Menu Planning In Hospitality Industry

The Reason for Considering Customer Requirements

The reason for considering customer requirements when determining appropriate menu styles and types of menus

Customer requirements should be considered when determining appropriate menu style and types of menus because it will ensure that the needs of the customer is incorporate into the business, and hence the customer will be satisfied (SHU, 2008). Satisfying the need of a customer is very essential because it a distinct way of attracting new customers and retaining the existing customers as well. Satisfying the needs of the customer also the best way of measuring customer loyalty, reducing churn and revenues as well as helping in identifying happy and unhappy customers (SHU, 2008).

The 2 key questions in business planning to establish your product and services

The two key questions in business planning to establish your product and services are; what do you wish to offer that nobody else does? And; what is the design of your business? The first question about what you want to offer that one else does is about identifying an existing business gap in the market and designing a good or service to close the gap. By closing the gap, you are providing a solution to the customers. The second question about the design of your business revolves around a clear evaluation of the operations of the business including its sources of projected revenues and cots (Koskynky, 2009).

5 elements of detailed customer information that a business would find beneficial for establishing a customer profile

According to (Netemeyer, et al., 2010), the following are the elements of detailed customer information that a business would find beneficial for establishing a customer profile.

1. Customer age
2. Customer taste and preference
3. Customer
4. Frequency of purchase or service of a customer
5. Customer purchasing trend

An example of food preferences for each of the following ethnic groups:

Thai: Tom Yum (Spicy Shrimp Soup)

French: Garlic Mayonnaise

USA: The Hamburger

Indian: Butter Chicken

Italian: il primo (pasta, rice)

How Escoffier’s invention of the “parties system” affected the production and quality procedures in commercial kitchens

How Escoffier’s invention of the “parties system” affected the production and quality procedures in commercial kitchens by reducing the time of preparing a meal in the kitchen from six hours to just one or two hours. The invention also lead to the improvement of the quality of food that was being produced in the kitchen (Hui, et al., 2013).

Many current trends in the hospitality industry Centre on environmental impacts and freshness of produce. List 4 examples of how this affects purchasing and the nutritional and economical aspects in menu planning?

The 2 Key Questions in Business Planning

According to (Koskynky, 2009), the following are some of the important issues;

1. There is an increased emphasis on health and well- being has led to a reduction the purchase of certain foods such as those foods with large sugary contents.
2. The reduction in the purchase of certain foods has led to reduced revenue to the respective business owners.
3. The reduction in the purchase of certain foods has led to loss of customers,
4. There is a trend of sustainability rule, the trends that aims at ensuring an eco- friendly system. This trend has led to the reduction of production and consequently the purchase of certain products.

Which aspect do you need to consider in terms of food cost and pricing when choosing the following menu types:

A la carte- price

Table d’hôte- Restaurant

Bistro style-colour (Ellen, et al., 2010)

What are the typical features of the following menus?

Static Menus

Laminated for easy clean up

Separated into groups like soups, appetizers, etc. (Taylor, 2008)

Special Menus

Are provided a upon request by the customer (Kuokkanen, 2011)

Cycle Menus

Certain foods are served on given days e.g. fish on Fridays (Shestakov, et al., 2010).

What are the advantages of Cycle menus? Where would cycle menus ideally be used?

1. A customer is able to plan on what they will on any particular day.
2. It enhances variety and choice for the customers (Hui, et al., 2013)

What are the advantages of a table d’hôte menu?  What are the advantages if a combination of table d’hôte menu and A la carte menu is used in an establishment?

1. A customer is able to compare the menus of different restaurants and pick from their favourite,
2. Customers have access to variety of foods from different restaurants (Hui, et al., 2013).

List 5 different types of menus which are traditionally used in larger establishment in the hospitality industry:

1. Du Jour Menu
2. Cycle Menu
3. Table d’hôtel Menu
4. Static menu
5. A ‘la carte Menu (Hui, et al., 2013)

What is the purpose of breakfast buffets? What are the advantages of using a buffet set-up for breakfast?

The purpose of a breakfast buffet is to provide foods with a balanced diet to ensure proper nutrition is achieved (Koskynky, 2009).

Advantages:

1. It ensures there is a beautiful presentation of foods
2. It is a way of getting the foods in an organized manner to maximize on storage.
3. For a restaurant, it is a way of minimizing the cost of having to purchase these foods at different points as well as having a smaller space for serving the breakfast (Hui, et al., 2013).

Which aspect should be considered when serving cocktail foods for a function? What are the potential economic benefits of cocktail foods?

1. The theme of the cocktail
2. The customer needs or tastes of the cocktail

The potential economic benefits of a cocktail is that it reduces the cost of raw materials.

1. Reducing the waste of ingredients.
2. Maximizing on the profits.
3. Meeting customer needs(Hui, et al., 2013).

Generating menus ideas must be planned process. List 6 key aspects which must be considered:

1. Target customers.
2. Economic factors (the cost of generating the menu).
3. The ingredients and items.
4. Pricing strategy.
5. Marketing strategies.
6. Pricing and currency symbols (Taylor, 2008).

List 5 nutrition aspects which should be considered when planning menus for children and adolescents according to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating include:

1. The price of the food items.
2. The sugar composition of the food items.
3. The vitamin composition of the food items.
4. The milk composition of the food items.
5. How balanced the diet in the menu is (Hui, et al., 2013)

Which details for the following aspects of dishes must be considered when planning and writing a menu?

Colour

Texture- The texture should not be rough and irritating.

Flavour- The menu should have an attractive colour.

Ingredients- The ingredient should form a balanced diet all together

Naming the dish- The names should be simple and understandable (Ellen, et al., 2010).

The cost of commodities varies. What action does a chef need to take to maintain or maximise profits accordingly?

 Chef should ensure that they use the correct proportion of ingredients to avoid waste of the ingredients that may cause additional costs.

What is a sale mix? Why should this be analysed frequently?

A sale mix is the part or portion of the product of a business that has been sold in comparison to the production. A sales mix should always be analysed to find out whether the business is making profits or not as well as to determine the optimal production, the optimal volume that the business is able to sale (Ellen, et al., 2010). The variance of the sales mix is calculated by by first calculating the actual number of the sales units for the given product (Ellen, et al., 2010). The actual of number of the sales units is then multiplied by the percentage of the sales mix. The variance of the sales mix is the difference between this product and the actual sales mix that has been calculated (Netemeyer, et al., 2010). In other words, the variance of the sale mix is the difference between a company’s budget and the cost of a product.

Elements of Detailed Customer Information for Establishing a Customer Profile

List 6 impacts which must be considered when planning a menu to ensure profitabity:

1. The target customers. The target customers are the people that the business intends to sale to.
2. Competitive analysis. Competittive analysis is about evaluating the effects of the available and potential competitors.
3. Economic factors. Economic factors are the factors are the factors that affects the pricing of goods and services such as the rate of interest and the inflation rate.
4. Ingredients and items. The ingrdients and items are the raw materials that the busoiness will need. The business must be conscious of the cost of these items.
5. Vendor selection. Vendors are the supplies. The suppliers must be reliable enough.
6. Pricing strategy. The pricing must be competitive enough and that which attracts and maintains the customers. (Koskynky, 2009)

What are the formulae to calculate the following details?

Retail price= Marked price – Discount

Mark-up= Cost price – discount

Cost of Goods= Margin %= ((Retail Price- Mark- up price)/cost price)*100% (Hui, et al., 2013).

When costing a menu, the overall food cost must take into account items with higher and lower food cost percentages. Provide   an example of how is this achieved:

You must take into account items with higher and lower food cost percentages by first conducting a proper market research. The next thing is find out the exact costs of the items and carry out a competitive analysis (Hui, et al., 2013).

Once all menu factors, cost and processes have been established, you will need to write and finalise the actual menu. Describe 5 considerations when selecting resources, format, print, style, and correct item descriptions.

Once a menu has been implemented it is essential to review its success. List 5 options which could be used:

1. Plating and glassware.
2. Getting customer feedback.
3. Seeking for expert opinion.
4. Culinary experience (Ellen, et al., 2010).

Provide an example for each of the following feedback methods:

1. Customer feedback
2. Rating agency (Ellen, et al., 2010).

Provide 3 examples of methods which could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a menu:

1. Conducting a survey to get feedbacks from the customers
2. Calculating the sales mix
3. Marketing and engineering (Ellen, et al., 2010)

References

Ellen, M. et al., 2010. Workplace Health Understandings and Processes in Small Businesses: A Systematic Review of the Qualitative Literature. Volume 20, p. 19.

Hui, B., Sui, A. & Ching, G., 2013. he Business Mindframe (The General Truth of Business Redefining Business Management Knowledge) || Principles – “Engineerizing” the Business Management Knowledge. p. 74.

Koskynky, V., 2009. Information Systems for Business Management Based on the Service Oriented Architecture. p. 4.

Kuokkanen, H., 2011. Revenue Management in Service Organizations: A practical book on revenue management as part of business strategy for financial and other business managers. Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, p. 2.

Netemeyer, R. G., Maxham, J. G. & Lichtenstein, D. R., 2010. Store manager performance and satisfaction: Effects on store employee performance and satisfaction, store customer satisfaction, and store customer spending growth.. Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 95, p. 16.

Shestakov, A. L., Sidorov, A. I., Shefer, L. A. & Gichkina, E. V., 2010. A quality management system for an institution of higher education: analysis of customer satisfaction. p. 2.

SHU, S.-. H., 2008. Developing an index for online customer satisfaction: Adaptation of American Customer Satisfaction Index. Volume 34, p. 10.

Taylor, R. W., 2008. Corporate sustainable development: a model for strategic business management. p. 04.