IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

Menu Management, Recipe Documentation and Inventory Management

“MENU’ is a French word that means minute details as applied to a programme or of a meal.
Its objective is to present a list of dishes/courses of food, In 1541 DUKE HENRY OF BURNSWICK
edibles or potables. arranged one royal banquet party. At his
Definition of menu from catering point of view: side there was a parchment which he was
 Menu is a list in specific order of the dishes to be occasionally referring during having meal.
When duke was asked about he said it was
served at a given meal.
a programme or list of foods that to be
 For a commercial establishment it will also include served there. Duke was actually getting
the prices (either set for the individuals or for the help of that list to reserve his appetite for
whole meal) with taxes and other charges the dishes he liked.
applicable. From that incident the existence of menu
card was reported first.
Broadly menu can be classified into two segments:
 A la carte ( In the style of a card)
 Table d’hote (Table of the host)
A-la-carte
PLATE DU JOUR (PLATE/DISH OF THE DAY
 It is the selection from the menu card in which OR CHEF’S SPECIAL)
each item is priced separately. It is a type of a la carte menu.
 The guest can choose many or a few individual dishes Special food item or list of items that are
 They will be cooked separately as per the order or available on a specific day is mentioned to
special specification given by guest inform the guest. Presented by tent cards.
 The guest will be charged separately for each dish he Good way to market or promote a
has ordered. particular product.
 Waiting time for food is generally more,
 Mainly used in restaurants, café, bar, take away
Carte du jour/ card or menu of the counters.
day - It is a card comprising of food
Table d’hote /table of the host
items listed with composite pricing
 Set menu with a choice of each possible courses.
and planned for a day. Commonly  Price is set up for the entire meal
used for institutional, industrial, or  Normally cooked in advance
welfare catering .It is a variation of  Used by office canteens, buffet set ups etc.
table d’hote.

Table d’hote A la carte

Set by the host or by the Restaurant Guest selects his/her own menu from a
management as a composite buffet menu menu card.
Compositely price Each dish is priced separately
Limited choice Wide choice
Portion size smaller Bigger portions
Suitable for club, parties, hospitals, railway, Suitable for restaurant, coffee shop, bar,
office canteen tec. take away counters etc,

Page 1 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha

Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester
 IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

Functions of menu
1. Information: It should provide clear information to the guest about the food, basic
and very special ingredients, allergen information, dietary details, price etc.
2. Order/Sequence: Must be listed in a logical sequence of food courses, to make it
easy for guests to handle.
3. Brand/Image building: A well designed, decorated menu helps to create a good
impact on guests about the brands. It also helps to identify business philosophy and
product line.
4. Sales: Well curated menu, creates interest and promote sales. Catchy and apt
descriptions of food with photographs are really helpful sales promoting tool.
5. Control Tool: Menu also works as a control tool for F & B staffs, to follow the
standard of the organisation, sales analysis, service procedure, back house planning
like procurement of machine, equipments and raw materials.

Cyclic/Cyclical Menu
These are the menus which are complied to cover a given period of time; a month, three
months etc. They consist of a number of set menus for a particular establishment, mainly of
industrial or institutional canteens like, School, college, hostel, hospitals, army canteen etc
After finishing of a cycle the menu can be used again to avoid the need of compiling a long
menu again.
The length of the cycle is decided by the management.
This type of menu to be planned carefully keeping the demographic criteria of the clients,
availability of raw materials season wise, and infrastructure of the kitchen.

Structure and quality of a Menu

Length: Offer the guest a varied and interesting choice. It is better to offer fewer good
dishes than a long list of mediocre.
Design: Must compliment the décor, ambience and cuisine. Should be arranged in such a
way that, it is easy to modify or change partially or completely.
Language: Accuracy in dish description, with easy language is helpful to make the guest
relaxed, and encourages to order. Over elaboration and flowery words must be restricted.
Clean: The presentation of dirty spotted, worn out and old menu is the poorest way to start
a meal. Cleanliness is a must in hotel business. A soiled menu has a very poor merchandising
value; it may raise doubts regarding whether the food is being prepared hygienically.
Legible: This means that menus should be easy to read. The type selected should be
attractive and easy to decipher. It should be of good size so that most people, including
elderly or those with glasses, can read with ease.
Format: The format of the menu should suit the contents of the menu. As far as possible
different should be used for different meals. A separate wine list is more advisable.
Organisation: A menu should be well organised. Similar items should be placed grouped
together and attractive headings may be assigned to the groups.
Page 2 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha
Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester
 IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

Menu Planning
Main menu planning factors are

1. Demographic criteria like

a. Age
b. Profession
c. Religion
d. Nationality
e. Group size
f. Economic capacity of clientele
2. Colour –colour must not be repeated on a meal, colour combination of food is very
important to appetite the guest.
3. Ingredients – Ingredients also not to be repeated through a meal.
4. Time of the meal
5. Special occasion
6. Types of occasion
7. Number of courses
8. The menu must be feasible as per the skill of staffs and infrastructure of kitchen.
9. Local favorites to be listed in a popular menu.
10. During menu planning seasonal ingredients gives better results
11. Demographic character of clientele plays very important of select a menu. Like the
menu which is preferred by a group of retired people will not be liked by a teen
group
12. A well balance menu must be a mix of expensive and less costly ingredients.
13. A menu must follow a sequence of LIGHT-HEAVY-LIGHT. Sensible nutritional balance

Pricing of menu
Steps for Pricing:

1. Develop Market
2. Make Marketing Mix Decisions-Define the product, distribution and promotional
tactics
3. Estimate The Demand Curve- Understand how quantity demands vary with price
4. Calculate cost- Include fixed and variable cost associated with the product
5. Understand Environmental Factors- Evaluate likely competitor actions, understand
legal constraints
6. Set Pricing Objectives- For example profit maximization, revenue maximization or
price stabilization
7. Determine Pricing- Using Information collected in the above steps, select a pricing
method, develop the pricing structure and define discounts

Pricing a menu is a very complicated and difficult task.

Page 3 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha
Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester
 IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

Methods of pricing are the means by which prices are calculated. Methods can be cost-
orientated, demand orientated, or competition-orientated.
There are different methods to do that
1. Cost plus method
2. Return on investment method
3. Going rate method
4. Market based pricing

Cost plus Method:

This method takes into consideration all costs and agreed upon % mark up.
 It is calculated as (average variable cost + % fixed costs)*(1+ markup %). For
example, if a business sells a dish that has a variable cost of Rs150.00, a fixed cost
allocation of Rs50, and a desired markup of 30%, the price of the microwave using
this method would be (Rs150 + Rs50)*(1+0.30)= Rs 260

Return on investment method

 A method of pricing that estimates the desired return on investment to be achieved
from the fixed and working capital investment and includes that return in the price
of a product/service.
 In other words setting the price so as to obtain a pre-specified return on the capital
employed.

Going rate method/Competitor’s pricing

A method of pricing in which a manufacturer's price is determined more by the price
of a similar product sold by a powerful competitor than by considerations of
consumer demand and cost of production.

Market based pricing

 Pricing a menu item should be done after taking the target market into
consideration.
 It includes all required demographic criteria of target clientele.
 It is a very useful method to modify the business.

MENU ENGINEERING

Method of menu analysis & food pricing is called menu engineering. This sophisticated and
fairly complex approach considers both the profitability and popularity of competing menu
items. The emphasis is on gross margin rather than food cost percentage.

Page 4 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha

Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester
 IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

Menu engineering requires the manager to know each menu item's food cost, selling price,
and quantity sold over a specific period of time. The menu item's gross margin (selling price
minus food cost) is characterized as either high or low in relation to the average gross
margin for all competing menu items sold.

HIGH PLOW STARS

PERCENTAGE TO TOTAL SALE/
HORSE
PUPULARITY

LOW DOGS PUZZLES

LOW HIGH

GROSS PROFIT
CONTRIBUTION/PROFITABILITY

Stars: Menu items high in both popularity and contribution margin. Stars are the most
popular items on your menu. They may be your signature items.
Plow Horses: Menu items high in popularity but low in contribution margin. Plow horses are
but low in contribution margin. Plow horses are demand generators. They may be the lead
items on your menu or your signature items. They are often significant to the restaurant's
popularity with price conscious buyers.
Puzzles: Menu items low in popularity but high in contribution margin. In other words,
Puzzles yield a high profit per item sold. But they are hard to sell.
Dogs: Menu items low in popularity and low in contribution margin. These are your losers.
They are unpopular, and they generate little profit.

Steps to be taken
Stars 1. Do nothing
2. Modify price slightly – up or down
3. Promote through personal selling or menu positioning
Plowhorses 1. Increase price
2. Reduce dish cost, by using cheaper ingredients or reducing portion
Puzzles 1. Reduce price
2. Rename dish
3. Reposition in menu
4. Promote through personal selling
5. Remove from menu
Dogs 1. Do nothing
2. Replace dish
3. Redesign dish
4. Remove from menu

Page 5 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha

Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester
 IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

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STANDARD RECIPES

A standard recipe is a formula for producing a food or beverage item of a specific quality
and quantity for use in a particular organisation.

It provides a summary of the ingredients, the required quantity of each, specific

preparations, procedures, portion sizes (and portioning equipment – like
teaspoon/ladle/scoop) and any other information required to prepare the item. The
advantage of standard recipes is that regardless of who prepares the item, or when it is
prepared, the product will always look, cost and taste the same. The consistency in
operations provided by the standard recipe is at the heart of all control systems.

There are several other reasons to use standard recipes in addition to the advantages of
consistency in appearance, cost and taste.

1. When you know that the standard recipe will yield and certain number of portions, it
is less likely that too few or too many portions will be produced. You can estimate
the number of portions required and adjust the standard recipe to yield the number
of portions required.
2. Since standard recipes indicate needed equipment and required production times,
managers/chefs can more effectively schedule food production employees and
necessary equipment.
3. Less supervision is required since the standard recipe will tell the employee the
quantity and procedure for each item. Guess work is eliminated. Of course, the
chef /manager should routinely and randomly evaluate the quality of the item
produced and take corrective action if necessary.
4. If a particular chef/cook is ill or has not reported to work for whatever reason, a
product of appropriate quality can be produced if a standard recipe is available.
Granted, inexperienced employees will be slow and may commit mistakes, but if the
recipe resides only in the head of the absent employee, instead of on a standard
recipe chart, the chef will be in an even more awkward position.

A standard recipe must include following qualities:

1. Exact amount of ingredients

2. Number of portions
3. Easy to convert
4. Cooking method
5. Cooking time and temperature
6. Dish specifications
7. Picture of ideal presentation
8. Nutritional information

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Page 6 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha
Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester
 IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

STANDARD YIELDS

The term yield means the net weight or volume of a food item after it has been processed
and made ready for sale to the guest.

The difference between the raw or As purchased (AP) weight and the prepared or edible
portion (EP) weight is termed a production loss. For example, if a 2.5kg fillet of beef is
purchased and, after trimming and braising, 2 kg remain, there is a production loss of 500
gm.

In general, there are three steps in the production process.

 The first is pre preparation, which includes processes like trimming of meat,
filleting of fish, peeling of vegetables.
 The second step is preparation (or cooking).
 The third step is holding and could include portioning (including carving a large
joint of meat). A loss can occur in any one of these steps.

Determining Standard Yield

Standard yields are determined by conducting a yield test. Ideally, everything that does not
have a 100% yield should be tested. Yield testing could also be carried out to find out
trimming losses especially for vegetables. Normally, yield tests are carried out on high cost
products and low cost products that are used in large volumes (potatoes)

The yield from a product depends on several factors, including the grade, original weight
and pre preparation and cooking methods. Therefore it is advisable to compare products
and yields from different suppliers. The yield test is often referred to a Butchers Test as this
was originally applied to meat produce.

Types of yields

1. Trim test yield

2. Boning yield
3. Yield by carcass weight
4. Actual cost yield
5. Cooking yield
6. Serving yield

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STANDARD PURCHASE SPECIFICATIONS

Page 7 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha
Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester
 IHM, TARATALA, KOLKATA

A purchase specification is a concise description of the quality, size, weight, count and other
factors needed to describe a desired item. The specified factors should be described in
sufficient detail to properly guide the company’s supplier and receiving personnel in the
delivery and receipt of the products. Management should establish standard purchase
specification based on menu requirements and operations merchandising and pricing
policies. Once developed, standard specifications should be given to those responsible for
purchasing, as well as to the suppliers and this way all those involved in the purchase cycle
are made aware of the required standard of quality desired. Besides making clear what is
required to all concerned, SPS also has other advantages.

1. Fewer products may be required. Two different sizes of shrimp could eliminated and
one standard size used for a shrimp salad and a shrimp curry.
2. Reduced purchase costs may be possible. Purchase specification based on the needs
of the menu will keep the company from purchasing higher quality products than it
needs for its purposes. Firm, Red, Ripe tomatoes are good for a salad but a cheaper
variety of probably slightly texture would be good enough for a soup or a tomato
based Indian gravy.
3. If purchase specifications are clearly mentioned, more than one supplier will quote
for the order making the business more competitive.
4. The development and use of standard purchase specifications involves time and
effort. However, considering the many advantages that purchase specifications offer
relative to the few disadvantages, they are clearly a critical standard cost control
tool. Carefully developed and rigidly enforced specifications help the operation
ensure that the right quality product is consistently available for production and
service. Remember, however, that standard purchase specifications call for effective
receiving and control procedures to be effective.

Economic ordering quantity

The quantity, which is most economical to order & to stock considering all factors bearing
on the situation
EOQ = Square root of {(2A x Cp) / Sc}
[A = Annual Usage, Cp= Cost of Purchase, Sc=Storage Cost per unit]

Information courtesy:

1. Theory of Cookery – Krishna Arora (ISBN 9788184095036)

2. Food Production Operations – P. S. Bali (ISBN019945051X)
3. The Theory of Catering – Foskett, Ceserani and Kinton (ISBN 0340871776)

Last Updated: 11/02/2024

Page 8 of 8 COMPILED BY: Subhadip Saha

Study material/Food Production/2nd Semester