Two Main Principles of Menu Planning.

 

Usually the term menu is referred to the written or printed list of different dishes from which a restaurant customer makes a selec­tion. It may also mean the product of the restaurant, namely, its food. Before a new restaurant opens the owner must consider its basic character, including such features as its location, size, staff, equipment, and cuisine. Further decisions must be made on a day-to-day basis or for a longer period of time, particularly about the menu.

Planning the menu is important from two points of view: the owners' profit and the customers' pleasure.

Foods that the restaurant purchases must have a low enough cost to return a profit on the prices charged for the prepared dishes. Food costs vary for a number of reasons beyond the control of the restaurateur, such as agricultural yields or changes in supply and demand. Those who plan menus must be aware of these price vari­ations. A restaurant may serve a dish that is very popular but if the cost rises the restaurant can either omit the dish from the menu or raise the price. If the second decision meets with customer resist­ance there will be waste and loss of profits.

Many people who know the cost of food at local markets be­lieve that restaurants make a large profit; they see only the differ­ence between the prices they pay for their own food and the prices charged by restaurants. What they do not see are the direct and overhead costs of the business. Overhead is usually defined as in­direct business costs that cannot be assigned to a particular product or operation. In the foodservice industry overhead includes items such as rent, insurance, taxes other than direct sales taxes, and utilities (gas and electricity). Direct costs include not only the food itself but wages paid to employees. Direct and indirect costs must be considered in menu planning.

Pleasing the customers is usually de­scribed as merchandising, that is making a product interesting so that customers will buy it. The restaurant's appearance, location, and cuisine must be designed to appeal to a particular and available clientele. You won’t find a gourmet restaurant on a high­way used for long-distance motoring or a truckers' rest stop in the theatre district of a large city. The daily menu must also appeal to those whom the restaurant wishes to at­tract. A lunch-time establishment in a shopping center, for ex­ample, concentrates on salads or sandwiches, while a restaurant in a tourist center may offer the local cuisine.

Perhaps more than in any other business, word-of-mouth rec­ommendation is the most important means of merchandising res­taurants; one person recommends a good restaurant to another, who then visits it. If the food meets the expectation, more recom­mendations will follow, and the restaurant may become successful; if the food is disappointing the restaurant will soon be in trouble. This is increasingly true as more and more restaurants open. In cities like New York, Paris, London, or Tokyo, the number and variety of eat­ing places is enormous. The customer will usually make a choice based on food preference, experience, location, or recommendation of a friend or guide book.

 

Vocabulary on the text.

 

Ø appeal, n – привлекательность

appeal, v – привлекать, нравиться

cost, n – цена, стоимость (pl. – расходы, издержки)

direct costs – прямые расходы

indirect costs – косвенные расходы

overhead costs – накладные расходы

cost, v – стоить, обходиться

cuisine, n – кухня (поваренное искусство)

profit, n – прибыль

make a profit – зарабатывать прибыль

utilities, n, pl - коммунальные платежи

 

Ø charge for, v – назначать цену за что-либо

omit, v – исключать

please, v - угождать

raise, v - повышать

 

Vocabulary Exercises.

Give English equivalents.

 

Относиться к чему-либо; делать выбор; прибыль владельца и удовольствие посетителей; вернуть прибыль от цен, установленных за готовые блюда; если повышается стоимость; ресторан может либо исключить блюдо из меню, либо повысить его цену; цены, назначенные рестораном; прямые и косвенные расходы; умение угождать покупателям; привлекать определенную и доступную клиентуру; разнообразие точек общественного питания.

Give Russian equivalents.

 

Including such features as its location, size, staff, equipment, and cuisine; to have a low enough cost to return a profit; changes in supply and demand; customer resist­ance; waste and loss of profits; to make a large profit; the direct and overhead costs of the business; rent, insurance, taxes other than direct sales taxes, and utilities; merchandising; the restaurant's appearance; a lunch-time establishment; to make a choice based on food preference, experience, word-of-mouth recommendation.