Menu Development, Planning and Design

This report explores the principles of menu planning and design, customer and business requirements, and provides a realistic plan to develop a menu for a café. It discusses different types of menus, menu planning constraints, and the importance of testing and evaluation. The report concludes with the significance of menu planning for the success and profitability of a café/restaurant.

Menu Development,
Planning and Design

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
LO 1............................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Principles of menu planning and design to meet customer and business requirements for a range of
different menus........................................................................................................................................3
P2 Customer and Business requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to maximize profits..............4
LO 2............................................................................................................................................................5
(Covered in PPT).....................................................................................................................................5
LO 3............................................................................................................................................................5
P5 Realistic plan to develop a menu in order to maximize the profitability of the chosen organization. .5
P6 Menu..................................................................................................................................................5
P7 Testing and Evaluation of the above Menu........................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
A menu plays a crucial role in letting the customers know what food dishes are offered by
a café or a restaurant. Menu Development and Planning is a process wherein the owner or
management of a restaurant decide what food dishes and how much quantity of the same will be
offered to the customers (Alexander, 2016). The owner of Pasco café wants of plan and design a
menu for a café, that is located on a busy high street and has regular customers visiting it. The
owner wants to revise the menu in order to attract more customers. This report examines the
different principles of menu planning and design. It also explains various customer and business
requirements that have to be fulfilled in order to increase profits. A realistic plan to develop a
menu that meets both customer as well as business requirements is also included.
LO 1
P1 Principles of menu planning and design to meet customer and business requirements for a
range of different menus
Menu Planning can be defined as the process of making the list of all the food items that
will be served in a particular meal. Different menu planning and design principles are explained
below –
Variety of dishes – While planning and designing a menu, different varieties of dishes
should be included and should not be restricted to traditional dishes (The 6 Basic Principles of
Diet Planning, 2020). The menu should be creative ad innovative so that greater number of
people are attracted to visit the café.
Nutritional Density – Foods having the most nutrients and least amounts of calories
should be included in the menu. Planning and designing a menu that is nutritionally balanced
will promote a healthy diet.
These are some of the important principles of menu planning that should be taken into
account while developing a menu (VanTassel-Baska and Baska, 2019). There are several types
of menus which can be trial ad tested either through limited-time offers or even questionnaires.
Types of menus

À la carte – When separately priced items in a menu are offered by a restaurant, it is
referred to as an a la carte menu. The dishes stated in this menu are sit-down meals that are
served by waiters.
Special Occasions – There are some menus that are particularly developed for a special
function or occasion (Chen and Ho, 2018). They are referred to as special occasion menus and
are deigned taking into account various factors like guests’ preferences etc.
Table D’hôte – This type of menu contains few choices of multi course meals that are
offered at fixed prices to the customers.
Menu planning constraints
Availability of Ingredients – Different dishes of food require different ingredients to be
prepared. But sometimes, there can be situations wherein some ingredients are not available
(Constraints of Menu Planning: Menu Merchandising, 2020). This can affect the process of
menu planning.
Availability of Equipment – Non-availability of equipment can also act as a barrier of
menu planning. This is because different kinds of equipment are required to prepare dishes like
cakes, grilled dishes etc.
P2 Customer and Business requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to maximize profits
In order to maximize the profits of a restaurant/café, there are various customer as well as
business requirements that should be fulfilled. Various current trends like preferences of
customers, new ingredients, environment sustainability etc. can affect the process of menu
planning. In context to this report, the target market of Pasco café are travelers as well as people
who work in the nearby office. Therefore, it is important for the owner of the café to understand
their needs, preferences and provide food dishes that will satisfy the same (Clemensen and et. al.,
2017). Apart from this, there are certain business requirements that should also be fulfilled. For
example, the staff should be trained regularly and old equipment should be replaced with a new
one. The café should adhere to all the dietary considerations as well as health and safety
requirements in order to carry out its operations smoothly. Incorporating the concept of menu
engineering can also significantly contribute to the overall profits of the café. Lastly, a business
plan can be developed that will be beneficial in its future developments.

LO 2
(Covered in PPT)
LO 3
P5 Realistic plan to develop a menu in order to maximize the profitability of the chosen
organization
There are different considerations that should be taken into account while developing the
menu. For example, the prices as well as nutritional content of the ingredients should be
considered because customers these days are increasingly becoming health conscious. It should
be noted that different customers belong to different cultures and thus, have different preferences
and requirements (Khalil and Elkhider, 2016). Pasco café should address these factors while
developing menu in order to enhance overall profitability. Apart from this, the menu should be
creative and contain innovative food dishes instead of traditional old dishes.
Available resources and skills of the employees should be utilized efficiently in order to
generate desired output. Various legal requirements should also be taken into consideration and
the café should adhere to all these requirements. Also, the ingredients that are required to prepare
food dishes should not fail to meet quality standards. If the café will use local ingredients in its
food dishes, it will be beneficial for it as well as the local people. This can be a contributing
factor to increased profitability. Besides this, the travelers who visit the café will also relish the
food offered to them. Creativity and imagination will also serve as key factors for the same.
P6 Menu
A menu plays a crucial role in ensuring the overall success and profitability of a café as it
allows the customers to get an insight about what all is offered at the place (Qian and et. al.,
2017). Also, it serves as a strong marketing tool for a restaurant or café. Restaurants or cafes can
change their menus daily, weekly or annually based on the type of business and services offered.
The owner of Pasco café wants to revise its menu in order to enhance profitability and attract a
greater number of customers. A menu that meets preferences and demands of customers is
described below -
Every day menu

Pasco Cafe
Beverages:
 Cappuccino...........................................................................£6.75
 Cafe Latte.............................................................................£6.75
 Espresso................................................................................£6.95
 Hot Chocolate …......................................................…........£7.50
 Tea …...................................................................................£5.95
 Cafe frappé...........................................................................£6.45
 Cold Coffee ….....................................................................£6.95
Food Menu
 Ham Sandwich....................................................................£10.95
 Tuna Sandwich.…...............................................................£11.95
 Salad....................................................................................£06.95
 Cheese Sandwich.................................................................£10.95
 Crisps...................................................................................£14.95
 Veg. Lasagne.......................................................................£12.95
 Veg Burger...........................................................................£15.95
Conference menu
Pasco Cafe
Buffet Options
£ per person
 Selection of sandwich and home-made hand cut chips..........................£3.95
 Selection of Panini's and home-made hand cut chips.............................£5.95
Option A
 Selection of Sandwiches and open rolls, Park Pie, Assorted Quiches, Home-made
Sausage Rolls, selection of savouries........................................................................£6.00

Option B
 Basket of Plain Petit rolls, Carved Beef Platter, Selection of sandwich fillings,
Marinated Chicken Drumsticks, Slice of Finest Pork Pie, Assorted Canapes, Scotch egg,
Fresh mixed leaf salad.............................................................................................£07.95
Option C
 Basket of Plain Petit rolls, Carved Beef Platter, Fresh mixed leaf salad, Slice of Finest
Pork Pie, Coleslaw Salad, Chinese Spare Ribs, Carved Gammon Platter, Selection of
Pickles & Savouries, Marinated Chicken Drumsticks.............................................£10.95
P7 Testing and Evaluation of the above Menu
Testing and Evaluation are import steps that should be undertaken in order to understand
the effectiveness of a menu within a café and there are many ways of testing a menu. In context
to Pasco café, the owner should install systems that can collect feedback from the customers
which can be further analyzed in order to improve their future experiences (Saaty and De Paola,
2017). The café can make its presence online on various platforms of social media like
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter in order wherein both existing as well as potential customers
can post reviews and comments about their experiences at the café. These reviews can then be
further analyzed to gain insights into their expectations from the café in terms of both food as
well as service.
The menus and services should be updated accordingly. This will help respective café in
attracting a greater number of customers and will also contribute to its overall profitability. Also,
the café will be able to gain the trust and loyalty of its customers. Key Performance Indicators or
KPIs are also a kind of performance management indicator that can help Pasco café to evaluate
its overall performance and identify areas of improvement (Salamone and et. al., 2017). They
will also help in making effective decisions and make sure that all business objectives are
properly communicated across all employees.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that menu planning is an important
component that significantly contributes to the overall success and profitability of a
café/restaurant. While developing a menu, various customer as well as business requirements

like needs and preferences of customers, business standards, skills of the employees etc. should
be taken into consideration. Also, it should be made sure that the various principles of menu
planning are taken into account when menu for a café is developed. Apart from this, if the owner
considers feedbacks of the customers and implements them in the system, the café will gain their
loyalty and trust.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Alexander, E. R., 2016. There is no planning—only planning practices: Notes for spatial
planning theories. Planning Theory. 15(1). pp.91-103.
Chen, H. and Ho, K., 2018. Integrated space logistics mission planning and spacecraft design
with mixed-integer nonlinear programming. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. 55(2).
pp.365-381.
Clemensen, J. and et. al., 2017. Participatory design methods in telemedicine research. Journal
of Telemedicine and Telecare. 23(9). pp.780-785.
Khalil, M. K. and Elkhider, I. A., 2016. Applying learning theories and instructional design
models for effective instruction. Advances in physiology education. 40(2). pp.147-156.
Qian, J. and et. al., 2017. The design and development of an omni-directional mobile robot
oriented to an intelligent manufacturing system. Sensors. 17(9). p.2073.
Saaty, T. L. and De Paola, P., 2017. Rethinking design and urban planning for the cities of the
future. Buildings. 7(3). p.76.
Salamone, F. and et. al., 2017. Design and development of a nearable wireless system to control
indoor air quality and indoor lighting quality. Sensors. 17(5). p.1021.
VanTassel-Baska, J. and Baska, A., 2019. Curriculum planning and instructional design for
gifted learners. Sourcebooks, Inc..
Online
Constraints of Menu Planning: Menu Merchandising. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://hmhub.me/constraints-menu-planning-menu-merchandising/>.
The 6 Basic Principles of Diet Planning. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.livestrong.com/article/520921-the-6-basic-principles-of-diet-planning/ >.