Menu Merchandising

Effective menu and beverage merchandising requires product knowledge, good customer
relations and effective sales presentation. One cannot make appropriate suggestions unless he is familiar
with the menu. After the chef has prepared the menu, all the dining staff must be oriented on the house
specialties and all other items, particular on the following:
1. Manner pf Preparation and Basic Ingredients
Food maybe prepared in various methods- grilled, simmered, roasted, sautéed and pan
fried. The basic preparation and the basic ingredients used are usually mentioned when
describing a dish like a chicken and pork adobo is described as:
“A flavorful combination of chicken and pork, simmered in vinegar and
spices, served with rice and papaya pickles”
2. Preparation Time
For items requiring longer preparation time, inform the guest beforehand. One can say:
“Your order will take a little longer to prepare sir, do you mind waiting?”

A guest maybe in a hurry or must be very hungry that he wants his order to be served
immediately. But he may unknowingly order a dish that takes time to prepare. This will
irritate him if he is made to wait without being informed how long the waiting time is. By
mentioning the preparation time, he can change his order to a short order.

If the dish is not yet ready, the waiter may offer some drink. “Your crispy pata will be
ready in 15 minutes, shall I get you a bottle of cold beer while you wait?”
3. Standard Portioning
The size of serving is usually measured in terms of weight, quantity, etc. For example, a
standard ala carte serving of steak may be 250 grams.
4. Standard Accompaniments
This refer to the sidings that accompany the dish. The waiter must know what goes with a
set meal so that he can inform the guest right away. Some orders also go with standard
accompaniments like a regular burger maybe served with coleslaw and French fries. It
often helps to mention the accompaniments for a more persuasive sales presentation.

“May I suggest a sizable serving of our chefs special, a tender and juicy sirloin served
with onion soup and side salad”
5. Complementary Items
One way of increasing sales is to push for items that best complement a food ordered.
Wines for instance are designed to complement a dish. White wines goes well with white
meat and red wines with red meat

Certain items make a perfect match for some dishes, for example, a consommé and
Caesars salad are often a perfect match to steak.
A waiter can make his presentation more appealing by mentioning items.

“Our consommé goes perfectly well with your steak. Shall I get you a portion sir?”
6. Special qualities of the Dish
Effective sales presentation usually requires an attempt to highlight the special qualities
of the dish. What is it in the dish that makes it better choice- its uniqueness, lower fat
 calorie content, tenderness, juiciness, freshness, portion size and others. These must be
mentioned by the waiter

“May I suggest a light sumptuous meal for you, sir? A sizzling bean curd with
vegetables- very rich in nutrients but low in fats and cholesterol”

“How about trying our special kilawin tanguigue for a starter? It is marinated fresh
meat of tanguigue, prepared Ilocano style, little spicy but truly appetizing”. It goes very
well with your beer.”

“May I serve you a tender and juicy pepper steak, served with a side salad”.

7. Right pronunciation
Menu items should be pronounced properly lest you sound ridiculous to the customer.
You should likewise be ready to answer queries pertinent to the meaning or translation of
some foreign terms used.
8. Out of stock items and their proper substitutes
Sometimes offered in the menu may not be available on certain occasions. If such items
are ordered and the guest is made to wait for several minutes only to be told later that it is
out of stock, he will surely get mad. It is therefore advisable for you to inform the guest
outright if his order is out of stock. But don’t simply say “it’s out of stock”. This will
likely close the door to merchandising. Offer appropriate substitutes. The right approach
may be “I am sorry, sir, but we’ve just run out of mangoes at the moment, but we have
sweet pineapple and ripe papaya for you to choose from”. Before the start of the
operation, get to know the out of stock items and their proper substitutes.

Other than the out of stock items, it is also important for you to inform the guest the
standard preparation cannot be served because one item is not available. You can
probably say: “We’ll be glad to serve you kare-kare, sir but I’m afraid that we cannot
serve it with banana heart since we run short of this item. But I can assure you it will
taste as good without it”. Your customer will appreciate the honesty and it becomes
easier to establish his trust and confidence in the service.
Below are some of the descriptive words that can be used for a more convincing sales presentation:
Beverages

 Refreshing drinks
 Light and refreshing cocktail
 Ice cold or chilled beer
 Nutritious and refreshing fruit juice
 Fascinating drink of the month
Appetizers

 Fresh and appetizing kilawin tanguigue

 Tender beef tapa
 Spicy gambas or shrimp cocktail
 Crispy fried spinach
  Light serving of our famous mango prawns delight
Soup

 Hot steaming soup of the day

 Hot creamy mushroom soup
 Special consommé soup
Salad

 Tossed, green salad or crispy salad

 Fresh and nutritious coleslaw
 Light serving chef salad
Main Course

 Fresh seafood
 Hot and spicy kaldereta
 Most salable dish
 House specialty
 Special, local delicacy- pork adobo
 Tender pork loin
 Sizable serving of our crispy pata
 Tender and juicy sirloin, grilled to your liking
 Perfectly grilled, fresh pampano
Dessert

 Fresh papaya or fresh fruits

 Creamy fruit salad
 Delicious ice cream or halo-halo
 Native delicacy
Use descriptive words that will describe the:
Taste: delicious, tasty, savory, appetizing, sweet, sour
Color: tossed green, pearly white onions, rich-red tomatoes
Size: sizeable serving of prime rib, substantial
Texture: juicy, tender, crispy, spicy, creamy, soft, fresh
Smell: fragrant, bouquet, sweet

Tips to Effective Sales Presentation

1. Be familiar with the menu- basic ingredients, preparation time. Etc.
2. To command attention, approach the guest with poise, eye contact and smile. Look personable, no
unpleasant body language and mannerisms.
3. Have enough guts and determination to sell. Do not be discouraged if what is offered is turned
down. Offer other options.
4. In making suggestions, try to find out guests’ preference then mention what is available among
his preference.
 “Would you go for steaks, chicken, seafood or pasta?
For steaks, you have a choice of fillet mignon, porter house and pepper steak”
5. Try to upsell. There are items that are more expensive and more profitable to sell. Mention them
when appropriate
“Since you are celebrating a special occasion tonight, I’d like to offer our chefs special for the
day, a tender and juicy roast prime rib, served with side salad.
6. Create desire and interest on the product
6.1 Mention house specialties and elaborate why they are special
6.2 Offer best sellers
May I suggest one of our best sellers- a truly tender and juicy 10-hour roast beef, served
with a side salad. It’s a special meal for a special occasion like your wedding anniversary.”
6.3 Highlight special features of the items and the benefits one can derive from it.
Our restaurant is now offering a healthy option, low in calorie and without cholesterol.
One of them is our steamed tilapia, topped with garlic and olive oil. We also have grilled
pampano, served with our native salad that combines tomatoes, eggplant and seaweeds. A meal
of this kind will surely be a good for the heart.
6.4 Suggest items that will suit the needs, taste and preferences of the customer. Offer his
favorite dish or drink if known.
I believe you are calorie conscious. Our restaurant is now offering healthy foods for health
conscious diners like you. We have sugar less dessert like chiffon cake. You can also try
our green tea, a very refreshing and known to be a very powerful antioxidant
6.5 Use convincing words or adjectives that will stimulate interest on the dish you wish to
suggest.
May I suggest one our house specialties like…….

You might want to try our most salable items like…..

7. Mention complementary items
“May I bring you a glass of Chablis to complement your steak tanguigue.”
8. Offer variety of items-meat, fish, seafood, vegetables
9. Attempt to sell a complete meal consisting of appetizer, soup, salad, main course and desset.
Suggest appropriate table wines. Also offer coffee or tea, aperitif or cordials
10. To close the meal, offer dessert, coffee or tea or some liqueurs.
“Our restaurant is known for its native delicacies. How about trying some of them like
homemade halo-halo, leche flan or sapin sapin.”