Developing Menus

I’m bringing to the table this crucial subject, how to succeed with your food menus???
There are thousands of restaurants, however, not many times the menus are developed with logic or driven to profitability, so I’ll start first with some myths:

*Hundreds of dishes in your menu do not please Clients, actually, they confuse them.

*What the Owner, GM or Partner eats, does not mean that all of your Clients will like it.

*The best way to know that your menu is a success (among other things), your success it’s directly proportioned with the leftovers in the trash, if your plates return clean, it tells you that you are on the right track, if it doesn’t, then you have a problem in your hands.

*The best Executive Chef is NOT the one that cooks the best dishes; it is the one that KNOWS how to make the kitchen Staff to cook those exact same dishes.

*If you don’t have a plan, things WILL go wrong.

*Defrosting meats below a water faucet diminishes almost 30% of the meat liquid, but remember that you paid for that water as if it was meat.

*The water does not boil faster if a cook is continuously looking at it; there are more important things to do around.


Now some of many tips for you to have a well planned and successful menu:

1.-Seasonal fruits and vegetables and fishes are cheaper, nicer and better, use them.

2.-Write the menu properly, there is a classic menu order, follow it accordingly, using correct cooking methods and terms.

3.-Print your menus in the best quality materials, as they are the face Clients look at.

4.-Do not overflow your menu with countless dishes, 6 of each course will do the trick.

5.-Use sustainability in your favor, local ingredients are cheaper, fresher and you are contributing to your destination.

6.-Do not use the same factor to price your items, use your common sense and use your competitors for it, you wouldn’t want to be out of market.

7.-Your menu has to be “culturally accepted”, don’t use very exotic ingredients (unless your concept reflects that or your Clientele recognizes), otherwise you will end up with unhappy Clients and lots of money into the garbage.

8.-Use the philosophy of “Honest Food” (it’s a satisfaction for Clients when they got a good deal for a good meal).

9.-GET BACK TO BASICS, your target market has changed, you need to change as well or you will be out of business quickly, go through your business again and again, and look for the basics of Clients satisfaction, financial achievement and Staff motivation, the rest is “a piece of cake”.