Industry Content

Question 1

How do menu designs differ across segments and the underlying reasons?

Answer 1

Prefix versus a La carte menu (fixed menu versus normal restaurant menu). Fixed menu for mass production, less work and more efficient. (used for hospitals, universities). A La Carte offeres more variety & customer satisfaction in restaurants and some hospital/mass produced situations.

Question 2

Sustainability considerations?

Answer 2

Where are you getting your produce, who are your suppliers, have third party investigation of supply chain, transparency.

Question 3

The Menu planning process?

Answer 3

planning, development, design, margin analysis, menu engineering

Question 4

Why more choice isn’t always better?

Answer 4

We love control but choice can become a negative thing, too much choice can be too much effort

Question 5

On site food service considerations, how do hospitals design menus? And high school and college campuses

Answer 5

Hospitals have both Restaurant style and selective cycle (monthly menu certain food every day)

Question 6

Choose products based on properties such as…

Answer 6

variety, prep methods, price points

Question 7

CREATE VARIETY. Why?

Answer 7

From operational standpoint we don’t want every dish to go to same station back of house. Customers also like variety.

Question 8

Price placement

Answer 8

Obscuring prices had no significant effect on check average.

Question 9

Increasing reach :

Answer 9

new customers

Question 10

Increasing Frequency :

Answer 10

increasing loyalty

Question 11

Why is marketing for Restaurants unique?

Answer 11

• Targeting area around restaurant (geospatial nature)
• Franchising funds (owners have to pay into marketing fund of organization, so there are huge pots of marketing funds for restaurants to use)
• High frequency (opportunity to market to customer multiple times per day)
• Predictable purchase cycle (you can predict when people want to eat)

Question 12

Geospatial

Answer 12

look for demand generators and restaurants nearby to plan marketing processes

Question 13

Highlighting items – Menu item wording / descriptions

Answer 13

More descriptions had a positive effect

Question 14

Price placement

Answer 14

Obscuring prices had no significant effect on check average.

Question 15

The New Product Development Process

Answer 15

Ideate, investigate, develop, test, launch

Question 16

Trend Barriers

Answer 16

Are there sourcing constraints, can it be offered in an easily relatable format?

Question 17

Trend Enablers

Answer 17

Can it find new life late in the cycle? Is it versatile across day parts and applications?

Question 18

What are the Stages of Trend proliferation?

Answer 18

1. Inception: In foodservice: fine dining, ethnic independent and
   at Retail: Ethnic markets
2. Adoption: In Foodservice: Gastropubs, fast casual, casual independents at Retail: Gourmet and Specialty grocery stores
3. Proliferation: In food service: Casual chain restaurants and quick service restaurants
   at Retail: Traditional supermarkets and mass merchandisers
4. Ubiquity: In foodservice: Family Restaurants and convenience stores at Retail: Dollar stores and Drug Stores

Question 19

Menu prep (what is it, examples)

Answer 19

Any production that is completed well in advance of the service period (several hours up to several days) and held without compromising the quality of the final dish:

cleaning,cutting,andtrimmingofvegetablesand/orproduce,
Butcheryofanymeats,seafood,andpoultryitems,
Batchpreparationofvariousmenuitemcomponents(i.e.,sub-
recipes) including some: * Saladdressings
* Sauces
* Soups
* Sidedishes
* Bakedgoods

Question 20

Station prep (what is it, examples)

Answer 20

Any production that is completed just prior to the service period, generally within a specific station, and held without compromising the quality of the final dish such as the:

– Cutting,trimming,and/orstockingstation-specificproduce,meats,& seafood
– Reheatingofpreviouslypreparedmenuitemcomponents(i.e., batch recipes) including some:
* Sauces
* Soups
* Sides
* Bakedgoods
* Roastedmeats

Question 21

Considerations for assigning menu items to stations

Answer 21

• Menu considerations:
  – Individual menu item components
  – Cooking techniques
  – Advanced vs. à la minute preparation
• Structural considerations:
  – Current capacity of each station
  – Capabilities of station attendants
  – Expected volume of sales
  – Dedicated prep person/team

Which station(s) use the product?
Prep time required (active and/or inactive)
Batch size or quantity required?
Shelf-life of the product
Holding/storage temperature of the product
Equipment required

Question 22

Final production steps

Answer 22

Final production steps/items:
– Order in
– Fire
– Plate
– Inspect & garnish
– Service

Question 23

NPD Process (flow diagram)
– What is broadly involved in each step

Answer 23

Ideate, investigate, develop, test, launch

Question 24

NPD strategic considerations

Answer 24

brand image?

Question 25

NPD tactical considerations

Answer 25

Station capacity

Question 26

Three pricing approaches –how do they differ?

Answer 26

Fixed is based on Cost per cover a

Question 27

Menu pricing – other considerations

Answer 27

Such as area and competitors

Question 28

Recipe costing flow chart

Answer 28

1. Which inventory items should be used for ingredients?
2. Do the units of measure from recipe match the as purchased units?
3. If not, convert into purchased measures and calculate the AP unit costs.
4. Does the ingredients need to be trimmed, peeled, etc.
5. If yes, identify the appropriate yield percentage and then calculate the APQ, (EPQ/Yield % = APQ)
6. If not, then AP cost per unit * APQ

Question 29

Product specifications – examples, what’s details
are relevant?

Answer 29

Critical for standardizing purchasing, food production, and
quality
* Product name
* Intended use of product
* General description (size, count, brand)
* Detailed description
– Geographic origin
– Product size and type
– Packaging
– Fresh or frozen
– Grade
– Edible yield
* Test procedures for receiving
* Special instructions / requirements

Question 30

Purchasing objectives

Answer 30

1. Maintain continuity of supply
2. Minimize investment
3. Maintain quality
4. Obtain lowest possible cost
5. Maintain company’s competitive position

Question 31

Receiving functions

Answer 31

1. Small Restaurants: Head chef or sous chef
2. Large Restaurants and Hotels: 3. Dedicated purchasing Dept.
   Is it the right product, quality, price, time, source

Question 32

Details of invoice receiving

Answer 32

• Verify price and quantity (weigh and make sure you aren’t getting shorted (need scale and pen)
• Verify quality, make sure there is tolerance against specs & quality or yield grades are good if applicable
• if something isn’t up to spec it’s up to receiver to make sure that you notate it so that you will get a credit memo signed
  1.Ensure product quality quantity, condition, and
  price.
  2.Expedite products into storage or preparation
  3.Aid the purchasing department in evaluating a purveyor’s performance
  4.Check the performance of the purchasing department
  5.Serve as an accounting checkpoint (invoice)
  6.Inform purchasing and production of shortages and returns

Question 33

Distribution arrangements - 5 types and how they differ

Answer 33

Broad line and speciality Suppliers- Up to distributor to get produce from producer, you as a operator only deals with distributor
System and Co-Ops- You as an operator orders from producer, distributor is still doing payments, picking up products, and delivering, but you have direct purchase agreement with producer suppliers
Self Distribution - Operator owns distributor and directly orders and deals with the producer

Question 34

Five types of variability – what are they, examples?

Answer 34

– Arrival of customers
– Requests made by customers
– Capability of customers w.r.t. expected involvement
– Effort customers are willing to exert
– Subjective Preference for how service should be delivered

Question 35

Reduce vs. accommodate strategies

Answer 35

Reducing , how do we make customers adhere to whatever standard.
Accommodate , how can we modify ourselves to accommodate.
If reduce variability, improves efficiency, lowers cost, impersonal experience, compensate with corresponding benefit
Accommodate variability, find ways to make service more flexible, higher cost, increased complexity, may pass higher costs on to customers.

Question 36

Advantages/disadvantages of each Variability

Answer 36

Arrival :
* Reduce: try to control demand
reservations, early-bird specials, late night specials, happy hour,
* Accommodate: emphasize customer experience
Slack/flexible labor – have more ppl show up, Self-service - write you own name on waitlist, order at the counter, etc.

Requests :
* Reduce
Reservation by request (pre-order) Adj. preferences – menus steer customer, prix fixe menu takes this to the max. Compromise preferences – no substitutions, etc. Target narrow set of customers – wine dinner, beer
dinner, offal menu, etc.
* Accommodate
Cross training – servers all know about wine, line cooks can do several stations, etc.
Self-serve – dress your own salad, make your own salad, toppings bar

Capabilities
* Reduce:
Training: either in advance or during service delivery
Instrumental – pre-reqs in college, gas station instructions
Normative – Starbucks training booklet, employees call back/correct your order
Narrow customers – SAT / ACT score
* Accommodate:
Experienced employees to guide customers, Experienced customers (e.g., online product forums), Self-serve – customers contribute to service experience

Effort
*Reduce:
* Advanced preparation – write your order down on a paper in advance. Normative approach – Starbucks – made standardization an aspiration, created a culture where customers wanted to get it “right”. Target customers of similar effort?
*Accommodate:
* Experienced employees to pick up the slack. Self-serve – firm is less accountable to customers re: service quality

Subjective Preferences *
*Reduce:
* Setting consistent expectations – influence customers to think differently (Fedex overnight)
* Increase customer influence on outcome – self-serve kiosks (ownership) – reduces variability in pref. Target a specific segment
* Accommodate:
* Experienced employees – fine dining, they can read you and know your prefs.
* Self-service