PLANNING AND DESIGNING

MENUS AND BANQUET

PACKAGES
CHAPTER 4
 Every operator must see to it that Restaurant
and Banquet Menus and packages are designed
to suit the target market and that the costs and
prices are able to maintain the prescribed food
cost budget.
The process of Menu Planning

 Analysis of the Market

 Designing Menus and Banquet Packages
 Preparing and Testing Recipes
 Adjusting/Finalizing Recipes & Menus
 Calculating Recipe Cost and Prices
 Testing Acceptability/Salability of Menus/Recipes
 Menu Engineering and menu Adjustment
Analysis of the Market

 Marketsegmentation, identifying target

market, their needs and budget, survey of
competition
Designing Menus and Banquet Packages

 Based on the results of the market analysis

Preparing and Testing Recipes

 Testing for Quality and Yield

Adjusting/Finalizing Recipes & Menus

 Based on the results of recipe tests

Calculating Recipe Cost and Prices

 Based on prescribed food cost budget

Testing Acceptability/Salability of Menus/Recipes

 Conducting menu analysis

Menu Engineering and Menu Adjustment

 Based on the results of menu analysis

Market Analysis

 Tobe able to come out with a menu that is most

acceptable to customers, it is advisable to first analyze
the needs and demands of the target market.
MENU PLANNING and PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT

When planning a menu, study and consider the following:

1. Target market
2. Capacity of the kitchen
3. Location
4. Availability of Raw Materials
1. Target Market

 Menu analysis starts with a careful analysis of the target

market- their ages, nationality, eating habits, religion,
preferences, income, budget for meals, and nutritional
requirements.
 Expect better patronage when the menu is affordable and
suited to the customers’ taste.
2. Capacity Kitchen

 Selectdishes that can be prepared within the limited

capacity of the kitchen, considering the space, the
available cooking equipment and the culinary
competence of the chef.
3. Location

 The location usually suggests the type of people

expected to patronize a food outlet.
 Ifstudents and employees are the target customers, it
will be wise to bring in affordable short orders.
4. Availability of Raw Materials

 Dishes that require ingredients that are in season, locally

available and easy to procure are certainly a better choice than
those which require importation and are more expensive.
 Regional specialties produced out of locally available products
make a very sound and profitable menu.
Components of a Menu:

A. Appetizers
B. Soup
C. Salads
D. Main entrees
E. Dessert
F. Wines and Beverages
Appetizers

 Hot or cold hors d’oeuvres like canapés, vegetable relishes

 Some of the popular hors d’oeuvres are:
• Shrimp cocktail
• Calamares
• Mango prawns delight
• Smoked salmon
• Vol au vent “Mozart” (puff pastry shell filled with fine chicken, ham
and green peas, topped with parmesan cheese)
Soup

 Maybe thick, like cream soup, purees, or

veloute or thin, like bouillon, broths and
consommé.
Salads

 Maybe served before, with or between the

main course (as side salad). If there is neither
appetizer nor soup, salad can be served as
appetizer for a starter.
 Simple salads contain only greens or other
vegetables while combined salads are more
elaborate and usually contain meats, shellfish
and fruits and so on.
Main entrees

 Main course, they can be classified according to their main

component, separating sea foods from pasta items, pork, beef
dishes and vegetables.
 Many restaurants gain their popularity by featuring special
items which are advertised as “specialty of the house”.
 Example:
Mc Donalds known as a burger house.
Dessert

 Provides the finishing touch to the meal. It includes items like

frozen desserts (such as ice cream, mousse, sherbets and
sundaes), fresh fruit, pies, cakes, pastries, puffs, puddings.
Wines and Beverages

 Have wines that will best complement the main

dishes. Introduce drink varieties, special concoctions
of the bartender, drink of the month, and varieties of
coffee.
TYPES OF MENU

1. Fixed Menu
2. Daily Menus
3. Cycle menus
Fixed Menu

 One that is fixed for a certain period, maybe six

months to one year but non-moving items can be
changed to give way to more salable items.
 This type of menu is advisable only when the target
market consists of transients who come and go like
tourists, shoppers, travelers and sales agent.
Daily Menus

 Offer items that are changed daily.

 This type of menu is varied and not monotonous, it is certainly
time consuming not only in terms of menu writing but also in
the preparation and costing of recipes.
 It also requires a lot of money for printing the menu.
 Some small eateries that use daily menus use the menu board
to write menu for the day and do away with the expensive
menu booklet.
Cycle Menus

 A cycle consists of a carefully prepared set of menus which is

rotate according to a prescribed pattern.
 The menu cycle may be for duration of one week or one to two
months.
 Cycle menus can be used even if the menu is printed or dated
daily.
MENU FORMAT

 The printed menu is itself an advertising device so it must look

presentable, well organized and convincing.
 Food items must be classified and arranged in proper sequence
(1. appetizers 2. soup 3. salad 4. main course 5. dessert)
 The printed menu must contain information on the dishes
available, their selling price, portion size, accompaniments (if
any) and a brief description of how they are prepared.
 Some restaurants present dishes in the menu with pictures.
 Small restaurants usually present their menu with a simple list
of dishes and their corresponding prices.
 It is a common practice of some establishments to arrange
dishes according to price, starting with the least expensive item
to the most expensive one.
 Choose an attractive printed menu that is simple, easy to read,
and colored.
Sample Restaurant Menu
Sample Banquet Menu
Recipe Standardization and Costing

 The recipe indicates the ingredients needed for a dish, the

portion required, unit cost per unit and the total cost of all
ingredients.
 The Standardized Recipe is an important tool for maintaining
a high quality food and for controlling the food cost.
AMES

 AUTOMATED MENU ENGINEERING SYSTEM

 Is programmed to facilitate adjustments in recipe cost and
selling price when there is an increase in the cost of
merchandise, reduction or increase in the serving size as well
as the portion or volume of raw materials used.
 Also provides automatic adjustments in the portion or quantity
of raw materials needed once the user posts the adjusted yield
or allocations.
Tools and Aids in Recipe Costing

1. Price/Inventory List- list of raw food items and their corresponding

acquisition cost, specification, count or measure.
2. Conversion Table- list of equivalent measurements that are available in the
nearest bookstore and even found in some cookbooks.
3. Kitchen Tests
a. Raw Food Tests- these are tests to determine the count, weight or yield per unit
of perishable items.
b. Canned/Bottled Tests- are used to check the yield and actual count of the
varieties of canned/bottled food items.
c. Butcher’s Tests- these are cutting tests of meat, fish and poultry.