• A menu is a list of food and

beverage items served in a food

and beverage operation.
• It can be printed on paper,
written on a chalk board,
displayed on a sign behind the
register, etc.
• The menu is the basic game plan
for the restaurant and a tool
used to meet the needs and
wants of a customer.
• The menu expresses the concept and theme
through the choice of foods on the menu, the
prices, and the design of the menu itself.
• The menu serves as a type of contract
between the foodservice establishment and
the customer.
• Consumer groups, governmental regulatory
bodies, and even industry self-regulatory
bodies ensure that what is seen on the menu
is what the customers get on their plates.
 Types of Menus
• A fixed menu offers the same foods every day.
Once it is developed it hardly ever changes.
These are typically found in fast food
restaurants, ethnic restaurants, and
steakhouses.
 Types of Menus
• A cycle menu changes foods
daily for a set period of time
and at the end of that time the
menu repeats itself every
week, 2 weeks, or month.
Some are written on a seasonal
basis to take advantage of
fresh foods. They provide
variety for people who eat in
the same place everyday such
as schools, hospitals, and other
institutions.
 Types of Menus
• A market menu changes with the availability
of food products. It takes advantage of foods
that are in season, inexpensive, and easy to
get. These menus challenge the chef’s
creativity to use fresh and seasonal products.
As soon as a product is no longer available it is
removed from the menu. These menus often
change each day.
 Types of Menus
• A hybrid menu is a combination of two types
of menus. A popular combination is the fixed
menu and the cycle or market menu. Part of
the menu changes and part remains the same.
For example a restaurant may serve a
different type of soup every day of the week
or have a special every night that features the
fresh foods of the season.
 Parts of the Menu
• Appetizers
– Small portion of food served before the meal to stimulate
the appetite
– Also called hors d’ oeuvres
• Soups
• Salads
• Entrees
– Main Course of a meal
• Side Dishes
– A portion of food that goes with the entree
• Desserts
• Beverages
 Pricing
• There are three methods of pricing:
– A la carte – Every food and beverage item is ordered
and sold separately
• Common in cafeterias, delicatessens, and many fine dining
restaurants.
– Table d’hote – A complete meal is offered at a set
price, also called fixed price
• Common in buffets and very fine dining restaurants
– Combination – Some food items are priced and
ordered separately and other food items are grouped
together and priced as a group
• Common in full service restaurants
• Appetizers, beverages, and desserts are often sold
separately and entrees are priced with side dishes and or
salads
 Menu Planning
• The following factors must be considered
when planning a menu:
– Taste
– Variety
– Appearance
– Nutrition
– Production
– Price
 Menu Planning - Taste
• Taste is a major reason customers
go to restaurants.
• Different individuals and cultures
have different taste preferences.
• Foods should be selected that taste
good together.
• It is also important to offer
different textures in dishes such as
crispy fried chicken, cream style
tomato soup, and firm broccoli.
 Menu Planning - Variety
• Restaurants need to provide enough variety to
meet their target market plus a few other
people
• Some restaurants excel at offering a large
variety of foods (TGI Fridays) and others
specialize in a type of food (Red Lobster).
However Red Lobster has some chicken and
steak choices.
 Menu Planning - Appearance
• When you are planning a
menu you have to think about
how the foods will look
together on a plate or on a
plate next to each other.
• One color meals look
unappetizing. (Macaroni and
Cheese, Corn, and Applesauce)
• Using different shapes of food
in a meal will also make the
plate more interesting to the
eye.
 Menu Planning - Nutrition
• People eat to satisfy hunger because their body needs
nutrients.
• Nutrients are chemical substances in food that help
maintain and supply energy for the body.
• Because people have so many choices in places to eat
restaurants are mainly concerned with taste and
appearance. However, due to a recent trend in
healthy eating, many restaurants are now offering low
calorie and low carb options.
• Institutional foodservices are much more concerned
with nutrition because these people have no other
choices of places to eat and must get all their needed
nutrients from that foodservice. (hospitals, nursing
homes, prisons, etc.)
Menu Planning – Production Methods
• The kitchen staff must trained to prepare the
food and have the equipment needed to prepare
and cook the food on the menu.
• Some restaurants require deep fryers, large
mixers, walk in refrigerators, etc.
• Time must also be a factor in production.
Complicated recipes that take a long time to
prepare shouldn’t be served in a quick service
restaurant.
• Also a variety of preparation methods should be
used. Restaurants should offer fried foods,
sauteed foods, raw foods, and steamed foods.
 Menu Planning – Price
• Menu items should vary in price so guests have a
choice in less expensive, moderate, and
expensive items.
• Setting menu prices is an important part of any
foodservice business. The price charged must
take into account the ingredients used, labor
involved in preparing and serving the food, rent,
utilities, and hidden costs such as condiments.
• The price must also include a reasonable amount
for profit and must be in a range that is expected
by customers.
 Food Presentation
• This is the art of making
food look attractive and
appetizing.
• Many of the design
concepts in food
presentation are from the
study of graphic art.
• Food arranged on the plate
should have
– Balance
– Proportion
– Contrast
 Plating

• Is the actual placing of food

on the plate.
• It must be done artistically
and handled properly.
• Plate rims must be clean
and neat, many restaurants
have employees that
perform quality control on
each plate served.
 Portion Control
• Making sure each portion of food is the
correct size.
• Each customer should be served the same
amount of food.
• Portion Control helps control food service
costs.
• They do not always follow the USDA portion
sizes.