1. Menus, Recipes, and Cost Management
Chapter 4

2. Menu, Recipes, and Cost Management
The Menu
A list of dishes served or available to be served at a meal.
It is an important management tool.
The menu is the single most important document in the business.

3. Menu, Recipes, and Cost Management
Are the building blocks of the menu.
Are an important management tool.
Indicate ingredients to be purchased and stored.
Give measuring and preparation instructions to the kitchen staff.

4. Menu Forms and Functions
Menus must be planned for the clientele.
The kind of clientele the business serves influences the form the menu takes.
Each kind of operation has a different menu because each serves the needs of a different clientele.

5. Menu Forms and Functions
The Clientele
Types of Institutions:
Hotel
Hospitals
Employee food service
Catering and banquet
Fast-food and take-out
Full-service restaurants

6. Menu Forms and Functions
The Clientele
Customer Preferences
Facilities must produce food that is appealing to their customers.
Tastes vary by region, by neighborhood, by age group, and by social and ethnic background.
Prices must be kept in line with the customers’ ability and willingness to pay.

7. Menu Forms and Functions
Kind of Meal
Breakfast
Breakfast menus are fairly standard within any one country.
Lunch
Menu planning factors are speed, simplicity, and variety.
Dinner
This is usually the main meal.
Dinner is eaten in a more leisurely fashion.
Dinner menus offer more selections and more courses.

8. Menu Forms and Functions
Types of Menus
Static and Cycle Menus
Static menu is one that offers the same dishes every day.
Cycle menu is one that changes every day for a certain period.
After this period, the daily menus repeat in the same order.

9. Menu Forms and Functions
Types of Menus (cont’d)
Á la carte & Table d’Hôte
Á la carte menu is one in which individual items are listed separately, each with its own price.
Table d’ Hôte menu is one in which a selection of complete meals are offered at set prices.
Prix fixe means “fixed price”menu. Similar to table d’hôte; on a pure prix fixe menu, only one price is given.

10. Menu Forms and Functions
Types of Menus (cont’d)
Tasting Menu
Also known by its French name, menu dégustation.
Offered in addition to the regular menu.
Gives patrons a chance to try a larger number of the chef’s creations.

11. Building the Menu The Classical menu
Classical menu in the early twentieth century:
Cold hors d’oeuvres
Soup
Hot hors d’oeuvres
Fish
Main course
Hot entrée
Cold entrée
Sorbet
Roast
Vegetable
Sweet
Dessert

12. The Modern Menu: Courses and Arrangement
Building the Menu
The Modern Menu: Courses and Arrangement
First courses
Appetizer
Soup
Fish (sometimes included in more formal dinners)
Salad (may be served before or after main course)
Main dish
Meat, poultry, fish
Vegetable accompaniment
Dessert dishes
Salad
Fruit and cheese
Sweets

13. BUILDING THE MENU Variety and Balance Flavor
Do not repeat foods with the same or similar tastes.
Texture
Refers to the softness or firmness of foods and their feel in the mouth.
Do not repeat foods with the same or similar texture.

14. VARIETY AND BALANCE (CONT’D)
BUILDING THE MENU
VARIETY AND BALANCE (CONT’D)
Appearance
Serve foods with a variety of colors and shapes.
Nutrients
Menus should provide enough nutritional variety to allow customers to select nutritionally balanced meals.

15. VARIETY AND BALANCE (CONT’D)
Building the Menu
VARIETY AND BALANCE (CONT’D)
Cooking Methods
They play an important role in determining the flavors, textures, and appearance of food.
It is a good idea to offer a variety of roasted, braised, grilled, sautéed, and simmered foods.

16. Kitchen Capabilities and Availability of Foods
Building the Menu
Kitchen Capabilities and Availability of Foods
Equipment Limitations
Know the capacities of your equipment and plan menus accordingly.
Spread the workload evenly among your equipment.
Personnel Limitations
Spread the workload evenly among the workers.
Spread the workload throughout the day.
Offer items the cooks are able to prepare.

17. KITCHEN CAPABILITIES AND AVAILABILITY OF FOODS (cont’d)
Building the Menu
KITCHEN CAPABILITIES AND AVAILABILITY OF FOODS (cont’d)
Availability of Ingredients
Use foods in season.
Use locally available foods.

18. Menu Terminology and Accuracy
Building the Menu
Menu Terminology and Accuracy
Accurate and truthful descriptions are required:
Point of origin
Grade or quality
Cooking method
Size or portion
“Fresh”
“Imported”
“Homemade”
“Organic”
Size or portion
Appearance

19. Uses and Limitations of Recipes
The Written Recipe
Uses and Limitations of Recipes
Recipe: a set of instructions for producing a certain dish.
Written recipes have many limitations.
There are several reasons for this:
Food products are not uniform.
Kitchens have different equipment.
It is impossible to give exact instructions for many processes.

20. The Written Recipe Standardized Recipes
Standardized recipe: a set of instructions describing the way a particular establishment prepares a particular dish.
It is a customized recipe developed by an operation for the use of its own cooks, using its own equipment, to be served to its own patrons.

21. STANDARDIZED RECIPES (cont’d)
The Written Recipe
STANDARDIZED RECIPES (cont’d)
Structure of Recipe
Name of the recipe
Directions for preparing the dish
Yield, including total yield, number of portions, and portion size
Preparation and cooking temperatures and times
Ingredients and exact amounts, listed in order of use
Directions for portioning, plating, and garnishing
Food safety instructions
Directions for preparing or fabricating ingredients
Directions for breaking down the station, cleaning up, and storing leftovers
Expected trim yields
Equipment needed

22. STANDARDIZED RECIPES (cont’d)
The Written Recipe
STANDARDIZED RECIPES (cont’d)
Function
Controls quality.
Controls quantity.
Is a key tool in controlling costs.

23. The Written Recipe Cooking with Judgment
When cooking with judgment, determine the following points:
What are the basic cooking methods?
What are the characteristics of the ingredients?
What are the functions of the ingredients?
What are the cooking times?

24. Ingredient Measurement
Weight: Measures how heavy an item is.
AP weight is the weight of the item as purchased, before any trimming is done.
EP weight is the weight after all inedible or nonservable parts are trimmed off.
Volume: Measures how much space an item fills.
Volume measures are used for liquids.

25. Measurement Portion Control
Portion control: The measurement of portions to ensure the correct amount of an item is served.
The following techniques are used:
Count
Weight
Volume
Even division
Standard fill

26. Measurement Metric System Basic Units
Divisions of metric units are expressed by prefixes
The gram is the basic unit of weight.
The liter is the basic unit of volume.
The meter is the basic unit of length.
The degree Celsius is the basic unit of temperature.
Kilo: 1,000
Deci: 1 ⁄ 10
Centi: 1 ⁄ 100
Milli: 1 ⁄ 1000

27. Converting Recipes Key Points
Yield: a specific quantity of a food produced by a recipe
Converting the recipe: to change the yield of a recipe
Conversion factor = New yield ÷ Old yield
New quantity = Old quantity × Conversion factor

28. Food Cost Calculations
Food Cost Percentages
Food cost percentage:
The raw food cost or portion cost divided by the menu price.
Food cost percentage = Food cost ÷ Menu price
To determine what the menu price is at a certain food cost percentage:
Menu price = Food cost ÷ Food cost percentage

29. CONTROLLING FOOD COSTS
Key Points
Menu Planning
Utilize ingredients efficiently by following guidelines for total utilization of foods.
Purchasing
Accurate forecasting of future business, based on careful study of past business, is key to managing inventory and establishing par stock.
Receiving
Pay careful attention to receiving procedures.
Use all edible trim.
Do not add an item to the menu unless you can use the trimmings.
Plan production to avoid leftovers.
Plan ahead for use of leftovers.
Avoid minimum-use perishable ingredients (ingredients that are utilized on only one or two menu items).

30. CONTROLLING FOOD COSTS
Key Points
Storing
Proper storage is essential to avoid spoilage and loss of food items.
Measuring and other Cooking Procedures
All cooking procedures, including measuring, combine to help control food costs.
Serving
Serving staff must be trained in serving techniques and in portion control for those items they are responsible for plating.
A well-trained serving staff is an important part of controlling food costs