Menu Planning, Costing and Portion Control
Menu Planning
Structure and balance
A menu is a business and culinary plan. Know à la carte (each item priced separately), table d'hôte, prix fixe, cycle menus, du jour and static menus. Balance is the criterion: flavour, texture, colour, shape, temperature, cooking method, cost and nutrition. Avoid repeating the same protein, sauce family or technique across a menu, and plan seasonality and availability. Consider equipment capacity and staff skill-a menu that cannot be executed in service is a failed menu.
Menu engineering and truth in menu
Classify items by popularity and contribution margin: stars are high popularity and high margin, ploughhorses high popularity and low margin, puzzles low popularity and high margin, dogs low on both. The typical response is to protect stars, re-engineer or reposition ploughhorses, promote puzzles and remove dogs. Truth-in-menu rules mean descriptions, weights, origins and claims must be accurate, and priority allergens must be declared. Dietary accommodation should be planned, not improvised.
Mise en place and cross-utilization
Build the prep list from the menu, then cross-utilize: one roasted item yielding stock, sandwich filling and a soup garnish reduces waste. Standardized recipes support consistency and costing.
Worked example: an item is chosen by 55% of guests and has a high margin per plate-a star. Keep it, model it on the menu and train staff to recommend it.
Traps: confusing a puzzle with a ploughhorse; calling a dish fresh or homemade when it is not; planning a menu with three cream sauces; ignoring allergen declarations.
Costing and Portion Control
As-purchased and edible portion
As-purchased (AP) weight is what you buy; edible portion (EP) is what reaches the plate after trim, bone and cooking loss. Yield percentage equals EP divided by AP. Edible-portion cost equals AP cost divided by yield percentage-as yield falls, true cost rises. Yield tests should be documented for expensive proteins and produce.
Standard recipes and portion cost
A standard recipe fixes ingredients, quantity, yield and portion count. Portion cost is total ingredient cost divided by the number of portions. Selling price from food cost percent: price = portion cost divided by desired food cost percentage. A 40% target on a $3.20 portion gives $8.00. Contribution margin is selling price minus portion cost, and it feeds menu engineering. Portion control uses scales, ladles and scoops (for example a #16 scoop is about 2 fl oz) plus counting and pre-portioning.
Inventory and variance
Usage equals opening inventory plus purchases minus closing inventory. Compare actual usage against theoretical usage from sales to find variance-over-portioning, waste, theft or spoilage. Turnover indicates whether stock is moving; FIFO and par levels control over-purchasing.
Worked example: beef costs $6.00/kg AP with a 75% yield. EP cost is $6.00 divided by 0.75, or $8.00/kg. A 200 g portion therefore costs $1.60.
Traps: using AP cost for portion costing; treating markup and food-cost percentage as the same thing; forgetting garnishes and cooking oil; ignoring yield when comparing supplier prices.