The document discusses menu planning principles for restaurants and food service establishments. It covers the origin and objectives of menus, different types of menus including fixed and cycle menus, influences on menu planning like price, trends and target customers, and guidelines for writing accurate and appealing menu descriptions. Planning menus properly is important to meet nutrition needs, control costs, simplify operations, and meet customer expectations.

1. “An intelligently planned feast
is like a summing up of the
whole world, where each part
is represented by its envoys.”
– Jean-Anthelme Brillat-
Savarin in The Physiology of
Taste
Menu Planning

2. • Origin of Menu
• Objective of Menu
Planning
• The role of Menu
• Menu Types
• Influences on the Menu
• Menu Planning Principle
• Menu Planning
Guidelines
• Writing Menu

3. Origin of Menu
Originally the "bill of fare", as it is termed in
English, or menu in French. The banquet
consisted of only two courses, each made
up of a variety of dishes, anything from 10
to 40 in number. The first 10-40 dishes were
placed on the table before the diners
entered- hence the word entrée- and, when
consumed were removed or relieved by 10-
40 other dishes- hence the words relevés
and removes came into existence.

4. OBJECTIVE
OF MENU
PLANNING
Meet Nutrition Needs
Maintain food cost
Simplify purchase, preparation & storage
Avoid Monotony
Proper planning of staffing, time & Money
Minimize Overhead Expenditure
Meet Customer expectation

5. The Role of the Menu
The menu serves several purposes to
both the restaurant and its customers:
– It determines the supplies to be ordered.
– It determines the equipment needed in the
restaurant and its layout.
– It determines the skills needed by your staff.
– It determines the type of customer you will
attract.
– It is your overall "selling tool."

6. Menu Types
Menus are as varied as the many types of restaurants and food
service establishments available, but a menu can usually be
grouped into one of the following categories:
– Fixed menus
– Cycle menus
– Within these two categories, you will find various styles of menus
or meal plans: à la carte, table d'hôte, and prix fixe menus.

7. Fixed Menus
– Fixed menus offer you the same foods every day.
– You will find fixed menus in most commercial
restaurants and fast food establishments.
– The meals on these menus are offered à la carte or
table d'hôte.
– Items offered à la carte are priced individually. For
example, if you were to order a meal, dessert and
beverage, you would pay individual prices for each
item.

8. Fixed Menus con’t
– The meals that are served table d'hôte are "all inclusive;" one
price is given for the complete meal. You often see this as
"combo" or "full meal deals" in fast food restaurants.
– Some restaurants offer table d'hôte meals for their special of
the day.
– Caterers, who provide full meals at banquets, weddings, etc.,
usually operate on a table d'hôte meal pricing system.

9. “Prix fixe menu”
– a close relative of the table d'hôte menu.
– The major difference between these two types of menus is that
the customer will usually be allowed to choose from one or more
of a selection of foods, offered by the food service establishment.
– A prix fixe menu can be used almost anywhere and is quite often
found in very elegant restaurants on fixed menus.

10. Final Note on Fixed Menus
– Customers who dine at a restaurant that offers a fixed menu always know what
to expect before they arrive; very seldom does the menu change.
– Menus are very expensive to have printed, and therefore, a restaurant may not
change it for several months or years.

11. Cycle Menus
– designed to offer different foods each day, for a set
period of time. The time frame for a cycle menu could be
days, weeks or even months.
– The most common and advantageous cycle menus are
those that repeat after two–four weeks. At the end of
each time period, the cycle will start over again. For
instance, if the menu is on a weekly cycle, then each
Monday the restaurant would offer the same foods.
Tuesday will offer the same foods as the previous
Tuesday and so on.

12. Another Advantage!
– Cycle menus can provide an advantage to the managers responsible for
ordering supplies and preparing work schedules. Food order and work
schedules may be planned so they coordinate with the cycle menu. When the
orders and schedules are prepared once, they can then be repeated.

13. Who Uses Cycle Menus?
– Most institution kitchens
– School cafeterias
– Hospitals
– Some commercial restaurants
– One problem—if the cycle is repeated to often the menu becomes predictable
and monotonous for the customers.

14. Influences on the Menu
Price of
food
Type of
food
Equipment
Employee
skill level
Target
customers
Geography
and culture
Eating
trends

16. Menu Planning Principles
– Variety.
– Balance.
– Truthfulness.
– Nutrition.
– Flexibility.

17. Menu Planning Principles
(continued)
– Variety: Type of food, preparation style, and visual appeal.
– Balance: Placement, serving size, proportion, and the number of food items on
a plate.
– Truthfulness: Follow the Truth-in-Menu Guidelines.
– Nutrition: Nutritious, appealing, and well-prepared meals.
– Flexibility: Changes due to cost, additional choices, and seasonal foods.

18. Truth-in-Menu Guidelines
– Brand names must be represented accurately.
– Dietary and nutritional claims must be accurate.
– The preservation of food must be accurate.
– Quantity must be accurate.
– Location of ingredients must be accurate.
– Quality or grade must be accurate.
– Proper cooking techniques must be accurate.
– Pictures must be accurate.
– Descriptions of food products must be accurate.

19. Writing Menu Descriptions
– Use appealing language.
– Use short descriptions.

20. RulesforMenuWriting

21. References
– COLONIAL BILL OF FARE TAVERN DINNER MENU, https://store.ushistory.org/products/bill-of-fare-dinner-menu, online shopping
website know as ushistory.orgstore.
– CHAPTER-1, MEALS & MENU PLANNING, https://www.ihmbbs.org/upload/CHAPTER-
1%20(MEALS%20&%20MENU%20PLANNING).pdf
– Mr. Subir K Malakar notes, HOD Ansal University
– This week's menu plan - it's a good job we enjoy cooking!, 16th May 2012, By – Jenny Eatwell,
https://jennyeatwellsrhubarbginger.blogspot.com/2012/05/this-weeks-menu-plan-its-good-job-we.html
– Balanced Diet and Cholesterol Control | HubPages,
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi_87f2gKbmAhXPzDgGHQaVCN4QjB16BAgB
EAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhubpages.com%2Ffood%2FBalanced-Diet-and-cholesterol-control&psig=AOvVaw1ZG-
YKtkCz6PM3ioqXEbsx&ust=1575892960338213
– Menu Writing - Lessons - Tes Teach,
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwj28c6lgabmAhUbzjgGHYFuBuUQjB16BAgBEAM&url=https%3
A%2F%2Fwww.tes.com%2Flessons%2FXZG_jYGYVtkFtw%2Fmenu-
writing&psig=AOvVaw1nxWgeELKmb191NnuNQtgr&ust=1575893053675245