Transcript Menu Planning

Menu Planning
Menu Basics
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Menus should be:
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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
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Variety
Balance
Truthfulness
Nutrition
Flexibility
Variety
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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
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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:
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FDA guidelines require that certain menu
statements are true.
Truth-In-Menu Guidelines
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Statements need to be true about…
• Nutrition
• Quantity
• Quality
• Grade
• Freshness
Truth-In-Menu Guidelines
Brand Names Must
Be Represented Accurately
Examples might include Heinz
Ketchup, Butterball Turkey and
Best Foods Mayonnaise
Dietary/Nutritional Claims Must
Be Accurate
Low-sodium or fat-free foods must
be prepared to keep these
characteristics; nutritional claims
must be supported with statistical
data
Food Preservation
Must Be Accurate
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
Be Accurate
If a sirloin is 16 ounces, for example,
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
Must Be Accurate
When listing a quality or grade for
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 Accurate If broiled swordfish is on your menu,
for example, you cannot serve the
swordfish baked
Pictures Must
Be Accurate
For example, apple pie à la mode
must be apple pie served with ice
cream
Food Product Descriptions Must
Be Accurate
If shrimp cocktail is described as “four
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
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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
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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 truthin-menu guidelines.
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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 type this into a
presentable menu.
Make sure you explain the courses, dishes and truth-inmenu guidelines that you followed while creating the
descriptions.
These will be presented to the class.