2. Contents :
Definition
Importance
Factors Responsible for Menu planning
Basic menu criteria
Objectives
Functions
Guidelines
Don’ts
Menus for school lunch programme
Menus for industrial canteens
Menus for hospitals
Menus for homes for children and extended care
facilities
The people responsible for planning menus must
have the following qualifications
3. DEFINITION
MENU: A Menu is virtually a list of dishes planned for production
in catering operation and may include full meal or snacks
MENU PATTERN : The outline of the food items to be included
in each meal is known as menu pattern
MENU PLANNING :
It is the process of planning and scheduling intake
of meals for general or specific individual requirements.
4. Importance of menu
Menu is primary aspect of the entire establishment upon which all
activities are centered. It determines the food to be purchased , equipment
and personnel needed, the work schedule, precosting food to be served etc
A carefully planned menu is the internal step towards successful meal . It
should provide adequate nutrition , tempt the appetite and result in
satisfaction for the guest.
5. Factors responsible for menu planning
It is broadly divided into two . They are :
1. Factors relating to the guest – age, sex, occupation,
nutritional needs, food preference.
2. Factors relating to food service management – deals with
type , service, no to be served, equipment availability , no of
experienced employees, distribution of work, availability
and seasonality of food budget.
6. Meal outside house is eaten in diversified places. Each food service
is planned to meet the needs or demands of customer.
• In food service institutes, it’s primary objective is selling
• The common and major aid/ sales tool in selling food is the menu
• The menu should be an extension of the 3 policies of a food
service institution i.e.
• Marketing
• Financial
• Catering
7. • Menu informs customers in a clear way of what is available to
them which in turn gives satisfaction to the customer
• Well planned and presented commercial menu makes it possible
to plan for a profit
• Aids in controlling the cost in non commercial institutes
• Application of design, layout, typography and graphics can
effectively complement the atmosphere and type of service and
will be a useful sales medium.
• Good menu assists customers by gaining their confidence and
putting them at ease
• Poor menu deterrent to sales ignorance and fear by the customer
8. Basic Menu Criteria
1.General presentation: very important as it identifies the image and
personality of the particular unit i.e., what type of an institution it is
1. The menu should be attractive
2. It should be clear – plastic coated to be cleaned or inexpensive
paper which can be replaced should be in presentable, durable
cover
3. It should be easy to read – headings, different type face under
each heading – help in selection. Use of graphics, colour, blank
space which attractive to the eye
9. 4. It should complement the service/organization
5. It should reflect current awareness – the current eating
trends to satisfy customer requirements
6. Interesting in design to direct the customer’s eye to specific
items, that the caterer wants to sell – design will assist in
achieving the uniqueness of a particular food operation.
10. Menu content: important to achieve sales
Language: Must be in keeping with the type of operation.
Foreign language if used must be accurate and a simple,
correct translation can be provided to aid sales. Flamboyant
terms or language are difficult to understand
11. Objectives in Meal planning
Meals outside home is eaten in a diversified plans. Each is planned to
meet the need of customer/clientele. Eating outside home is
becoming more and more popular because of many reasons, one of
which is women employment outside home, mashrooming of food
joints of various type in land around, the anxiety to try new foods,
unfamiliar to palette, the crave for eating different types of food in
increasing among the young and middle age population.
12. Any place where food is served, may not be essentially cooked but
served only is called a canteen, but it should be a regular feature and
not occasional, and this is referred to as canteen but purely
temporary in nature. In a canteen same group may be served every
day for example institutional/educational canteen. But in restaurant
where different people are served foods. This group may be a
heterogeneous type, but not homogeneous like in institutional
canteen. Based on institution this objectives of different types of
canteens differ .
13. The objective would be based on different factors which are
1.Age groups
2.Sex
3.Type of work / activity
4.Place of work or accessibility to the market or eating place
5.People to be served
6.Economic conditions
7.Surrounding area
14. There are basic objective for any type of canteen. Which are common
to any food eating outlets.
1. To provide food which is clean and wholesome for the clintelle
2. To provide a balanced food not only nutritious but balanced in
variety. These two facts can be used in any type of canteens.
To maintain the cost of food which is very reasonable and satisfying
to the clintelle. In addition to general objective for each type of
canteen there may be specific objective for each type of canteen
15. Functions of Menu
• Introduces the establishment to the customer
• Authorizes production of meals in the kitchen
• Helps to prepare shopping list of foods and ingredients
• Helps to establish purchasing procedures
• Determines type of equipment, staff skills and type of supervision
required
• Forms the basis for calculation of food and labour costs, overhead
expenses, profits etc.
• Introduces new foods, foods of different cultures etc.
• Provides a means of developing good eating habits in people
16. Guidelines in Menu Making
• Plan variety from day to day rather than offering too many
choices at one meal
• Plan for variety and contrast in type of entrée, vegetables and
salads
• Do not serve a certain dish on the same day of every week
• Do not repeat a dish oftener than after 8-10 days interval
• Avoid having all popular dishes in one meal and uninteresting
dishes in another meal
• Serve foods in season
• Vary the form in which foods are cooked and served
• Use new recipes
• Use leftovers skillfully
• Give interesting garnishes and decorations
• Use of commodities distributed to lunch room operating under
National/State Scholl lunch programme
17. • Utilization of number, ability and experience of personnel
• Amount and adequacy of equipment and space
• Time available for food preparation
• Food habits of the group to be served
• Nutritional requirement of the group
• Amount of money /budget available
• ‘Specials’ on the menu may be placed in a box on the menu card
Menu card serves as an introduction of the food to the customer and
should not be thought of as a price sheet but as a selling device and
an instrument for creating good will and good public relations
18. Donts:
Do not buy processed foods when the following signs are seen:-
• Cans are bulging or dented because they may cause food poisoning
• Rusty can may contain spoiled food
• Frozen food packages that are soft or soggy may have thawed for a
long time and May be spoiling
• Refrozen foods, this can be detected as stained packages or
crystallized products
• Opened or damaged packages
• Moldy or coloured dried foods
• Meat or fish that has dull or slimy surface
19. Menus for School lunch programme
Objective : To serve nutritionally adequate, attractive and
moderately priced lunches.
The nutritional goal is to furnish at least one third of the
recommended daily dietary allowance for children of various age
groups. To help in meeting the nutritional goal, it is recommended
that school lunches include
• A vitamin C food everyday
• A vitamin A food twice a weak
• Several foods for iron each day and
• Protein rich foods
• In addition to meeting the nutritional requirement, school lunches
should provide
• Satisfaction and pleasure to the student
• Help in development of good eating habits
20. Menus for Industrial Canteens
The concept of catering to employees was initiated in the early 19th
century to provide meal service facilities to the labour working in
places located far away from their homes.
Robert Owen – is regarded as the father of industrial catering.
Several industrial units have continued this service as an indispensible
part of their operations, either under plant management or on a
concessional basis. Food is supplied either free of cost or below cost
(subsidized) to their employees – saving to the employees, contributes
to the health, efficiency and the satisfaction of employees.
21. • Menu planning must follow the principles of planning for other
cafeteria – consideration for:
• Specific requirement of the establishment
• Food combinations
• Cycle or rotating menus – valuable in reducing the time spent in
planning successfully keeping in mind equitable distribution of
labour and food. 4 menus (one cycle) suitable for 5 days repeated
3 or 4 times and then a new cycle is begun. Season of the year,
should be taken into account. Food managers trained in mass
production management and cost control.
22. Menus for Homes for Children and Extended
Care Facilities
• These include hostels, orphanages, homes for aged, handicapped etc.
All three meals are eaten in the same place everyday throughout the
year hence nutritional needs of the individuals being served must be
met.
Meal cost must be kept in mind to meet the budgetary allowances.
Careful thought must be given to menu planning to incorporate.
• Variety and interest into the menu
• Prevent low cost foods commonly used from falling into a
monotonous pattern
23. • Children need to be served foods which are familiar and in an
atmosphere which is pleasant.
• Same food can be served to children of all ages, but size of
serving / portion acceptable to a child varies with age.
• Individual differences in activity, sex, body build and other
physical and temperamental characteristics should be kept in
mind.
• Older adults have fixed habits and food preferences
• Basic menu planning pattern should be followed – some
individual problems should be taken care of
24. The People responsible for Planning Menus
must have the Following Qualifications
• Wide knowledge of foods
• Knowledge of ways of aesthetic presentation of foods
• Knowledge of different methods of preparation and service of foods
• The suitability of menu to the different types of occasions and type
of establishments
