Do you need to revamp your menu but how?

A restaurant's menu is an integral part of its marketing plan. If your menu is dated or is loosing appeal and you are asking yourself: what do I do now? and How am I going to revamp my menu? You do want to keep your guests who have made your business but, you also want to attract new customers and, you want to stay true to your original design. It's not complicated, but you'll need a plan.


1. Menu Selection: What item do I need to develop, abandon or leave alone?

For this you'll need to gather your menu and product mix report. To star simple, let's say that your menu has four sections: breakfast, sandwiches, soups and salads and, dinner entrees.

From your product mix report, determine the percentage of breakfast dishes sold in relations to all dishes sold. Let's call that percentage: A1 (for instance 40%)

From your product mix report, now determine the percentage of sandwich dishes sold in relations to all dishes sold. Let's call that percentage: A2 (for instance 30%)

...and Soups-Salads A3 (for instance 20%)...and dinners A4 (for instance 10%).

Now look at your menu and determine how many breakfast dishes are you offering your guests in relations to your total offerings. Let's call that B1 (for instance 25%)

...and sandwiches B2 (for instance 25%)...and soups-salads B3 (for instance 25%)...and dinners B4 (for instance 25%).

Then you compute: A1/B1=C1; A2/B2=C2; A3/B3=C3 and A4/B4=C4

With our example, we have: 40/25=1.6; 30/25=1.2; 20/25=0.8 and 10/25=0.4



"C" is your popularity index. When it is between 0.7 and 1.3, there is no need for change. If it is higher than 1.3, it means that there is an opportunity to create new dishes, here for breakfast items. If it is below 0.7, it could mean that your guests have not been interested with that type of dishes. Among the multitude of reasons, it could be because of the pricing, the quality of your brand for example. But now you have a better idea where to focus your creativity.

You can do this based on day par (as in here) or by protein (vegetarian, poultry, beef, seafood, pork) or by price point or any criteria you deem necessary.


2. Menu Appeal: How does your menu look like?

We first eat we our eyes then, with our hears and finally, with our tongues. Do take pictures of your dishes. Do they look appetizing and individual or for some of them you can't tell what it is? Approach your menu from the guest's perspective.


3. Menu Diversity: A good menu is a diverse menu on flavors, appearances, applications and pricing. It adds sophistication, interest and appeal to those who would want to experiment. Flavors could be creamy, BBQ, spicy, sour, bitter or sweet.

Appearance is about color, contract of colors and shapes. While a little variety creates interest and curiosity, too much of a good thing is distracting. Some colors are appealing like pumpkin orange, or fire red but others are somewhat repulsive because they evoke spoilage.


4. Seasonal Selections: Do dedicate about 10-15% of your menu to seasonal items: asparagus in late spring, orange in the middle of winter. With your regular menu, you appeal to your regulars and, with the seasonal items you would attract the new ones. Introducing pot roast and turkey diners in November make sense but not in June. If a dish doesn't make sense, people won't eat it.


5. Ask Them! Who wants to eat at your establishment? People who like it of course. And the same guests may hold a great idea for you. Organize a cooking contest or a recipe contest within specific guidelines because you can't just do anything. And if the new dishes fit in your marketing plan, make sense with your financial plan and are reasonable with your concept then why not?

Of course there is more to a good menu planing? But here you have a starting point, a direction. And yes, even if you are a franchised restaurant concept, this is still possible. Just keep your menu unaltered and, create a reader board or a manager's special. Your existing inventory can help you create a new approach while being faithful to your brand image.



I found on the net a few websites with interesting and plentiful of menu recipes. If this is what you want to do just follow the links and GOOD LUCK!






Suggested links:


http://search.about.com/fullsearch.htm?terms=restaurant%20menu


http://chowhound.chow.com/recipes


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/index.html


http://www.recipesource.com/


http://www.saveur.com/


http://culinary.net/default.aspx


http://www.igourmet.com/shoppe/regional_cuisines.asp?top=top


http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?s_type=%2Frecipes.php&q=menu+recipe&Search=Search&Searcht=Search