Fine Dining Prix Fixe And Table D’hôte Menus – Ontario, Canada

Appetizers

Three Course Prix Fixe Menu (Selected Ethnic Cuisine: Canadian, As designed by the Author)

Estimated Fixed Price: $ 100. 00

Appetizers

Creamy Mushroom and Lentil Pastry Pockets (Lentils cooked in aromatic garlic and creamy mushroom sauce, filled in puff pastry pockets and baked to golden brown perfection), or,

Apple and Berry Grilled Chicken Salad (Chicken cubes tossed in caramelized apples and cranberries served with a drizzle of lime and crunchy lettuce) Save Time On Research and Writing Hire a Pro to Write You a 100% Plagiarism-Free Paper. Get My Paper

Entrees (Protein with Sauce)

Grilled chicken mashed potatoes in tangy plum and orange sauce (Chicken grilled to tenderness, served with pureed plums and orange concentrate along with potatoes mashed in butter for an exciting balance of flavors), or,

Baked salmon in garlic and lemon sauce with sautéed French beans (Thick salmon fillets baked in lemon juice and garlic cloves, served with crunchy French beans sautéed in sesame oil)

Vegetables

Roasted aubergine and tomato with soft boiled eggs and yoghurt topping, (Aubergine and tomato slices roasted till golden served with refreshing mint and yoghurt dip, along with oozing, soft boiled eggs), or,

Buttery baby carrot sticks (Baby carrots coated in simple seasoning and butter, lightly stir fried to maintain their crunchiness)

Starch

Herbed coconut and pineapple rice (Stir fried rice cooked in aromatic thyme, fennel and mint, simmered in creamy coconut milk), or,

Sundried tomato and caramelized onion focaccia (Freshly baked bread with a mellowed topping of sweet, sticky onions and the freshness of tangy tomatoes)

Desserts

Spiced blackberry, ginger and mango crumble with caramelized walnuts, oats and fresh cream topping (Chopped mangoes and blackberries, baked in honey, warm cinnamon and ginger, topped with crunchy oats and sugary walnuts along with a serving of fresh cream), or,

Mini rhubarb and strawberry pies (Strawberries and rhubarb, stewed till tender and baked in a crunchy and buttery short crust pastry)

Estimated Fixed Price: $ 200. 00

Salad

Sweet and spicy chickpea, broccoli and quinoa salad with chili, honey dressing (Chickpeas broccoli florets and quinoa, cooked in hot spices like chilies, ginger and peppers tossed in a hot and sweet dressing of caramelized honey and spicy chili), or,

Chicken and avocado salad with warm sesame and peanut dressing (Chicken cubes sautéed in garlic butter and served with creamy avocado, topped with the subtle nuttiness of a peanut and sesame dressing)

Soup/Appetizer

Beetroot and feta soup with cheesy croutons (A healthy and hearty soup consisting of smooth beetroot puree, topped with crumbles of fresh feta cheese and served with crunchy croutons coated with Parmesan), or,

Citrus black bean and coconut soup with fruity dinner rolls (A sweet and sour soup consisting of the nuttiness of black beans cooked in a citrusy vegetable stock, topped with orange zests and served with soft, freshly prepared dinner rolls stuffed with dried fruit and raisin), or,

Grilled cherry tomato and sweet potato kebabs (Mini skewers filled with cherry tomatoes and sweet potato cubes, coated with seasoning and mustard sauce, and grilled till crisp), or,

Minced beef and pea stuffed mushrooms (Button mushrooms stuffed with juicy minced beef and mashed green peas cooked in juicy chicken and tomato stock, and baked till tender)

Protein

Slow cooked lobster with spinach, thyme and asparagus (Lobster tails and chunks cooked in a flavorful stew of spinach and aromatic asparagus, spiced with fragrant thyme, fennel and parsley, till tender), or,

Steamed tuna fillets with bean sprouts and pesto sauce (Tuna fillets steamed in seasoning and served with crunchy, sautéed bean sprouts and herbed pesto sauce)

Vegetable

Barbecued celery and fennel with soya and black olive dressing, (Crunchy celery sticks and fragrant fennel bulbs coated in a salty and nutty dressing of dark soy and olives, and barbequed for a robust, mouth-watering smoky flavor), or,

Buttery mashed apple, celeriac and beetroot (Beetroot, apple and celeriac, stewed in honey, mashed to smoothness and cooked in butter for an interesting combination of flavours

Starch

Rice with tomatoes and red beans, (Hearty rice cooled in a hot curry of red beans and tangy tomatoes), or,

Crispy apple and cheddar flatbread (Crispy flatbread slices topped with caramelized apple and mascarpone, freshly prepared and tossed by hand)

Dessert

Toffee and caramel bread pudding, (Bite-sized chunks of bread, dipped in a addictive caramel and toffee sauced and baked just right to rekindle the flavors of everyone’s childhood), or,

Red velvet cheesecake brownies (Dark cocoa with a hint of color and warm cinnamon baked to fudge brownie consistency, balanced with the addition of a light and tangy layer of cream cheese)

For the above types of menus formulated, two styles have been considered, which are ‘Prix Fixe’ and ‘Table d’hôte’ styles of menu planning. The term ‘Prix Fixe’ is derived from French, which can be translated as ‘fixed price’, and is referred to a type of menu which consists of a previously decided, fixed set of food items at a specified, fixed price. This menu style is commonly used in fine dining restaurants or for special events and festivities (Kim et al.).

The second style of menu which has been utilized for menu planning is ‘table d’hôte’, another French term, which can be translated as ‘table of the host’. This style of menu is similar to a fixed price menu, where a pre-set list of food items, served in multiple courses are available, hence, providing a limited food selection choice to the customers, a fixed rates (Meiselman).  

One of the key principles of menu planning, include the incorporation of food ingredients which are readily availability in the locality, along being present in local markets, seasonally. The above menus have been designed with the ethnocentric principle of Canada, and hence the recipes and food items used have been selected based on their availability in Ontario, Canada. Exotic fruits, vegetables and meats have been avoided due to low availability and high costs (Ducrot et al.). Further, recipes utilizing fish have been formulated referring to the list of sustainable fish and seafood available in Ontario, in order to practice environmentally and economically sound cooking methods (Silver and Hawkins).

The cooking techniques utilized in the above menus include mainly baking, stir frying, sautéing, grilling, roasting, stewing and steaming which are commonly used and require readily available equipment such as ovens, stoves, skewers, skillets, woks, ladles and more. Recipes which would require novel food processing methodologies and resultant equipment, have been avoided since they been documented to increase menu and labour costs further reducing the cost effectiveness of the menu to fellow customers (Nagura and Takahashi).

The expenses or estimated level of costing underlying the planning of a menu include consideration of direct costs such as food ingredient availability, recipe popularity, type of service and menu style; as well as indirect costs such as labour and equipment usage, along with the required lighting, electricity, linen and administration. The expenses of the above menu have been decided based on extensive usage of popular meat dishes such as fish, along with provision of service in fine dining settings, resulting in high costs (Linassi, Alberton and Marinho).

Entrees (Protein with Sauce)

The above menu has been designed considering that it will be served in an atmosphere of fine dining. A fine dining restaurant aims to serve high quality foods to clients who are upscale, resulting in atmosphere which is attractive, formal and fancier than regular eateries (Rozekhi et al.).

Due to the extravagant nature of the clientele visiting fine dining restaurants, the concerned staff appointed must be well skilled and suited in terms of food preparation as well as food serving. Hence for serving the above menu in a fine dining setup, the labour force involve will be sufficiently proficient in preparing and serving unique and innovative dishes as mentioned above (Tsaur, Luoh and Syue).

Customer profiling or assessing the characteristics of the clientele who may visit forms the cornerstones of menu planning. The above menu has been formulated considering fine dining settings which will cater to high profile customers and families who will prefer extravagant dining, hence requiring innovative, unique and interesting recipes (Nitiwanakul).

The type of service which will be utilized for serving  the above menus is ‘buffet service’, considering the limited array of food items which have already been decided for serving. For a buffet service, the food will be served on tables, where guests can select their choices after organized movement within a line, followed carrying the food to their respective tables for sitting and dining. Selected staff possessing considerable knowledge of the recipes, may stand near the food serving tables to assist the clients during selection and serving. Considering the fine dining nature of the restaurant, the staff will set the tables with cutlery prior to service, followed by serving of beverages and carrying the plates to the customer’s tables, if required (Shahzadi et al.).

References

Ducrot, Pauline, et al. “Meal planning is associated with food variety, diet quality and body weight status in a large sample of French adults.” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 14.1 (2017): 12.

Kim, Sung-Bum, Kathleen Jeehyae Kim, and Dae-Young Kim. “Impact of Different Menu-Labeling Formats on Food Preferences.” Tourism and Leisure Studies 30.4 (2018): 323-343.

Linassi, Rossano, Anete Alberton, and Sidnei Vieira Marinho. “Menu engineering and activity-based costing: an improved method of menu planning.” International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 28.7 (2016): 1417-1440.

Meiselman, Herbert L. “An historical perspective on variety in United States dining based on menus.” Appetite 118 (2017): 174-179.

Nagura, Hideko, and Sumiko Takahashi. “Survey of a Japanese Elementary School Lunch Program Menu Planning, Quality Control, and Nutrition Management: A Case Study.” The Japanese Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics76.Supplement (2018): S38-S49.

Nitiwanakul, Warangrat. “A Comparative study of customer perceived value as a driver for fine dining restaurant selection.” AU Journal of Management 12.1 (2014): 1-13.

Rozekhi, Nor Azureen, et al. “The influence of food quality on customer satisfaction in fine dining restaurant: Case in Penang.” International Academic Research Journal of Business and Technology 2.2 (2016): 45-50.

Shahzadi, Mariam, et al. “Perceptions of fine dining restaurants in Pakistan: What influences customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions?.” International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management 35.3 (2018): 635-655.

Silver, Jennifer J., and Roberta Hawkins. ““I’m not trying to save fish, I’m trying to save dinner”: Media, celebrity and sustainable seafood as a solution to environmental limits.” Geoforum 84 (2017): 218-227.

Tsaur, Sheng-Hshiung, Hsiang-Fei Luoh, and Shao-Syun Syue. “Positive emotions and behavioral intentions of customers in full-service restaurants: does aesthetic labor matter?.” International Journal of Hospitality Management 51 (2015): 115-126.