Menu wording
How are you describing your food?
Dishes should be described in a clear, simple way that also piques the diner’s interest. Think of your words as strokes coming together to form a mental painting in the mind of your guest. Badly described or overly complex sounding dishes draw a blank and chances are they won’t be ordered.
Keep the description of your food simple
Use simple, easy to understand language and avoid being too wordy. Stay away from terms that only kitchen staff would understand. By giving simple names to your dishes, you are personalising them and that helps them to stand out in the mind of the guest. Try playing around with the words of a slow-moving dish and it might just become your next bestseller.
Finally, and most importantly, check for any spelling mistakes that might have slipped past your radar and correct them immediately.
Menu pricing
As every chef worth his salt knows, understanding how to calculate food costs is one of the most important aspects of running a kitchen. The general gauge for food costing lies in the region of about 32% of your retailing price. Take into account all the ingredients that go into making the dish before working out the menu prices.
Be consistent with your pricing in the menu. Don’t let prices fluctuate too much with dishes in the same category as guests might be turned off by the higher priced item. For example, you wouldn’t want to sell a fish dish for $20 and a steak for $70. Lastly, round off your prices so it doesn’t include a strange figure like $28.75. Don’t forget – a simple menu is a good menu.
