Menu Engineering: The Complete Guide

• Voeding
• MBO
• Studiejaar 2

Menu Engineering: The Complete Guide

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson you will understand the concept and importance of menu engineering in the restaurant industry.
At the end of the lesson you will know who is involved in the menu engineering process.
At the end of the lesson you will learn how often menu engineering should be performed.
At the end of the lesson you will be able to apply the steps of menu engineering to create a profitable menu.
At the end of the lesson you will understand how to promote profitable menu items effectively.
At the end of the lesson you will be able to analyze the impact of menu changes and make data-driven decisions for improvement.

What do you already know about menu engineering in the restaurant industry?

Definition and Goal of Menu Engineering

Menu engineering is the process of analyzing and optimizing a restaurant menu to improve profitability and customer appeal.

The Scientific Approach to Menu Engineering

Collecting data from sales reports, calculating the cost of goods sold (CoGs) and gross profit margins, categorizing menu items based on their performance.

Benefits of Menu Engineering

Draw attention to high-value items, upsell extras, reduce food waste, and ultimately increase profitability.

Key Players in Menu Engineering

Managers, chefs, servers, and customers to gain both quantitative and qualitative insights.

Recommended Frequency for Menu Engineering

Ideally quarterly or monthly for best results.

Steps for Conducting Menu Engineering

Collecting data, categorizing menu items, analyzing performance, identifying profitable items, promoting profitable items.

Promotion Strategies for Profitable Menu Items

Menu design, marketing, and staff training.

Designing a Customer-Friendly Menu

Highlighting profitable items, using appealing descriptions, and strategic placement.

Training Staff to Support the New Menu

Educating staff about profitable items, upselling techniques, and menu changes.

Review, Analysis, and Iteration of Menu Changes

Continuous review and analysis of KPIs are necessary to measure the impact of menu changes and make ongoing improvements.

Final Tips for Effective Menu Engineering

Continuous review and analysis of KPIs are necessary to measure the impact of menu changes and make ongoing improvements.

Menu Engineering Terminology

Menu Engineering: The process of analyzing and optimizing a restaurant menu to improve profitability and customer appeal.
CoGs (Cost of Goods Sold): The direct costs attributable to the production of the menu items sold by a restaurant.
Stars, Plow Horses, Dogs, Puzzles: Categories used to segment menu items based on their popularity and profitability.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator): A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.