Menu engineering is much misunderstood.
Videos like this one from BBC world service being case in point.
The idea that menu engineering is about moving dishes around a menu in some sort of tricksy psychologically motivated way has taken hold, and we occasionally work with clients seeking advice on how best to achieve this.
We think it makes sense to use a really well optimised menu design. And all but the most nefarious practices fall well short of “tricking” the customer.
It’s important to understand that moving your existing dishes around the menu card – putting them in boxes, and playing with the prices…is like repainting the front door when the roof has blown away.
If your sales aren’t great, you’re not going to see any significant return on this sort of tinkering.
Menu engineering should be about getting your food and drink offering right in the first place. Ensuring the dishes all have a reason for being there and that they match your concept (your armature), that they fit a trend or create one…or that they express your uniqueness and philosophy of hospitality perfectly.
We would ensure that each dish has the right balance of cheap to premium ingredients. That they are the appropriate size, and that we remove anything that isn’t entirely necessary for the dish to be great.
We balance the cooking methods, and storage requirements so as not to overwhelm your kitchen team during service. Naturally we also ensure that separation of allergens is integrated into processes.
The dishes should of course be costed, but not just in relation to product cost (which is the industry standard) but in relation to prep time, as chef time becomes increasingly expensive.
There are endless other considerations, these are just a few.
A finished menu (a good one, anyway) always looks so easy and obvious. But to get it right; to create a menu with profitability and operational efficiency built-in, takes real skill and insight.
I could go on and on. But I don’t need to.
If you’d like to learn more about engineering your menu from concept to execution, then you can download our ebook, Menus that make money.
It’s free. It’s here.
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