Hospitality Management
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Digital Menus verses Paper (opens in a new tab) (2 pages)
Have you ever been to a restaurant and handed an iPad menu instead of a paper menu? The menu provides guests with one of their first impressions of a food and beverage establishment. Restaurant operators and guests have different menu style preferences. You will consider the challenges, risks, and benefits of using iPad menus versus paper menus.
As you read the article, consider the following:
Identify two factors that food and beverage operators should consider when comparing the durability of iPad menus and paper menus.
Identify two examples whereby iPad menus demonstrate superior flexibility over paper menus.
In your opinion, which menu style provides a higher value and quality service to guests?
Content
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
explain how to plan and develop a food and beverage menu,
describe the factors that influence menu design,
differentiate between theoretical and actual product costs,
explain the concepts of Cost of Goods Sold, yield testing, sales/menu mix, and menu engineering, and
cost out a food menu item and a beverage menu item.
Menu Planning and Development
There are many factors to consider when planning and developing menus for food and beverage operations. In a full-service golf operation, a variety of menus will be required to meet the demands of each service style (e.g. snack bar, beverage cart, bar, restaurant, and function). Each menu is a representation of what items are available for purchase by the guests.
Menus should convey a consistent message, reflecting a well thought out theme and the right price points. Based on the menu that is developed, the facility will require the correct kitchen equipment and knowledgeable staff to prepare all products.
Part of menu planning and development requires knowledge of your target market. Just because a food and beverage establishment operates in a golf/resort facility, it does not guarantee that players will support the operation. Opportunities may also exist for non-golf related sales, such as functions (e.g. weddings, parties, etc.).
Conducting industry and competitor research also influences menu planning and development. Benchmarking is an effective way to compare your operation to top performers in the food and beverage market, so that you can enhance your food and beverage operation.
Industry trade shows provide another way to stay abreast of current trends, themes, and new food products and equipment. If you do plan to attend a trade show, a word of advice, do not eat before you go!
Study
As you study this topic, learn about the basic principles of successful menu planning and development, including the importance of having the correct kitchen equipment to prepare products.
Restaurant Business: Planning a Menu for a Restaurant(opens in a new tab) (1:21 min)
How to Make a Restaurant Menu(opens in a new tab) (24 pages)
Then, review the different types of menus often found in a golf operation (e.g. table d’hôte, à la carte, and speciality) and the menu samples provided.
Types of Menus(opens in a new tab) (5 pages)
Arrowhead Restaurant and Bar(opens in a new tab) (browse)
From: Arrowhead Golf Club
(opens in a new
The Harvest Grille(opens in a new tab) (browse)
From: The Harvest Golf Club
Hugo’s Restaurant(opens in a new tab) (browse)
From: Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort
The following readings and trade show video provide examples of the types of research that operators may conduct to maintain a competitive advantage and keep up with current trends in the food and beverage industry.
How to Use Benchmarking to Enhance Your Restaurant’s Profitability(opens in a new tab) (4 pages)
Delaware North’s Annual Food and Beverage Summit(opens in a new tab) (2:36 min)
Food & Beverage Trends for 2021 (opens in a new tab) (4 pages)
Menu Design
The menu is an essential marketing tool for food and beverage operations; therefore, it is important for operators to invest in their menus. A successful menu presentation includes an informative design layout of menu offerings and a user-friendly format that does not overwhelm guests.
Menu engineering and menu psychology are strategies that are often used to inform a menu’s design and profitability. Menu engineering is a process designed to maximize sales by promoting a facility’s most profitable items; it involves strategically placing items on a menu where guests look first. Menu psychology is designing your menu to get the guests’ attention; it involves promoting the items you want to sell, in the shortest time possible.
The investment made by the operation in equipment, staffing, marketing, and menu product planning should not be lost due to poor menu design, which includes worn out and unclean menus! Food and beverage operators should invest the time to produce a menu that excels.
Study
As you study this topic, begin by taking note of common menu design and layout mistakes. These valuable points provide insight as to how your guests perceive not only the food and beverage items being presented, but also the entire operation. Next, review the various factors that should be considered when designing a menu: presentation format, layout, menu engineering and psychology, and cleanliness.
7 Menu Design and Layout Mistakes(opens in a new tab) (5 pages)
Menu Writing Tips: Menu Presentation(opens in a new tab) (2 pages)
Basic Restaurant Menu Layout(opens in a new tab) (2 pages)
Menu Engineering 101(opens in a new tab) (2 pages)
The Psychology of Menu Design(opens in a new tab) (9 pages)
Restaurant Customers by Keeping Menus Clean(opens in a new tab) (2 pages)
Calculating Food and Beverage Costs
Food and beverage managers and chefs are generally responsible for calculating the cost of goods sold, both the theoretical and actual product costs, which are based on industry standards. Theoretical costs are calculated when the menus are written, which means that the total ingredient costs determine the ideal selling price based on the predetermined cost percentage target (i.e. industry standards). Actual costs, on the other hand, are calculated periodically throughout the season and are based on inventories. These costs factor in cost price fluctuations, waste, spoilage, etc., thus producing the actual product cost at that moment in time.
All menu items require a selling price. When the total cost of the menu item has been calculated (i.e. total cost of all ingredients via recipe portions), the selling price is set based on a predetermined cost percentage target. For example, if a product cost percentage target is 40%, then the total ingredient cost is 40% of the selling price. Not all menu items are costed at the same percentage; however, prices are set at what the market will bear; what the competition is running their costs at; and what percentage the manufacturer recommends (e.g. a wine representative may recommend selling their product at a 40% cost).
Yield testing refers to how much you will have of a finished or processed product. Yield calculations can be thought of in two ways: how many portions a recipe will produce and the calculation of the true cost of the product ingredient. Calculating yields is important because it will better position food and beverage operations to be more efficient and profitable. If this calculation is neglected, actual product costs will be incorrect; a harder to detect higher product cost percentage will be the result.
Most food and beverage operations produce reports that itemize all of their actual food and beverage costs on a monthly basis. This report is combined with an overall profit and loss statement for the operation. However, it is not uncommon for some locations to produce cost reports on specific items biweekly (e.g. meats) or daily (e.g. beer cart, bar).
Sales mix values refers to the total menu items sold from the menu. The value of comparing the actual sales mix values with the theoretical menu costs (if everything was perfect), is that it provides operators with an opportunity for comparison and to focus on specific areas that require attention.
Menu mix refers to the station flow in a kitchen or the station that is producing the most items. Studying this area provides opportunities to adjust stations, as required, to improve productivity. Menu engineering, which was introduced in the previous topic, also affects sales mix and menu mix.
Study
As you study this topic, begin by reviewing the Cost of Goods Sold articles. Like a snapshot, this standard procedure and formula informs the operator of how the business is performing at that particular moment in time. Remember, after these costs have been calculated, and as soon as the next sale is processed, it is repeated for the next period.
How to Calculate Your Cost of Goods Sold(opens in a new tab) (4 pages)
Cost of Goods Sold for Restaurants(opens in a new tab) (2 pages)
The next readings focus on yield testing and monthly food costs. Review the importance of both of these calculations in determining accurate food costs. Pay particular attention to the examples provided. In addition, take note of the types of food cost reports that can be produced.
Yield Testing(opens in a new tab) (7 pages)
From: Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management
Monthly Food Costs(opens in a new tab) (6 pages)
From: Basic Kitchen and Food Service Management
The final reading discusses sales mix, menu mix, and menu engineering. Review these important concepts and consider how they can be used to improve the overall efficiency of a food and beverage operation. Pay close attention to the videos included in the reading.
Sales Mix, Menu Mix and Menu Engineering(opens in a new tab) (4 pages)
Practice
There are two practice activities for this module.
Discussion
This is a graded practice activity.
This activity provides you with an opportunity to better understand the differences between theoretical and actual food costs, which will help you manage menu offerings. With this knowledge, you can compare, analyze, and explain how variances may be acceptable and beneficial.
To complete this practice activity, post in the discussion:
Discussion 4: Theoretical vs. Actual Food Costs
Food and Beverage Costings
This is a non-graded practice activity, but is essential to prepare you for evaluations in this course.
This activity provides you with an opportunity to cost out a food menu item and a beverage menu item.
Complete the activity: Practice Activity – Food and Beverage Costings(opens in a new tab)
Check your answers: Practice Activity – Food and Beverage Costings (Answers)(opens in a new tab)
Take Away
Now that you have completed this module, you have a better understanding of how to plan and develop a food and beverage menu, including the importance of conducting industry and competitive research to keep abreast of food and beverage industry trends. You also learned about the benefits of benchmarking and the ways operators can use this information to improve their food and beverage establishments.
When learning about menu design, you covered common menu design and layout mistakes. In addition, you learned about the various factors that should be considered during the menu design process, including presentation format, layout, menu engineering and psychology, and cleanliness.
Finally, you learned about the differences between theoretical and actual product costs as well as the types of reports that can be produced. Additional food and beverage costs such as Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), yield testing, and sales/menu mix were also discussed.
References
Arrowhead Golf Club (n.d.). Menus – Arrowhead Golf Club. Retrieved from http://arrowheadgolfclub.org/restaurant-menus/
BC Cook Articulation Committee., & The BC Cook Articulation Committee. (n.d.). Basic kitchen and food service management. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/basickitchenandfoodservicemanagement/
Chiasson, D. (2017, June 28). 7 menu design and layout mistakes [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://bit.ly/2Jej200
Chef’s Resources. (n.d.). Sales mix, menu mix and menu engineering. Retrieved from http://www.chefs-resources.com/kitchen-management-tools/food-cost-tools/sales-mix-and-menu-mix-for-the-chef/
Delaware North. (2014, December 23). Delaware North’s annual food and beverage summit [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2XU8ZjoW4E
Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort. (n.d.). Hugo’s Restaurant. Retrieved from https://www.druidsglenresort.com/cmsFiles/new_menu_jan_2018_-_hugo_s_restaurant.pdf
eHow. (2009, May 18). Restaurant business: Planning a menu for a restaurant [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwAwGs7gIEU
Eiden, K. (2014). How to use benchmarking to enhance your restaurant’s profitability. Retrieved from https://www.schencksc.com/education-center/articles/how-to-use-benchmarking-to-enhance-your-restaurants-profitability
Everitt, G. (2017). Food & beverage trends for 2018. Retrieved from https://www.rcsleadershiplounge.com/single-post/2017/11/10/Food-Beverage-Trends-for-2018
Fidanov, S. (n.d.). iPad menus challenges, risks and benefits part 2. Retrieved from https://www.terlici.com/2011/04/03/menu-challenges-part-2.html
The Harvest Golf Club. (n.d.). The Harvest Golf Club – Menus. Retrieved from http://www.harvestgolf.com/restaurant/menus/
Hospitality School. (2015). Types of menu. Retrieved from http://www.hospitality-school.com/types-menus-restaurant
Kitchencut. (2015). Menu writing tips: Menu presentation. Retrieved from https://www.kitchencut.com/menu-writing-tips-menu-presentation/
Malone Golf Club. (2017). The Grille Room – Menu. Retrieved from http://www.malonegolfclub.com/files/public/menu_2017.pdf
Must Have Menus. (n.d.). Basic restaurant menu layout. Retrieved from https://www.musthavemenus.com/guide/menu-basics/basic-menu-layout.html
Must Have Menus. (n.d.). Menu engineering 101. Retrieved from https://www.musthavemenus.com/guide/menu-basics/menu-engineering.html
Oeser, S. (2017, May 1). Please restaurant customers by keeping menus clean[Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.relyco.com/blog/waterproof-paper-applications/please-restaurant-customers-by-keeping-menus-clean/
Pavesic, D. (n.d.). The psychology of menu design: Reinvent your ‘silent salesperson’ to increase check averages. Retrieved from https://www.rrgconsulting.com/the-psychology-of-menu-design-reinvent-your-silent-salesperson-to-increase-check-averages-and-guest-loyalty.html
Peters, D. S. (2013). Cost of goods sold for restaurants. Retrieved from https://therestaurantexpert.com/cost-of-goods-sold-for-restaurants/
Splatt, M. (n.d.). How to calculate your cost of goods sold [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://restaurantsuccess.touchbistro.com/touchbistro-blog/how-to-calculate-your-cost-of-goods-sold
wikiHow. (n.d.). How to make a restaurant menu. Retrieved from https://m.wikihow.com/Make-a-Restaurant-Menu
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