Menu Development
Static Menu
A set menu offering the same food every day. Common in restaurants or room service in hospitals. Clientele changes daily or enough variety offer sufficient variety for a short stay in a hospital.
Name influences to labor cost
1. local wage rate 2. negotiated contract 3. Type and extent of services 4. Menu Pattern and form of food purchase 5. Physical Plant
List things to consider for menu planning
1. nutritional needs of client 2. time needed to produce 3. staff skills 4. equipment and budget 5. clientele 6. geographic location 7. food costs 8. budge and profit goals
Labor Costs
50-60% of food service expenses.
Menu evaluation
A checklist looking at menu pattern/nutritional adequacy, color and eye appeal as well as consistency, flavor combination, and sizes and shapes.
Military Menu
Appropriate plans based on personnel location, availabilty of water/staff/facilities for preparation.
Customer evaluation
Can be acquired via survey, observation (plate waste), informal customer comments, comment cards, or formal/informal questionnaires. Facial Hedonic Scale Sales data: profit vs contribution margin.
Equipment and menu planning
Evaluate needs for each meal so as not to exceed capacity. Prepared foods cost more but may be offset by labor cost savings.
Disaster Planning
FS operation must have plan in place. Adequate food/water for up to 3 days. Actual amount should be specified in operations disaster plan. Food/water should be checked regularly for date compliance.
Menu Development
First you plan the meats and other entrees, follwed by the starchy times, then the vegetable, then the salad, dessert, soup or app, breads and breakfast entrees.
Room Service Menu
Host/Hostess is assigned to a specific floor, meal is chosen from spoken menu and prepared.
Non-commerical Menus
Include school food service, healthcare, correctional facilities, the military and colleges and universities.
Selective Menu
Includes two or more choices in all menu categories. Categories represent the group of foods offered such as apps, entrees, side dishes, dessert and beverages. Similar to room service
Menu Modifications
Known as substitutions. Reasons are: clientele, market, market cost, season, availability, regulations, food preferences, client health needs affect substitutions/number of choices.
Non-select menu
Known as the "house menu". No choice in any category.
Menu Labeling
March 2010- The Affordable Health Care Act provided menu labeling regulations at the federal level
Primary Control System in food service
Menu
Cycle Menu
Menus that rotate at definite intervals of a few days to several weeks. The length depends on the food service operation. Used in hospitals, schools, correctional facilities and nursing homes
Disadvantage of cycle menu
Monotomy
Patient/Resident Menu
Must meet the nutritional needs of the population served in either long term care facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, child care centers.
Nutritional Adequacy and menu planning
One meal provides 1/3 daily nutrients for population served. Generally menus should include foods from each food groups at each meal. Low fat milk offered to meet the dairy group recommendation.
Labor Cost percentage
Percentage of meal cost attributable to labor costs
Budget and menu planning
Raw food cost per patient per day must be established. Food costs and profit goals.
Goal of Food Service
Serve food that appeals to and meets the needs of the consumer (nutritional and financial) while reflecting the mission, goals and objectives of the operation itself.
Types of menus
Static, Single Use, Cycle, Patient/Resident, Selective Menu, Non-select menu, commercial menus, non-commercial menus
Commercial Menu
Table D'Hotel also known as Prix Frix. Complete meal offered at a fixed price. A la Carte: items priced separetly and chosen by customer. Du Jour Menu: planned and written daily, offers flexibility, can be used to offer seasonal foods.
MREs
Transportable Ready to Eat Meals
External Influence of menu
Trends: social/political/economic trends influence choice. Seasonal: favorable climatic conditions may lead to lower cost of produce. Summer menu usually have more produce and lighter entrees. Winter menu have more hot foods/stews.
UGR
Unitized Group Ration: entire meal prepared by submerging tray in water/adding hot water to reconstitute.
Single Use Menu
Used for a specific day such as a holiday or event. Common in catering.
Aesthetics and menu planning
Visual appeals affects appetite/perception of quality as much as taste and smell.
Meal Pattern
is an outline of food to be included in each meal and the extent of choice at each meal.
Customer and menu planning
need to consider: demographics (age, gender, health status, etc.), sociocultural influences (marital status, lifestyle, etc.) nutritional requirement
Advantages of cycle menu
standardized preparation procedures, reduces cost, efficient use of equipment, forecasting and purchasing are simplified, workloads can be balanced, reduced planning time and minimize staff training time while increasing efficiency and staff familiarity.
Meal Plan
the number of dining options offered in a specific time period. Ex. many hospitals serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and a late snack to their patients daily