There truly is a science to creating a highly profitable menu. Although the menu design experts might tell you different, you don’t have to be a “menu scientist” to get started. There’s no doubt, If you want to get the MOST out of your menu, you should seek out a professional company that specializes in the placement, formatting and descriptive writing that goes into a killer menu. However, you can start ringing up bigger sales TODAY, by just improving your menu copy.

These examples and tips on menu copy may help you raise your guests’ expectations for your food, but keep in mind, the capabilities and skills of your kitchen. It does more harm than good to use this type of descriptive copy if your kitchen can’t deliver the food quality so eloquently described in the menu.

An important factor that effects your guest’s perception of quality and selection are the words (or copy) that is used to describe the items on your menu. The right words and phrases will create positive mental images of your food and enhance customer expectations.

Good menu copy can give you the opportunity to differentiate your restaurant with creativity, flair and pizzazz. Some restaurants also use the menu as a vehicle to entertain their guests with humor and wit. Whatever the case, your menu is your #1 sales vehicle and it deserves careful attention to detail.

Menu Categories
Let’s start with the first level of copy, the words used to describe your menu categories. Here are the more
traditional and common category descriptions – appetizers & soups, salads, pastas, entrees, sides, deserts.

Now this may get the job done, but here are some ideas to say it with a little more flair –

• Just for Starters
• Food to Share
• Local Favorites
• Hearty Sandwiches
• Wood-Fired Pizza
• House Specialties
• Favorites
• Fresh pasta temptations
• Classic Favorites
• Chef’s Choice

Another idea is to add a short sentence short sentence or phrase about the category. This is a great way to add a story or higher degree of quality to a specific menu category.

• Desserts – Like everything else, all our desserts are made fresh daily in our in our kitchen.
• The Grill – We grill over a mesquite wood fire that seals in natural juices and imparts a rich, smoky flavor.
• Rotisserie & Grill – We fire up our rotisserie twice a day and slow-roast these moist specialties in their own juices. Get it while it lasts!

Menu Item Names
The next level of copy is the name of your menu items. You can easily differentiate your offerings from the
competition and create interest and individuality by coming up with some creative names for certain menu
items. For example:

• Lobster Tail – Caribbean Lobster Tail
• Chicken Pasta – Herb Roasted Chicken Pasta
• Salmon – Mesquite-Grilled King Salmon
• Grilled Vegetables – Fire Roasted Vegetables

Think about adding just enough of a description, or unique name, to peek some interest and set your food apart from the competition.

Menu Item Descriptions
The final level of copy has to do with the descriptive copy of the menu items themselves. Following are some examples of what one restaurant did:

• Oyster Cocktail: Fresh, local, yearling oysters served with our famous tangy cocktail sauce
• Chicken Pot Pie:Generous portions of plump, hand-carved turkey breast, fresh vegetables, rich creamy sauce, and our made from scratch flaky crust.

Here is a list of words you might consider when you develop your own menu copy:

• hand-selected
• old-fashioned
• made from scratch
• fresh from the oven
• sautéed
• unique flavor
• natural
• simmered to perfection
• melt in your mouth
• golden brown
• served piping hot
• generous serving
• the best you can buy
• spicy grilled
• slow-cooked
• premium quality
• 100% cholesterol free
• fork tender
• loaded with . . .
• all-natural
• bountiful
• delicate
• robust
• tangy
• plump
• full-bodied flavor
• chef’s choice
• garden-fresh
• natural juices
• loaded with flavor

Have Some Fun
Some restaurants include fun and good natured humor in their menu.  It’s not a bad idea. If it reinforces your desired brand image…then do it. You menu is there to enhance the positive distinctions of your restaurant. Take advantage of this opportunity to define and reinforce your unique identity.

If you don’t use humor, use a good story. People are drawn and endeared to stories.  They act as mental magnets and they will help customers remember you. They will feel a closer connection to your restaurant if they know the people, the history and unique qualities behind it all.

Your menu is the most important selling tool in your operation. Your goal is to plan and design your menu for maximum profitability.

From Food Cost 101, you know you must first breakdown all of your offerings to identify the ones you want to promote. Then select a format or analyze your current menu.

Most national chains laminate their menu. One of the reasons is to ensure that a location in California will offer the same items as one in New York. As an independent restaurant, you don’t have such restrictions. In fact, this can be an exciting advantage over your national competitors.

A simple paper menu is hard to keep clean and dry. You may want to avoid it, unless you’re changing your menu daily. Many experts suggest a plastic cover or backing in which interchangeable sheets can be inserted. These are easy to change and are easy to keep in prime condition.

The average customer spends less than 3 minutes reading a menu, so keep it simple. Menu analysis reveals that 70% of the average items sold from a menu are approximately the same 10 selections. DO WHAT YOU DO BEST. Avoid trying to offer everything. Don’t forget that menus with prolific offerings have to be supported with a large inventory, and this can be very costly. A reasonable number might be 40 to 50 items.

Beware of being too clever with your menu. Pick a font that is easy to read, not too pretty or too graphic. Keep the color of the paper and the size of the font in mind with your lighting conditions.

When writing your menu be sure to use mouth watering descriptions. The following are various descriptive techniques:

• Method of preparation
• Unusual or specialty ingredients or recipes
• The way an item is served
• Characteristics (ex. Freshness)
• Variety, name brand or local origin

Emphasize the important items on your menu. The following are various techniques to enhance your most profitable and popular items:

• Graphics
• Boxes
• Font Size
• Icons
• Shading
• Photos
• Illustrations
• Asymmetrical alignment
• Special placement
• Tell a story or the history
• Color

Be sure to review your menu on a regular basis. Menus should be changed a minimum of twice a year. IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSTANTLY OFFER NEW ITEMS. The chain restaurants, from fast food to casual dining, are perfect examples of this.

Finally, be sure to work with your foodservice sales rep for profitable possibilities. They can help you create and market limited time offers, holiday specials, seasonal menus, special event menus, and much more. You can also capitalize on their market knowledge by asking what is selling and what isn’t. Their manufacturer reps can provide regional data on what the hottest flavors and menu trends are.

It’s no secret; a restaurant’s success is directly linked to the performance of its staff. And the key to getting the maximum performance out of your employees is to make them feel like they are part of something special.

On a continual and consistent basis, you have to let them know that they are part of a TEAM and they play a vital role in the success of your business.

Simply hearing your enthusiasm for your business will only take you so far. You must live this every day. Make sure they see you consistently exhibiting your high standards of guest service, exceeding customer expectations, and maintaining high food quality standards. Don’t just tell them – demonstrate it in all you do. It’s the classic adage of “Leadership by Example”. Nothing works better.

Set the Standards

Statistics show that establishing a clear, easily explained structure for duties, schedules and standards is actually preferred by the average worker. This helps them know what is expected and it also helps management evaluate performance. This starts with an Employee Manual.

Having a standard Employee Manual is a common sense business practice. It should be reviewed before an employee comes in contact with any customer. The employee should also be required to “sign off” that they have reviewed the manual with management and they understand all the information provided. This not only sends a message of responsibility on their side but it also protects you from possible legal backlash in the future.

Scheduling For Success

Labor costs are not controlled by paying low wages. They are controlled through scheduling and improving employee productivity. Productivity is increased through training, better facility layout and the use of labor saving equipment and products.

Realistic productivity standards must be established for each job category. When you’re making staff schedules, create a job slot list. This will help you determine the number of people you need, doing a particular job, at a particular time.

This list will change for different day parts or different days of the week. It’s better to start off scheduling too few employees than too many. Begin by staffing lean. The greatest portion of labor cost is a fixed expense. There is a certain “bare-bones” staff that must be on duty, just to open the doors. At this point, labor can’t be reduced without lowering standards of the operation.

The variable expense occurs while adding personnel as business increases. As productivity reaches its max, additional personnel can be added. Management remains the key element in improving employee productivity. Explaining the “why” of procedures, policies and standards will help develop positive attitudes in your employees. They don’t want to be told “what to do”, they also want to know “why it’s important”.

Invest in Your TEAM

Setting expectations for personnel to multi-task is one thing, overloading key personnel to reduce labor cost is another. It will ultimately result in the loss of quality personnel. If the goal is to have employees productive, an investment must be made in THEM. This includes training, mentoring and coaching.

Training is essential for employee success. Talk with your food distributor to work with you on product and sanitation training. Educating your staff on your offerings with food tastings and menu descriptions will give them the tools they need to sell. You can’t sell something you don’t know anything about.

Sharing and Recognition

Communication plays a big role in solidifying your TEAM. Sharing numbers about the operation that you feel comfortable with will help create a feeling of involvement. Acknowledging success stories, best practices and promotional accomplishments will encourage similar behavior.
Shift meetings are a great place to listen to feedback on issues or concerns. Make yourself available to listen to your staff when they have something to say and encourage them to communicate with each other. Sharing and communication is the foundation of any successful TEAM. The TEAM will never gel until you have this critical piece in place.

THE NUMBER ONE MOTIVATOR FOR EMPLOYEES IS APPRECIATION AND RECOGNITION.

There’s no doubt, you must have a competitive compensation package. However, the quality, work ethic, honesty, attitude and dedication of your employees will rest on the recognition of a job well done.

Offer a positive comment – even if you have to search for one – before delivering constructive criticism of any kind. They will be more receptive to your message.

Daily and weekly contests are great way to generate enthusiasm and consistent recognition. Plus, it will help you steer improvement in those areas of your restaurant that need it the most. Again, look to your food distributor for help with this. For example, if you want to encourage sales of a particular menu items or limited time offer, see if your food distributor can pull some incentives from their manufacturer reps.

Sometimes the best form of recognition is randomly catching employees in the act of great service. You can even set up a system for this. Call it RA RA! (Random Acts of Recognition and Awards).

This is a simple system of rewarding employees on the spot when they go above and beyond. It can be something as easy as a stack of gift cards or movie tickets that your manager keeps in his pocket. When a random act of great service is committed – he gives one out on the spot.

The bottom line…you can spend all the money you want on marketing to get customers in the door, but unless you have a high performance TEAM to service those customers, it’s like throwing money down the drain.

One of the hardest parts of menu design is pricing. Unfortunately, there is no single method that works for every menu. Here are a four methods for you to consider when pricing your menu.

Multiplier

Multiplier is a very simple method that involves totaling the cost of the plate, and all ancillary items, and then multiplying that by 2.5, 3, 3.5 or 4. The problem with this method is it will be very inconsistent to the real dollar profit needed to be successful.

For example, a ¼ chicken plus ancillary cost is equal to $1. Multiply $1 x 3 = $3. With a $3.00 selling price you only make $2.00 over cost on that seat. You may have a $3.00 fixed cost so you lose $1.00 on that customer.
Some people use a multiplier and then add one or two dollars to the item for good measure.

Food Cost Percentage
Food cost percentage is nothing more than wanting a fixed food cost for all items. It uses the multiplier to determine what overall food cost will be

• 20% Food Cost – Multiplier is 5
• 25% Food Cost – Multiplier is 4
• 33% Food Cost – Multiplier is 3
• 50% Food Cost – Multiplier is 2

As with the multiplier system, the same problems exist. One other problem is using the same example of chicken with a multiplier of 3.

For steak with a cost of $5 x 3 = $15 selling price. Consistency in pricing is very important. Your menu should be balanced and a $12 range for entrees would not be considered well balanced.

When considering this method, remember, you take DOLLARS to the bank NOT percentages. Think through the dollar amount you charge and the volume it will generate. For example, Steaks may carry a higher food cost but typically they will deliver more gross profit dollars to the bottom line.

Competition
Gathering menus from competitors is a very popular way to price a menu. In comparison, the prices on the menu may vary greatly. The problem with this method is comparing

• Portion Size
• Quality of product
• Décor
• Service
• Overall points of difference
• Location
• Marketing
• Reputation

What the Market will Bare
What the market will bare has more to do with raising prices. Every market has a perceived idea of what each restaurant should be. We all know examples of restaurants that charge considerably more for basically the same food.
A good example is going to a baseball game and paying two or three times the normal price, because a captive audience will pay for it. The important feature to remember is to be careful and do not try to be something you’re not.

To sum up pricing, it is very important that you do not use only one of the pricing methods listed but use common sense and combine all of the pricing methods. Food cost is more directly affected by product mix than any other factor. All items must be adequately priced in order to ensure profitability.