The menu for any restaurant defines what it is that the restaurant offers and is therefore a vital component in defining its target audience. The menu is also instrumental in defining what sorts of foods to purchase; what type of equipment and supplies you will need to run your kitchen and restaurant, how many staff to hire or train and which kinds of marketing tools you will need to include in your marketing campaign roll out.

Developing a restaurant menu should include a few key factors:

• Deciding on the type of menu you would like to offer;
• Deciding on the types or foods you would like to serve;
• Deciding on what to charge for meals on your menu
• Physically compiling a great looking menu.

What menu type will you choose?

There are actually quite a few menu types to consider and here are just a handful. An a la carte menu is very common, where selections of dishes are listed and once the guest has chosen their menu item (starter, main course, dessert), the food is cooked to order. Plus: They offer variety and uniqueness; Minus: They can take a long time to prepare. Table d’hôte menus are easier to manage as they are essentially ‘set menu’s. Plus: Easy to prepare and budget for; Minus: It can be boring to a guest or they may not like what’s on offer. A buffet or carvery offers a selection of food items displayed for guests to help themselves. Plus: variety of food available; Minus: Lots of prep and cost if you don’t get the volume of guests you need to turn a profit. Then there are also tasting menus and other fun and trendy approaches to the types of menu offered, so make sure you do your homework.

What sorts of foods will you choose?

Menu type will influence this decision for sure, but one of the most obvious factors to consider is the talent of your chef – what are they skilled at creating? Are they able to develop new recipes? Can they cook a broad spectrum of traditional and modern dishes in different styles? Then remember that you are also limited (or not) by your operational areas – have you got a big enough kitchen or fridge area for what you want to prepare? Do you need a special pastry kitchen for your offerings? And so on.  Finally, look at what your competitors are doing – don’t offer the same – stand out from the crowd and set yourself apart. It doesn’t have to cost you a fortune to be clever with your ingredients and come up with dishes that are totally unique to your brand.

Menu pricing determines if you make money or not

Guests are attracted to restaurants whose prices are competitive – this is a fine line for you as the provider to ensure that you haven’t sold yourself short; and that you’ve factored in your operational requirements, your actual food costs, your staff, rent and incidentals, marketing and more…and have still come out with a profit and happy customers. It’s harder than it seems and in a follow up blog, we’ll give you some tips on how to work out a great food cost. Simply put, you need to balance affordability and profitability.

Putting together a hot looking menu

Menu design is really a great way to showcase your brand, highlight your specialities and influence your guests very gently to purchase dishes which you know are great and which will also yield a reasonable profit. However you choose to design the look and feel, make sure you use original, high quality photos or images, that your menu descriptions are clear and easy to read and that the layout isn’t cluttered and tacky. Finally, check that there are no spelling mistakes.

We hope that these few tips are helpful to you. Look out for our Food Cost blog to follow, as well as others in this series on Food and Beverage.  

Image Credits:

Image 1: www.culiquiprestaurantequipment.com

Image 3: neocater.com

Adapted from source: http://www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/chefs-corner/how-to-develop-a-restaurant-menu/c28248.aspx