The Menu Flashcards
Spoken menu
Menu that is presented by the technician orally to the patient
Menu
List of items available for selection by a customer in the most important internal control of the food service system
Table d’hote
Several food items grouped together and sold for one price
Menu psychology
Designing and laying out a menu in such a way as to influence the sale of food served on the menu
Eye gaze motion
Eye will travel in a set pattern when viewing a menu. Thus the center of a threefold menu is considered prime menu sales area.
Primacy and recency
Position menu items you want to sell more of in the first and last positions within a category as the first and last things the customer reads. These are the items more likely than others to be chosen.
Font size and style
Increase the size of want to attract the customers attention to an item; decreased the size to deflect attention from an item. Avoid use of fonts that are difficult to read, especially in dim lighting.
Color and brightness
Increase the brightness, color, or shading of visual elements to attract customer attention
Spacing and grouping
Use borders around items or placement of items together within a space to draw attention to items
Menu pattern
An outline of the menu item categories for each meal, such as appetizers, entrées, and desserts on the dinner menu
Static menu
Same menu items are offered every day; that is, the restaurant type menu
Cycle menu
Series of menus offering different items daily on a weekly, biweekly, or some other basis, after which the menus are repeated
Single use menu
Menu that is planned for service on a particular day and not used in the exact form a second time
Degree of choice: no choice
Nonselective menu, either cycle or single use. Certs clients who are unable or have no desire to choose. Permits more accurate forecasting, greater control.
Degree of choice: choice
Selective; two-tiered: upscale menu items prepared for those willing to pay extra for them;
Semi selective: two entrées and two desserts but perhaps only one vegetable and salad
Meal plan
Three meals a day or breakfast brunch dinner and light snack. Could also be room service. Essentially when you will serve meals.
Meal pattern: breakfast
Fruit juice, hot or cold cereal, meat or meat alternative, bread
Meal pattern: lunch
Soup or juice, meat or meat alternative, starch, vegetable and or salad, bread, dessert or fruit
Meal pattern: dinner
Soup or juice, meat or meat alternative, starch, vegetable, fruit or vegetable salad, dessert
How can you measure preference?
Observation
Satisfaction survey using a hedonic scale
Frequency of acceptance: ask how often they would be willing to eat an item
Plate-waste
Self-reported consumption
Popularity index
Popularity index
Used to analyze and protect any items sales; chart dated aviaries and demand; as well as each items popularity in relation to other items (used to forecast)
Calculating popularity index
Determine the total number of items sold and divide the one food item by the total number
Average check
Divide sales by the number of customers
Customer satisfaction based off of numbers; helpful in detecting trends; if lower than normal perhaps different menu items should be offered
Food cost percentage
Cost of food / selling price
Commercial sites food cost percentage
40%
Food cost percentage and profit
As food cost percentage decreases, profit increases
Operational influences on the menu
Labor, equipment, budget, type of service (how you distribute the food, production)
External influences on the menu
Trends, emergency preparedness, product availability, sustainability
Trends
Convenience stores, vegan variety, health
Emergency preparedness
Increased significantly because of natural disasters like Sandy and Katrina
Product availability
Has changed dramatically, now you can get things out of season
Sustainability
Changes product availability, work to use the products when they’re available
Hyper local
Growing food yourself
Production menu
Provides the names and numbers of the recipe to be followed in the production forecast; information on portion sizes, special comments about the recipes, and advance preparation
Menu engineering
Management information that focuses on both the popularity and the contribution to profits of menu items
Menu mix
Based on items popularity relative to other menu items
Calculated by dividing the number sold of the particular menu item by the total number of all menu items
High menu mix
Greater than 70% of sales
Low menu mix
Less than 70% of sales
Contribution margin
Items contribution to profit
Calculated by subtracting an items food cost from the selling price
High contribution margin
Above average contribution margin for menu
Low contribution margin
Below average contribution margin for menu
Star menu items
Menu items that are highly profitable and popular; manager should maintain standards for these items and promote
Plowhorse menu items
Menu items that are very popular but not very profitable; managers might consider trying a price increase for these items to make them more profitable
Puzzle menu items
Menu items that are very profitable but not very popular; managers might consider whether to continue to offer them
Dog menu items
Menu items that are not profitable nor are they popular; manager should consider eliminating them from the menu
Pricing methods
- Factor (food cost percentage)
- Prime cost
- Actual cost
Two basic approaches to menu pricing
Marketing approach or cost approaches
- Food cost percentage
- item contribution margin
Calculating Price mark up
100 divided by the food cost percentage
For example, 100/40 = 2.5
So if a food cost $1, it should be sold for $1 x 2.5 = $2.50
Item contribution margin (sometimes called item gross profit margin)
The amount that remains after the food cost of an item is subtracted from the selling price of an item
Selling price =
Item food cost + desired item contribution margin
Item contribution margin =
Selling price - item food cost
Prime cost =
Raw food cost + direct labor
Servings of milk/day
1 cup
Servings of meat per day
1-2
Servings of grains/day
1-2
Servings of vegetables/day
3/4-1 cup from dark green, red/orange, legumes, starchy, and other
Servings of fruit/day
1/2-1 cup
USDAs nutrition standards
Establish maximum calorie and sodium limits for meals
Requires schools to serve larger portions of fruits and vegetables
All grains offered students must be whole-grain rich
Milk must be 1% for nonfat
No more than one third of school lunch calories can come from fat; less than 10% from saturated fat
What are schools given to improve their meals?
An additional six cents per lunch
Common factors that influence menu pricing
Local competition Level of service Type of customer Product quality Portion sizes Ambience Meal period Location Sales mix Desired profit margin
