Restaurant Tour and Interview
The Menu
Introduction
A menu in a restaurant is a presentation of food and beverage provisions. In most cases, a menu acts as a guide that guests use to choose from a list of choices, or in which case a pre-established order of courses is provided. Menus are at variance in extent and element depending on the type of restaurant. Nevertheless, the simplest hand-held menus are printed on a solitary piece of paper, although menus with numerous pages or views are widespread. Some restaurants use only text in their menus, while in other cases, restaurants include illustrations and photos, either of the dishes or of a component of the culture which is related to the restaurant. Menus are important in the food and beverage sector because it enables the guests to learn about the restaurant. In some cases, menus comprise of information concerning the people who own the restaurant, or the restaurant`s history or how the restaurant was established (Sonnenshein, 2013). Additionally, menus may involve some interesting stuff to read a part from the dishes and prices. This is because eating places recognize that there can sometimes be a delay amid getting the guest seated and providing the order. Thus, information list of options may assist pass time.
Consequently, menus are important because they provide daily specials. There are a number of eating places that put daily specials for entrees, or may be soups, and desserts on their set of choices. Therefore, when a guest comes to the restaurant, all they need to do is to determine what day it is in order to figure out if that is the entrée that they require. Therefore, such information, a person may be helped to decide the best day to eat from that restaurant. Furthermore, menus help people to know if it is affordable to eat in the specific restaurant. Some restaurants provide menus online as a service for consumers. A faster check at the entrees and prices can tell the person all they require to know about whether the restaurant is affordable. It is noted that, in case the meal names and descriptions are in a different language and there is no price, it is a clear picture that the restaurant is expensive. Therefore, knowing menus can help people to consume delicious restaurant food any time they desire (Rebecca, 2000). The topic (the menu), is a well-recognized topic because it communicates a lot to the consumer and tells them whether or not a specific meal is worth ordering or not. Therefore, it is important that restaurant owners take time on planning the menu, including the selection of colors, illustrations, supplies, as well as blueprints. They should not take their menu for granted and never commit the mistake of displaying a haphazardly developed restaurant menu.
Questions and answers
What is a menu?
A menu is a set of options from which a restaurant guest may choose from.
What are some of the factors to consider when planning a menu?
It is noted that the most imperative factors when planning a menu includes the quality of the food and beverage. Menu is acknowledged as the most vital part of the restaurant concept. Quality food plus beverage will at all times lead to great production in a restaurant as it will attract more quests. Another important factor includes the potential and constancy of the restaurant to generate the quality and amount of food needed. There ought also to be standardized or consistent recipes, in order to warrant reliability. Accessibility of ingredients is also another vital factor to be considered when planning a menu. It is important to establish a constant, and a reliable source of supply at a sensible price. A restaurant manager should take advantage of seasonal items when they are at their lowly cost and best quality. In most cases, superiority ingredients produce a superiority produce.
What are some of the common menu types that you know?
Some common menu types include menu board, which are provided in big poster or display board format up high on the wall or above the service counter. Some restaurants including the cafes and small eateries use a big chalkboard to display the whole menu. Another type of menu entails outdoor, where restaurants offer a copy of their menu outside the restaurant. There are also digital displays; through the use of a flat LCD screen and a computer server, menus can be digitally displayed permitting moving pictures, animated effects and the ability to edit details and prices. There are also online menu, where some restaurants share a copy of the menus online to make it possible for consumers from different places access it. Accordingly, paper and secret menus are also another common types of menus used in restaurants.
How can a restaurant maintain the nutritional value in its menu?
It can achieve this through using healthier items, use acceptable cooking methods and cooking oil, use lower fat menu items, and have more vegetable and fruits in its menu.
What are some of the factors to put into consideration when determining a menu`s design and layout?
Menu design and layout reflect the ambience of the restaurant. It is noted that menu size may range from one to several pages, printing and artwork should harmonize with the theme of the restaurant, names of dishes should be easy to read and comprehend, and it should involve a powerful focal point.
What are the significances of having standardized recipes?
It is used to maintain consistent food quality, which clearly shows portion size, ingredients, weights, as well as production steps such as cooking methods and time. Accordingly, it also serve as a management tool.
In food and beverage sector, there is food and photo tour, what is it?
A food and photo tour is what the customer would expect, a tour that feeds the customers while teaching them on how to take some nice snapshots. A restaurant may decide to take its customers to various eateries, as well as distillery for tastings.
What is a food expedition?
It is a competently guided trip of the local food and beverage scene and may entail hands-on workshops. It provides opportunity for people to get an experience of local ingredients and products and also learn the history as well as the culture of the place.
How long does a food trip last?
A food trip may take two to four hours depending with the expanse covered.
How can a restaurant make its menu attractive to its customers?
A menu can be made attractive through the right selection of colors, correct paintings and drawings of the images and right information relevant to the restaurant.
What is a sustainable menu?
A sustainable menu involves seasonal, sustainable constituents and it drives the menu at many modern restaurants. It also meets leadership in energy resourceful design standards and green certified restaurant functional standards.
Is it important to have children`s menu in restaurants?
It should be noted that restaurants that cater for families must also have a separate children`s menu.
What should children`s menu consists of?
Children`s menu could consist of play areas, fun placemats, crayon, as well as small take away prizes.
Why is it important to understand the restaurant menu?
By running a restaurant, it is vital to that managers ensure that they have the best and effective menu that they can afford. As a consequence, it is good to comprehend the menu because it is the marketing sales tools for the company.
How is a restaurant menu simplified in order to avoid confusion?
A menu can be simplified by separating the lists of beverages on its page; foods should be placed on it page, and other stuffs on a different page using different colors and decorations.
Reflections
From the interview, I learnt a lot about the restaurant menu including the importance of having a menu, food trip, among others. This information does not contradict with what I knew therefore, I concur with it because it menus act as a representative of the company. All I can recommend is that, restaurant managers should put in more effort in establishing the best and effective menu for their restaurants. They are supposed not to take for granted as the menu is a key to a successful restaurant.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study aimed at finding out about the menu as the main topic under learning. Accordingly, this research carried out an interview that had the intention of learning more about the menu. Various queries were posed and responses provided adequately.
References
Rebecca, L. S. (2000). The Invention of the Restaurant: Paris and Modern Gastronomic Culture. New York, NY: Harvard University Press.
Sonnenshein, M. (2013). Menus are biggest factor in dining decision. Harvard: Wile