more cost-effective dishes (soups and
vegetarian meals).
Click to the next screen to see this in action.
How can you keep the selling price within range?

Your organisation’s set food cost percentage is 25%, so the vegetarian risotto’s selling
price is $4.52. The terrine’s is $26.80. How can you make the two entree prices more
comparable? Mark the risotto up and the terrine down.
Change the vegetarian risotto’s food cost percentage to 9% and the terrine’s to 41% to
get a 25% average.
9% + 41% ÷ 2 = 25%
Click on the icon to find out how to calculate the new selling prices.
57 2016 Edition
The formula to calculate a new selling price.
100
Food cost x = selling price
standard food cost %
Vegetarian risotto $1.13 x 100 ÷ 9 = $12.55
Seafood terrine $6.70 x 100 ÷ 41 = $16.34
The terrine is still more expensive than the vegetarian risotto, but there’s not such a big
gap between the prices. The new selling prices also achieve management’s overall
average food cost percentage of 25%.
You can use this process to manipulate the figures on each menu item to achieve an
overall food cost of 25%.
Click on the filing cabinet to see how to achieve an overall food cost of 25%.
Notice that the adjusted selling price is a slight alteration of the raw selling price to round
off the figures into a menu-friendly format. It’s common for the prices to round up or down
to the nearest 25 cents ($0.00, $0.25, $0.50 or $0.75).
OCEAN VIEW BISTRO
MENU CALCULATION SHEET (25% Food cost required)

Dish name Section Portion Food Food Raw Adjusted
size cost/ cost selling selling
portion $ % price $ price $
Pumpkin soup Entremettier Entree 1.37 20 6.85 7.00
Vegetarian Entremettier Entree
1.13 9 12.55 12.75
risotto
Seafood terrine Garde Manger Entree 6.70 41 16.34 16.25
Thai salad Garde Manger Entree 4.24 30 14.13 14.25
Entree average food cost percentage: 25%
Snapper Poissonnier Main course 7.86 29 27.10 27.25
Scotch fillet Saucier Main course 5.93 24 24.71 25.75
Duck Saucier Main course 6.80 27 25.19 25.25
Main course average food cost percentage: 27%
Orange cake Pâtissier Dessert 1.58 17 9.29 9.50
Profiteroles Pâtissier Dessert 3.08 32 9.62 9.75
Brandy snap Pâtissier Dessert 2.11 22 9.59 9.50
Dessert average food cost percentage: 23%
Total average food cost percentage: 25%
2016 Edition 58
Do you have to cost menus by hand?

Most chefs do, but lucky for you, technology is on your side. Costing special menus and
meal plans has never been easier with the help of computers and software programs.
Click on the checkboxes to find out more.
 Many organisations use Excel spread sheets to update standard recipes and make
new calculations. Take a course in Excel.
 Attend in-house workshops or training sessions to hone your computer skills.
 Ask your supervisor for training if none is provided.
 Ask more experienced colleagues for tips on how to use technology to make your
costing of menus quicker and easier.
 Practise!

Calculating expenditure items, determining production costs, calculating portion
yields/costs from raw ingredients and assessing cost-effectiveness can be confusing. Your
organisation may have programs to help you. Which one does your organisation use?
Research these and make a comparison.
www.costguard.com Click on the ‘watch the video’ link on the home screen.
www.hospitalitygenie.com Click on the ‘videos’ link on the top banner bar.
What terminology do you use in menus and meal plans?

Creatively expressed menus and product descriptions help promote your food, but your
descriptions must use accurate, truthful terminology. Research shows that the right
descriptive language can increase sales by around 25%. It’s worth spending the time to
get it right! Use different descriptors in different orders with each dish to keep each menu
listing unique.
Click on the pictures to learn terminology used to promote sales.
Key ingredients
Describe the most important ingredients in the dish, particularly any regional specialties,
delicacies, or fresh seasonal foods.
Remember to also include the following.
• Sauces (jus, coulis, vinaigrette, hollandaise, pickle, demi-glace)

• Accompaniments (garden salad, lightly steamed vegetables, piped cream, golden
potato wedges, crusty bread roll)
• Garnishes (shaved parmesan, garlic croutons, cracked pepper, squeeze of lemon)
59 2016 Edition
Special qualities of ingredients

Be sure to mention any special qualities the ingredient has that makes it seem healthier or
more appealing: all natural, free range, organic, freshly squeezed, freshly baked, garden
fresh, corn-fed, grass-fed, biodynamic, heirloom, artisanal, vine-ripened.
Geographical descriptors
Locally grown, King Island brie, Gippsland cream, New Zealand mussels, Sydney rock
oysters, Tasmanian salmon.
Application of sauces and garnishes

Sprinkled with, dusted with, drizzled with, doused in, smothered in, glazed with, marinated
in, encrusted in, bathed in, drenched in, heaped with, topped with, tossed with.
Cuisine style
Cajun spices, Mediterranean vegetables, Asian style greens.
Cooking method
Seared, oven roasted, baked, stir-fried, lightly sautéed, braised, triple basted, chargrilled,
lightly steamed, caramelised, poached, smoked, fire roasted, flame broiled.
Portion or cut
Cutlet, medallion, leg, fillet, whole, slice, rosette, sliver.
Colour
Golden brown, green, rosé, pink, lemon, red.
Texture
Velvety, crispy, creamy, buttery, plump, tender, juicy, rich, thick, gooey, frothy, crunchy,
light, moist, syrupy, treacly, flaky, smooth, soft, crusty.
Flavour
Tangy, fiery, fruity, full-bodied, nutty, peppery, peppered, lightly salted, tart, zesty, sugary,
smoky, hot & spicy.
Service temperature
Ice-cold, piping hot, chilled, warm, frosty, iced, frozen, steaming.
Size
Bite-sized, chunky, hearty, lavish, jumbo.
How do you document your menu?

Chocolate mouse? Stir fried lice? Chicken and leak soup? Crap cakes? T-bone stake?
Little mistakes can make a big negative impression on your customers. They may think
you take as little care with cooking as you do with spelling!
2016 Edition 60
Click to find out how to avoid mistakes like these.
 Update your technology skills. Use your computer’s spellchecker to identify and
correct spelling and grammatical errors in your menu documents.
 Make sure the spellchecker is set to ‘English’ (Australian).
 Use food dictionaries to assist with words you’re not sure about.
 Remember, the spellchecker is a computer and isn’t always right! Hire a
professional to edit the document before it goes to print.
Note
In our digital age, food dictionaries aren’t always text-based. How many useful resources
can you find online?
End of section
61 2016 Edition
Section 4:
4 Monitor special menu
performance
• How to seek ongoing feedback from customers and others.

• How to analyse the success of special menus.
• How to adjust menus based on feedback and success.
How can you get ongoing feedback?

You’ve identified customer requirements as well as developed, costed and documented
special menus and meal plans. Now you can sit back and relax, right? Not so fast! You
can always improve your menu’s performance. But how do you know where to start?
Click on the checkboxes to learn how to get ongoing feedback.
 Talk with customers, allied health professionals, dieticians and medical specialists to
check that they’re satisfied.
 Conduct customer satisfaction surveys.
 Discuss customer satisfaction issues with employees during the course of each
business day.
 Listen to improvements suggested by customers, managers, peers, staff,
supervisors, suppliers.
 Hold regular staff meetings that involve menu discussions.
 Ask staff (cooks, kitchen hands, food service attendants) for menu item suggestions
and for their opinions on existing dishes.
How do you know which items on the menu are worth continuing and which should be
adjusted (or scrapped!)?
Click to the next screen to find out.
63 2016 Edition
Hot tip
Don’t be surprised if ideas that look good on paper don’t work well in practice. This is all
part of the development process. You may need to scrap the dish and find a replacement
or make adjustments.
• Substitute the cut or type of meat.
• Change the accompaniments.
• Reconsider the sauce.
Analyse menu success against customer satisfaction

Don’t rely on guesswork or the opinions of friends and family. While personal feedback is
important, you need to officially monitor special menu performance and analyse its
success against customer satisfaction using hard data.
That way, you can make any necessary adjustments based on facts, not opinions!
In Plan and cost basic menus, you learned to assess menu success using various
documents and calculations.
Click on the tabs to review.
Popularity index
Calculating a popularity index helps you work out which menu items are the most popular.
In a restaurant, it can help you determine which dishes on the menu you should keep and
which you should replace. In an institutional setting with a captive audience, it can help
you project the number of servings you should prepare of a certain menu item based on
its popularity (no matter what number of people you’re serving).
Customer surveys
There are many different ways to collect customer satisfaction data to determine how
happy customers are with your dishes. Most give customers a range of options and ask
how they feel about the meal, whether they’d recommend it to a friend and provide
opportunity to comment.
Sales data
Sales records are compiled via a link with electronic cash registers or through physical
counts at the end of each service period. Analysing sales data gives you valuable insight
into what’s selling and what’s not. Here’s how you can use them.
• Calculate the average number of customers you serve each day, week, month.
• Work out the best and worst selling dishes on the menu.
• Determine the percentage of customers that order each dish on the menu.
• Determine the percentage of customers that order entree, main course, desserts,
coffee.
• Determine the percentage of customers that order one, two or three courses.
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64
Click to the next screen to learn how to use sales data.
Note
For more specific details on calculations, please review Plan and cost basic menus.
Analyse menu success against profitability

Keep an eye on the profits! Pay attention to sales to ensure that the unprofitable dishes
aren’t the most popular ones on the menu. If they are, it’s time to make adjustments.
For example, if most customers order the seafood terrine from Section 2 (with a food cost
percentage of 41%) rather than the vegetarian risotto (with a food cost percentage of 9%),
you won’t achieve the overall food cost of 25%.
Click on the icon to find out how you can identify problems before it’s too late.
 Use sales analysis.

 Record your food-related purchases and sales for each week.
 Keep track of your overall food cost percentage on a weekly and monthly basis.
 Check your overall food cost percentage at the end of every week so you’re not hit
by any big surprises at the end of the month.
Here is the formula you need to do this.
Total food purchases ÷ total food income x 100 = food cost %
If the menu items are unprofitable, take corrective action and adjust the
menu.
Change prices or choose menu items that provide high yield and are more profitable to
replace the unprofitable dishes.
Click on the filing cabinet to see an example of a monthly calculation sheet.
Food cost calculation sheet October 20xx

Fruit & Total food
Dairy Meat Poultry Seafood Dry goods Alcohol Total food Food
Week vegetables purchases
$ $ $ $ $ $ income $ cost %
$ $
1 102.30 211.76 445.22 186.23 255.30 186.44 - 1,387.25 5,523.85 25.11
2 96.20 319.04 501.12 221.27 233.65 360.76 65.00 1,797.04 6,982.33 25.74
3 112.27 286.13 487.97 200.56 286.77 155.95 33.60 1,563.25 6,568.20 23.80
4 104.00 251.34 441.29 211.54 245.89 200.22 4.35 1,458.63 5,976.81 24.40
Total for the month 6,206.17 25,051.19 24.77
65 2016 Edition
Update the purchase unit price of each ingredient and re-calculate the costs of goods as
their prices go up. This ensures that you always have up-to-date information.
Analyse menu success against dietary goals

As you learned in Sections 1 and 2, different people have different special dietary needs.
The same is true for different establishments and different groups of people within an
establishment.
Click on the people to see examples from a hospital.
Nutritionally well patients are admitted for short stays for childbirth, minor illnesses or
elective surgery.
Nutritionally at-risk patients may have unexplained weight loss, poor appetite, inadequate
food intake or major illnesses which cause them to not be able to eat or drink.
Lactating mothers, malnourished patients or people recovering from surgeries, serious

burns, etc., have high nutritional needs to help their bodies recover or do what they need
to.
Hot tip
Remember to liaise with health professionals and others to establish your customers’
goals so you can analyse the success of your menu against them.
How do you adjust menus?

Once you’ve analysed your menu success, it’s time to make changes! Adjust your menus
based on their profitability, the feedback you’ve received and whether or not they meet
dietary goals.
Click on the icon to find out what this means for you.
 Remove menu items that are unpopular and replace them with more popular ones
trialled as specials.
 Improve menu items according to consistent customer feedback so you’re
continuously improving dishes.
 Replace unprofitable menu items with ones that provide higher yield and are more
profitable.
 Change prices of unprofitable menu items so that they’re more profitable.
 Clarify dietary goals, particularly if you work with a captive audience, so you can
make sure you meet the specific dietary requirements of different customers or
groups of customers within the establishment.
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66
End of section
Click to the next screen to read the unit summary.
Summary
Coffee provided just as she wanted, vegan meal prepared, Mr McGinnity can swallow his
food and all within the manager’s budgetary constraints.
You rose to the challenge and succeeded. Your knowledge is an asset to your
establishment and their customers.
Well done.
67 2016 Edition
GLOSSARY
Glossary
Word Meaning
Anaphylaxis Serious, rapid onset allergic reaction which can cause death by
affecting the respiratory (breathing) and cardiovascular (heart and blood
pressure) systems.
Cholesterol Cholesterol is mainly found in fats of animal origin. It is not found in
significant amounts in plant sources. It’s not an essential nutrient for
humans, as the body produces it as needed. The body excretes excess
cholesterol. However, if the excretion mechanism is faulty, cholesterol
blood levels rise, increasing the risk of heart and artery disease.
Coeliac condition The immune systems of people with coeliac condition recognise gluten
as a foreign substance within the intestine.
Composite A multi-component ingredient such as apple sauce, tomato sauce, curry
ingredient powder, soy sauce, etc., which contains other ingredients.
Dietary fibre Parts of plant food that we cannot fully digest (outer coating/covering of
grains, fruits, nuts, etc.). These absorb water and swell in the large
intestine forming softer stools which easily move through the digestive
tract dragging unwanted waste products with them. Dietary fibre isn’t
found in foods of animal origin.
Excessive alcohol More than three standard drinks per day for adult males and more than
consumption two standard drinks per day for females.
Gluten A mixture of complex protein found in wheat, barley, rye and, to a
smaller extent, oats.
Histamine A chemical released by cells in response to an injury or allergic
reaction. It causes the dilation of capillaries and contraction of smooth
muscles.
Hypertension Very high blood pressure.
Insulin Insulin causes cells to remove glucose (sugar) from the blood, convert
it, and store it as energy. Without insulin, sugar builds up in the blood,
damaging the vessels, kidneys, nerves and eyes as well as causing
gangrene, heart disease and stroke.
Malnutrition A shortage or over supply of nutrients which creates an imbalance in
the body, resulting in deteriorating health.
Nightshade Tomatoes, capsicum, potatoes, eggplant and other vegetables which
vegetables are high in alkaloids.
Osteoporosis A condition of low bone mass, which can lead to bone fragility and
increased risk of fractures, especially in older women.
Purchase unit It’s more economical to purchase food in bulk. The purchase unit is the
bulk amount which is divided up to make separate recipes. In this case,
the purchase unit is 1.5 kg of butter.
Purchase unit This is the price your organisation paid for the purchase unit. In this
cost/price case, 1.5 kg of butter costs $4.85. $4.85 is the purchase unit cost/price.
didasko.com 2016 Edition 69

GLOSSARY
Word Meaning
Recommended According to the NHMRC, RDIs are ‘the levels of intake of essential
Dietary Intake (RDI) nutrients considered, in the judgement of the NHMRC, on the basis of
available scientific knowledge, to be adequate to meet the known
nutritional needs of practically all healthy people. They incorporate
generous factors to accommodate variations in absorption and
metabolism. They therefore apply to group needs. RDIs exceed the
actual nutrient requirements of practically all healthy persons and are
not synonymous with requirements’.
Source:www.nhmrc.gov.au Accessed May 2014
Standard food cost A set percentage (usually between 21% and 35%) determined by
(SFC) percentage management.
Triglycerides The main constituent of vegetable oil and animal fats which makes up
90% of fats in our diet. Triglycerides vary depending on the type and
length of fatty acids attached to them and their saturation. A higher
degree of saturation poses a greater danger to health.
Undernutrition Not enough food to meet energy needs, resulting in severe weight loss
and failure to thrive.
Useable trim Any edible trimmings you can use for other dishes (mince, cubed beef
for stew, chicken for soup, etc.) Although you can use bones for stock,
they aren’t considered usable as such because they aren’t edible.
Waste trim Any inedible trim you dispose of such as guts, scales, seeds, shells,
bones.
Yield The amount of an ingredient left after you process or cook it.
Yield percentage The percentage of the purchased quantity that’s used in your recipe.
70 2016 Edition
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Develop menus for special

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Section 1: Identify menu requirements........................................................... 4

Section 4: Monitor special menu performance ............................................. 63

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© 2016 Didasko Digital. All Rights Reserved.

Are you stuck between a rock and a hard place?

You’re not alone.

Let’s look at what you will learn on completion of this unit.

Section 1: Identify menu requirements

Section 2: Develop menus and meal plans for special diets

Section 3: Cost and document special menus and meal plans

Section 4: Monitor special menu performance

About this unit

Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements

Plan and cost basic menus

You’ll find references to these units throughout this resource.

In this section you will learn the following.

• How to identify the menu requirements of different customer groups.

What influences food and beverage choices?

You have 30 seconds to list them.

Click start to begin.

List the different kinds of customers you might serve.

How did you go?

What are the different customer groups?

Click on the pictures to learn the different customer groups.

What are the dietary guidelines for Australians?

These are stated in the Dietary Guidelines for Australians 2013.

Guideline 1: Choose the right amount of nutritious foods and beverages.

Guideline 2: Eat from the five food groups every day.

Guideline 3: Limit unhealthy foods and drinks.

Guideline 4: Encourage, support and promote breastfeeding.

Guideline 5: Care for your food.

What’s the ‘right’ amount?

Click to the next screen to learn more.

What are their dietary requirements?

• First, introduce iron-fortified cereal mixed with breast milk or formula.

Children and adolescents

• Hospitalised patients and residents of aged care facilities

Extend your learning

What are their cultural menu requirements?

Click on the pictures to learn various cultural menu requirements.

What are their special dietary requirements?

People with diabetes

You can help by providing the following.

• Regular meals spread evenly throughout the day

People with coeliac condition

People with allergies

• Eggs (the egg itself or the sulphur in it)

People with fructose malabsorption or hereditary intolerance

Extend your learning

Do you remember the consequences?

Click start to begin.

Ignoring diabetic requirements Ignoring coeliac requirements

Ignoring drug-food interactions

Did you remember all the health consequences?

What happens if you ignore special dietary requirements?

Click on the pictures to learn more.

Consequences of ignoring diabetic requirements

• Rapid, weak pulse

Hyperglycaemia relates to having high blood sugar. Symptoms include

Consequences of ignoring coeliac requirements