Menu Knowledge and Menu Planning
This domain tests whether you can read, explain, cost and design a menu: menu types, the classic course order, menu balance, allergens and menu engineering.
Menu types
- À la carte: each item priced and ordered separately.
- Table d'hôte: a set multi-course meal at one price, with limited choice.
- Du jour: written daily around market and stock.
- Cycle menu: repeats on a fixed rotation - hospitals, schools, staff canteens.
- Static menu: fixed for a long period in most à la carte restaurants.
The classic French course order runs hors d'œuvre, potage, poisson, entrée, relevé, rôti, légumes, entremets, savoureux, fromage, dessert, boissons - useful vocabulary even when a modern menu uses four courses.
Menu planning and balance
Vary colour, texture, flavour, cooking method, price and dietary choice, and use seasonal produce. Truth in menu means no frozen fish sold as fresh and no cream in a dish labelled dairy-free. Allergen information must be available on request, and staff must know which dishes contain the major allergens.
Menu engineering
Plot each dish by popularity and margin: Stars (popular, profitable - protect and feature), Plowhorses (popular, low margin - re-cost or re-portion), Puzzles (unpopular, high margin - reposition, rename, staff-sell), Dogs (unpopular, low margin - remove).
Worked example. A dish costs KSh 120 in food and the target food cost is 30 %. Reasoning: selling price = food cost ÷ food cost percentage = 120 ÷ 0.30 = KSh 400. If it is also the best seller it is a Star; if it sells poorly, the same maths makes it a Puzzle to promote rather than cut.
Traps
Confusing table d'hôte with buffet; quoting a price without checking the costing; describing a dish you have never tasted; ignoring allergens; designing a menu where every dish is grilled and served with chips.