What is the Menu?
The Menu is a list of dishes that are available for sale in a food service outlet or that can be served at a meal. The menu is primarily a sales tool. It can communicate to the guests the dishes available for sale, along with pieces and short descriptions of each item.
What is the Function of Menu
The functions of the menu are the following:
1. Basis for Operations
The menu forms the basis for all activities that are carried out in the restaurant and in the food and beverage departments as a whole.
Activities such as equipment purchases, ingredients purchases, staff recruitment, production processes, organizing service areas, pricing, interior design, service procedure, and so on.
2. Communication Device
A menu communicates to the guests the dishes available for sale, along with pieces and short descriptions of each item. It also informs whether the dishes are spicy or nonspicy, vegetarian or nonvegetarian, the tax percentage, waiting time, and so on.
3. Effective Sales Tool
The menu is primarily a sales tool. In F&B outlets and casual dining restaurants, they are presented attractively in bright colors on display boards with pictures that motivate people to buy.
Menu card describes dishes in an appetizing way, making it easy for customers to select dishes, help locate dishes they are looking for by printing pictures, promote the chef’s special dishes, happy hours, and so on.
4. Image Builder
The font style, design, color, quality of the card, variety of dishes on offer, presentation style, and so on, speak about the profile of the restaurant.
One can assess the quality of the staff in production and service areas, the kind of equipment used, the infrastructure of the restaurant, customer profile, and so on, by going through the menu.
- Also read: What are Menu Planning and its types
The History of Menu
It is believed that the term “Menu“ first originated in 1541 when “Duke Henry of Brunswick” was seen referring to a sheet of paper during a feast. And this was the first time when the menu word is used for a hotel in history. In French, Menu means “In a minute detail” and in English, it is also termed a Bill of Fare.
The size of the card gradually became smaller, which made it possible to have more copies placed on the tables. Even today in formal banquets, every invitee gets a copy of the menu.
Every Food industry, whether operating for commercial or welfare purposes, large or small, uses a menu. There are many types of menus, it depends upon all managerial and operational activities of the food and beverage operations.
