Menu Planning

Menu Basics
 Menus should be:
• Clear
• Accurate
• Easy to Read
• Descriptive
 Menus are important because they help sell your food
and meet customer’s expectations.
 Menus can be created by a variety of people…from chefs,
dieticians, foodservice directors, to owners/operators of
chain restaurants…to name a few!
Menu Planning Principles
 Variety
 Balance
 Truthfulness
 Nutrition
 Flexibility
Variety

 Customers expect to see a variety of dishes on

a menu.
 Visual appeal: Use a variety of colors, shapes,
sizes, temperatures, flavors, textures, number
of items and plating arrangements.
 Garnish: add color, design to a plate.
Balance

 A menu should use foods from each food

group, incorporate visual appeal & flavor
interest.
 Plating: is the arrangement of food and
garnishes on a plate (you want to keep
balanced!)
 Balance takes into account…
• Serving sizes
• Proportion
• Number of foods on the plate (odd # is more appealing)
Truthfulness:
 FDA guidelines require that certain menu
statements are true.
 Truth-In-Menu Guidelines
• Statements need to be true about…
• Nutrition
• Quantity
• Quality
• Grade
• Freshness
Truth-In-Menu Guidelines
Brand Names Must
Be Represented Accurately
Dietary/Nutritional Claims Must
Be Accurate
Food Preservation
Must Be Accurate
Examples might include Heinz
Ketchup, Butterball Turkey and
Best Foods Mayonnaise
Low-sodium or fat-free foods must
be prepared to keep these
characteristics; nutritional claims
must be supported with statistical
data
Terms such as fresh, frozen,
chilled, dehydrated, dried, bottled,
and canned must be used correctly
to describe menu items
 Truth-In-Menu Guidelines (cont.)
Quantity Must If a sirloin is 16 ounces, for example,
Be Accurate the menu must state that this is the
weight prior to cooking

Ingredient Locations Must Be Accurate If Dover Sole is on a menu, for

example, then the sole must actually
be from Dover, England

Quality or Grade When listing a quality or grade for

Must Be Accurate meats, dairy products, poultry, and
vegetables or fruits, they cannot be
substituted for a different quality when
preparing the dish
 Truth-In-Menu Guidelines (cont.)
Cooking Techniques Must Be If broiled swordfish is on your menu,
Accurate for example, you cannot serve the
swordfish baked

Pictures Must For example, apple pie à la mode

Be Accurate must be apple pie served with ice
cream

Food Product Descriptions Must If shrimp cocktail is described as “four

Be Accurate jumbo shrimp on a bed of crushed ice
with a zesty cocktail sauce and lemon
wedge,” it must appear and be
presented exactly this way
Nutrition

 Menus should offer healthful food choices.

 Low Fat Diets: People following these diets need foods
high in fiber and low in fat and cholesterol.
 Diabetics: These people need a diet that balances food
& portion size…Fruits, Vegetables, lean meats, poultry
and fish, low fat and sugar-free products and whole
grains
 Food Allergies: Must provide detailed information for
customers about common foods and ingredients that
may cause allergic reactions so people can stay away
from eating certain items.
Flexibility
 Menus need to
change from time to
time because the
costs of ingredients
may change or your
target market may
change.
Your task… Today you will be
creating a menu based on the truth-
in-menu guidelines.
 Break up into groups of 3 or 4.
 Create three courses you will have on your menu.
 Create four to six dishes for each course.
 Once the courses and dishes are determined, create
descriptions that meet the truth-in-menu guidelines.
 Once each group is done, you will join up with another
group in class and share out the menu you created.
 Make sure you explain the courses, dishes and truth-in-
menu guidelines that you followed while creating the
descriptions.