OPERATIONAL PHASES

OF FOODSERVICE
 A. Menu Planning
> Menu/meal planning is the process of thinking or deciding
the series of activities in meal management.
(Leocadio,1998)
> Menu determines all aspects of production and service.
Planning menus well is a key to successful foodservice
operation.
> A menu serves as the focal around which all components of
a foodservice system are centered. It affects the facilities’
equipment, personnel, and the operational phases of a
foodservice system.

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Meal Management- the effective and efficient use of
available resources to provide meals that are
nutritionally adequate, sanitary and aesthetically
pleasing, economical to terms of cost and of time and
energy preparation. It includes the following
activities; menu planning, purchasing and storage of
food supplies, preparation and cooking of food, table
setting and food service, and clearing up of the table
and dining areas(Leocadio, 1998).
Menu- a detailed list of foods to be served at a meal or in a
broader sense, a total list of items offered by a
foodservice.
Cycle Menu- is carefully planned set of menus
that is rotated at definite time intervals.
Selective Menu- a menu that includes two or
more food choices in each menu category
such as appetizers, entrees, vegetables,
salads, and desserts.
Semiselective Menu- a menu that includes one
or more food choices in at least one menu
category.
Nonselective Menu- a menu that offers no
choice of food items.
Static Menu- a menu that is used each day such
as restaurant-style menu.
Single-use Menu- a menu specially planned and
used only once, usually for a holiday or
catered event.
Spoken Menu- a means of communicating menu
choices by reading the menu to the
customer.
Factors to Consider
in Meal Planning

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The decisions in meal planning are influenced by
the same factors which influence food and eating;
1. the available resources, both human and non-
human
a. human resources include the available time and
energy of the homemaker and her knowledge,
skills, and capabilities in planning, preparing, and
serving meals.
b. non-human resources include the amount of
money available, the facilities and equipment
available for preparation and serving of meals
and the food materials required for the meal.
The availability of these resources depends upon
the following:
a. socioeconomic status of the family
b. size and composition of the family
c. regional origin and current location of the
family 7
2. Goals of Meal Management
> decisions are also influenced by the
goals in relation to available
resources.
Goals of Meal Management:
a. Economical use of available resources,
money, time and energy in meal
preparation
b. Provision of Interesting and
aesthetically pleasing meals
c. Provision of nutritionally adequate
meals
d. Maintenance of sanitation in meal
preparation
3. Values of the family
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Advantages of
Proper Menu
Planning for a
Home Manager
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 Advantages of Proper Menu Planning for a Home
Manager
1. It ensures adequate nutrition for the family
2. It maximizes the use of available resources
(money, food, fuel, tools, and equipment)
3. It maximizes the available time and energy for
preparing and serving the meal
4. It provides a more varied and interesting meal

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 In institution management, a menu is a list
of foods available in a public eating place.
A. To the customer, the menu:
1. is an introduction to the establishment
2. must be neat, clean, attractive, and appealing to
the eye, palate, and pocket
3. should be easy to read and understand, making
ordering a pleasant experience rather than a
confusing one.
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B. To the foodservice manager, the menu:
1. serves as a basis for planning , purchasing,
production, and service
2. serves as the establishment’s major advertising
and merchandising medium
3. should please the customer, at the same time
profitable to the operator

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 Four Cordinal
Rules on Proper
Menu Planning
(Leocadio, 1998)
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 Four Cordinal Rules on Proper Menu Planning
(Leocadio, 1998)
1. Nutritive: meals must be planned to meet the nutrient
requirements of the family. Meals should not be planned merely to
satisfy hunger.
2. Economic: meals must be planned to meet the food budget or the
money available.
3. Managerial: meals must be planned according to the amount of
time and energy and facilities available for preparing the meal.
4. Aesthetic: meals must be planned so that these will be pleasing to
the family. The inter-play of temperature, texture, flavor, color, and
appearance are important in the acceptability of menus.

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 Nutritive Aspect
Suggestions for planning meals to insure proper nutrition:
a. The Daily Food Guide is used in planning combination of food which
will provide the needed nutrients in the amounts necessary each day.
b. A variety of body building foods should be planned by including two
eggs and one serving of legumes a week in addition to fish, seafoods,
meat and meat products and poultry.
> Special attention should be given to supplementation of vegetable
protein sources.

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 Nutritive Aspect
c. A variety of energy foods must be planned by including a serving of
root crops twice a week and other types of cereals other than rice.
The use of sugars and concentration sweets for a source of energy
should be limited.
d. Two servings of fruits and vegetables must be planned daily. One
serving of this of this is green or yellow and leafy vegetables and one
serving of fruit rich in Vitamin C.
e. Three servings of visible fat should be included daily preferably
from vegetable sources containing polyunsaturated fats.
f. Specific food allowances for all members of the family must be
provided.

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 Economic Aspect
In determining the food budget, the following factors must be considered:
a. Income
> A family with higher income can allow a bigger amount of money for food
> A family with a lower income needs to consider very carefully how much
will be spent on food.
b. Size and composition of the family
> A big family would require more money for food so that a greater
percentage of the income is alloted for the food budget.
> Families with more teenagers and adults would need more food to keep
them healthy, thus requiring a bigger food budget.

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 Economic Aspect
c. Social Status of the family
> A family that belongs to high society would need to entertain
more often and would require a bigger amount of money.
d. Food likes and dislikes of the family members
e. Knowledge and skills of the homemaker
> A homemaker who knows the essentials of proper money
management will spend less and feed her family well on a smaller
food budget.

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 Economic Aspect
f. Current food prices
> There is a need to adjust the food budget based on current prices
of food commodities.
g. Home production of food
> A family with a garden or raises hogs or poultry to supplement
the food supply will not spend much for a family food.

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 Ways to Minimize Cost of Meals:

1. Foods in seasons should be included since these are usually

cheaper aside from being of better quality nutritionally and
aesthetically.
2. Locally available foods should be included since these are
likewise cheaper.
3. Proper substitutes should be considered.
4. Leftovers must be utilized.
> Leftovers can be recycled for the next meal; they should be
“re-made” into a different dish.

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 Ways to Minimize Cost of Meals:
5. Dishes or recipes using inexpensive food items must be planned.
> Dishes using entrails and tougher cuts of meats will cost less than
dishes using expensive cuts.
6. Minimal use of convenience foods (i.e., those that are partially prepared
or ready-to-eat) should be planned.
> Convenience foods are expensive, thus their use should be limited if
not entirely avoided.
7. A week’s menu should be planed so that one can have a bird’s eye view of
the expensive and inexpensive items included while achieving variety.
> Limit the use of expensive items throughout the week.

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 Ways to Minimize Cost of Meals:

8. Foods that the family likes should be planned. This way there
will be no leftovers. Money is wasted when foods are not consumed
and more money will be spent if one had to buy another food to
replace what was not consumed.

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 Managerial Aspect
Ways to Minimize the Amount of Time and Energy of the Homemaker.
1. Plan meals according to your capabilities
> Meals planned with recipes to be tried for the first time will be
more time consuming
> Plan using tested recipes and those which one can prepare well
2. Plan meals according to the efficiency and availabilty of facilities
for food preparation and service.
> The efficiency of the kitchen for food preparation influences how
much time and energy will be spent in spite of the simplicity or
elaborateness of a recipe.

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 Managerial Aspect
3. Plan meals so that you do not make excessive use of the same
equipment.
> Plan dishes within a meal which will make use of the different
pots and pans available, or te available cooking equipmen.
4. Plan meals so that the dishes will not require the last minute
attention for all.
5. Plan dishes so that you can dovetail the preparation according to
available time.
6. Plan dishes so that all will not require too much preparation.

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 Aesthetic Aspect
Factors to Consider in Making Meals Aesthetically Pleasing:
1. Psychological reasons which include superstitions, taboos,
customs, religion, region of origin, environmental conditions.
2. Physiological reasons which include age, disease and health
conditions, and sex.
3. Socioeconomic reasons which include insome, food budget
and social status.

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 How to Plan
Meals That are
Pleasing and
Satisfying
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How to Plan Meals That are Pleasing and Satisfying
1. Plan a variety of color.
> If the main dish is predominantly brown, something green or red must be
planned for accompaniments
> Dishes must be planned according to the natural color of the foods;
however, artificially colored foods may also be used to enhance the color
of the meal.
> Combinations of colors within a meal is an art.
2. Plan a variety of types of food selected.
3. Plan a variety of mode of preparation.
4. Plan a variety of shape and form.
> Various dishes should have different shapes and forms

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How to Plan Meals That are Pleasing and Satisfying
5. Plan a variety in texture.
> There should be something smooth, something crisp, something
crunchy or chewy, something dry or moist in the menu
6. Plan a variety of flavor, but it is better to have only one dominant flavor
> There are two classes of flavors: delicate or mild and strong or intense.
> Mild flavors come first in the meal and end up with strongly flaavored
foods
7. Plan extremes in temperature
> Some items on the menu should be very hot (the soup); something
should be cold (the dessert)

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How to Plan Meals That are Pleasing and Satisfying
8. Plan food/dishes that the family likes
> Certain foods are more appealing because of familiarity or previous
experience and what one considers edible or inedible.
> How foods are eaten and prepared are dictated by culture and traditions
> Some foods are disliked because of religious affiliation or superstitious
notices regarding the food.
> Certain types of foods are preferred because of the special people whom
they will be served.
> Weather conditions also dictate what people like to eat.
9. In planning meals, include somethiing new once in a while to break the
monotony of the usual meal.

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Ideal Characteristics of a Foodservice Menu Planner
1. Must have good working knowledge of sales analysis
procedures, food cost and price ratios, nutrition principles,
market conditions, staff capabilities, production and service
facilities.
2. Use descriptive terms accurately and effectively.
3. Have the ability and time to conduct relevant study and
research.
4. Plan menus which assure maximum profit for management
and at the same time provide customer satisfaction.

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 Standards of a Good Menu for Institutions
1. Builds customer satisfaction and goodwill while providing the needed
profit for the operation.
2. Attractively and neatly printed, handy in size, and with a print that is
simple, interesting nd clearly understood.
3. The condition is immaculate.
4. Informs the guest accurately and appealingly of the dishes available,
the manner of preparation, and the price.
5. Combines showmanship, eye appeal, color, variety, contrast and balance
to sell the food, stimulate the appetite, and inspire the guests to return.

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 General
Principles of
Menu Planning
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 General Principles of Menu Planning
1. Cater to customer preference. It would be wise to know your clients: their
nutritional needs and food habits, age, income, ssex, and occupation
• Office workers usually like fast service, good food, and affordable prices
• Business men look for quiet and are not so concerned about price.
2. Limit offerings to those that can be easily be produced with your present
staff, equipment, and layout.
3. Consider your season, the holiday, special occasions, and the day of the
week.
• The smart menu planner is aware that clients tend towards lighter
luncheon because of time constarints; however, most clients tend to eat
more during dinner due to more available time and fewer pressure of
work.

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 General Principles of Menu Planning
4. Blend and complement offerings in combinations that present a balanced and
interesting variety of foods.
a. Present interesting contours not only in food but also in the table
appointments.
b. Vary texture, color, consistency, and flavor combination.
c. Contrast method of preparation and arrangements.
5. Whenever possible, use what is locally available and in season. They are
usually cheaper and have not suffered from hazards of travel.
6. Conform to overall atmosphere of the establishment with regards to type of
food and price.
• Too high a price may drive customers away while too low a price may cause
business to close.
• For non-profit food establishments, budget should be considered strongly
7. Advertise, merchandise, and promote sales effectively.

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Mechanics of
Menu Planning

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 Mechanics of Menu Planning
A. Procedure
When planning a one-day menu for a family, start
by planning the main dish of the most important meal for the
day. Then, plan the vegetable, dessert, and soup as necessary.

For a foodservice institution:

1. Choose the entree first
2. Pick the soup, garnishes and relishes which will accompany the main
course.
3. Select the rice, potato, and other carbohydrate-rich dishes.
4. Select salad suited to the main course
5. Be sure that the chosen appetizers and dessert are appropriate
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 Mechanics of Menu Planning
B. Rules for Menu Structure and Format for Foodservice
1. Present items in the order in which they are served.

a. For Breakfast:
INTERNATIONAL FILIPINO
Fruit and Juices Fruit
Cereals Protein Dish
Eggs and Meats Cereals
Specialties Beverages
Toasts or Hot Breads
Beverages

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 Mechanics of Menu Planning
B. Rules for Menu Structure and Format for Foodservice
1. Present items in the order in which they are served.

b. For Lunch and Dinner:

Appetizers- 3 kinds: fruit juice, fresh fruits, seafoods
Soups- 2 kinds: cold season-thick; summer-thin
Entrees- 1 high-priced meat, medium-priced meat extended item, meatless
dish, fish, poultry, fish and eggs
Vegetables- 2-3 kinds of potato dishes
Salads- 3-4 kinds of other vegetable dishes
Breads or Rice
Desserts- pie, cake, ice cream, puddings, fruit, cheese
Beverages-milk, tea, coffee, sodas, shakes

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 Mechanics of Menu Planning
B. Rules for Menu Structure and Format for Foodservice

2. Make the menu easy to read with margins on top, bottom

and sides.
3. Include the name and full address of the restaurant and the
days and hours of operation.
4. Change the menu. Check and modify accordingly with menu
offering, color, design according to the season of the year.

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Helpful Tools in
Menu Planning

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 Helpful Tools in Menu Planning
1. Recipe books, magazines, recipe cards of the kitchens
2. Cycle menus found in books and magazines
3. Standardized and tested recipes
4. Purchase food specifications and yield per unit purchases
5. For commercial purposes, the use of the following may be
fruitful:
a. Sales Analysis- to find out which items sell and which do not.
Poor sellers are modified or dropped off.
b. Portion Sales History- record of the number of each kind of
entrees sold each day of the week made by the cashier or checker
on a copy of the menu

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 Helpful Tools in Menu Planning
5. For commercial purposes, the use of the following may be
fruitful:
c. Special Holiday File- there should be a special folder for
each holiday throughout the year which contains information
regarding day of the week on which items sold fall in, copy of
the menu, count of the items, sold hours of operations, and
hourly record of sales.
d. Sales Record- accumulation of sales data may prove
helpful.

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Types of Menus

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 Nonselective, Selective, Restaurant
Nonselective Menus are predetermined menus that give the
customer no choice. Variety is limited to items most likely to
be consumed. Prior to writing menus, the following should be
done:
• Establish cost and nutrient parameters
• Define the target group, including cultural food
preferences
• Check production feasibility
• Evaluate cost and nutrient content
• Establish menu guidelines (e.g., each lunh menu will have at
least three entrees: e.g.,meat poultry or fish, vegetarian)
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 Nonselective, Selective, Restaurant
Selective Menus allow the consumer to choose from a group of items. The
menu should be planned for nutritional adequacy, taking into
consideration the most likely combinations. Items are added to meet the
needs of special populations (e.g., expanded salad offerings for college
students). Balance is achieved by following an orderly selection process;

1. Divide the menu planning task by work section (e.g.,meat and

vegetable, salad, bakeshop)
2. Plan meat and vegetable items
3. Review classes of entrees for lunch and dinner, such as meat
4. Select entrees from the most expensive class of entrees first, then
others in decreasing order of cost
5. Check production feasibility
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 Nonselective, Selective, Restaurant
6. Select starchy foods to accompany entrees by color, texture, and shape
7. Select vegetables
8. Select soups/appetizers (light. Heavy). Hearty soup should accompany a
sandwich entree.
9. Select salads from each class (classes include fruit, vegetable, protein,
gelatin)
10. Check for production feasibility
11. Select desserts to complement salads
12. Select breads
13. Select breakfast entrees
14. Select cereals
15. Select breakfast breads
16. Select fruits/juices
17. Recheck for appeal to customers, production feasibility, cost, and so forth
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 Nonselective, Selective, Restaurant
Restaurant Menu
a. A la Carte Menu- items or groups of items priced separately and
chosen by customer (e.g.,Fried Chicken at ₱50.00)
b. Table d’ Hote- a complete meal offered at fixed price (e.g.,Fried
Chicken with Baked Potato and Garden Fresh Salad with Mango Shake at
₱100.00)
c. Carte du Jour- a daily menu wherein the restaurant offers a
specialty for the day
d. Combination Menus- offer a limited number of table d’hote menus
plan an assortment of a la carte items

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 Cycle Menu
A Cycle Menu is a series of menus repeated during a specific period
(e.g.,one-week cycle or two-week cycle menu for a cafeteria)

Goals of the Cycle Menu are:

• To reduce time spent on menu planning
• To increase control over production
• To achieve efficiencies through increased familiarity with
production and menus
• To reduce costs as a result of more accurate knowledge of
inventory requirements over time.

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 Cycle Menu
• The length of the cycle depends on the facility. In a
hospital, where a typical patient stay is five days, a
seven-day cycle is often used. For hospital workers or
for long-term stays, such as in a nursing home, or for
home-delivered meals, a cycle menu is typically six
weeks.
• The beginning and end of a cycle menu must fit together
with no repetition.
• Cycle menus are planned to take into consideration
seasonal variations.
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 Cycle Menu
Suggestions to Have a Variety in Cycle Menu (Leocadio, 1991)

1. If the main dih is dry for lunch, the main dish for supper
should be with sauce or soup.
2. If the main dish is dry, the accompaniments should be saucy.
3. If the beef dish is for Wednesday is with sauce, the pork for
Thursday should not be with sauce.
If beef for Wednesday is nilaga, chicken for Thursday should
not be tinola.

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 Cycle Menu
4. If pork is offered twice a week, it must be served in varied styles.
For example, on Monday, it will be Roast Pork with Sauce; on
Thursday, it will be Pork Sinigang. If pork is planned six times during
the cycle menu, the style is varied in six times. For example, the 3-
week cycle menu will have the following pork dishes in the sequence
indicated:
Roast Pork
Pork Sinigang
Pork Chop Fried
Sweet Sour Pork
Bachoy
Pork Sarciado
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 Cycle Menu
5. If for one day a certain cobination of dishes is served, the same
combination should not be repeated on the second and third cycle.
For example, when Roast Pork with Vegetable Salad is used in the
first week, Pork Chop should be planned again with Vegetable Salad
on the second week, even if the vegetables used are different.
6. Menus must be planned according to how food is purchased for
the family. When marketing is done once a week, the menu should
be planned with the following suggestions:
a. Shellfish, crabs and shells are planned during the first days,. Fish
can be planned for the rest of the days. Very small fishes, however,
such as fresh dilis, talimusak, etc.,should be planned during the
first days.
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 Cycle Menu
b. Perishable vegetables such as the leafy greens are
planned during the first part of the week. Fruits and
vegetables can be planned for the latter parts.
c. Perishable fruits are planned for the latter part.
d. Recipes which use coconut milk and pig’s blood should be
planned during the first day like dinuguan and ginataan.
e. Ground meats should be planned for the few days. Whole
meats can be planned for the rest of the week.

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 Two Points of View in Menu Planning
1. From the point of view of management
a. Achievement of organizational goals
b. Market considerations such as seasonal fluctuations and availability of raaw
materials.
c. Physical facilities and equipment available
d. Personnel skills
e. Budget

2. From the point of view of customers

a. Nutritional requirement
b. Variety in shape, color, texture, taste, temperature, size, method of cookin
c. Food habits, preferences, religion, age, income, etc.
d. Palatability/acceptability of foods
e. Reasonability of price

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Guidelines in
Menu Writing
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 Guidelines in Menu Writing
1. Use the appropriate language of your menu.
• Tempting description helps to stimulate sales
2. Capitalize all words except articles and prepositions.
3. The items that compose meals should be grouped by courses,
beginning with the first. Present items of courses in order of
greatest consequence.
Example: Barbecued Spare Ribs
Coleslaw with Thousand Island Dressing
Rice
Ripe Mango

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 Guidelines in Menu Writing
4. When an item in the menu has a special accompaniment,
you can place the item to the left and the accompaniment
item to the right. An alternative is to center the main item
and write the accompanying item underneath.
Example:
Fresh Lumpia Ubod Sweet Sauce
Or
Fresh Lumpia Ubod
Sweet Sauce

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 Guidelines in Menu Writing
5. When a dish is accompanied by two or more items, center the former and
space the latter on the line to the right, or write them on the line to the
right and left, or write them on the line below.
Example:
Kalamansi Halves Sotanghon Especial
Garlic Toast
Or
Sotanghon Especial
Kalamansi Halves Garlic Toast
6. The beverage appears as the last item of the course with which it is
served.
7. Items such as butter, cream, sugar, or salad dressings are not written on
menus unless they are particularly interesting or different.

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 Guidelines in Menu Writing
8. Space and arrange the items on the menu symmetrically. Allow
extra space between courses.
Example:
Tahong Soup
Lechon with Liver Sauce
Shrimp Halabos Pusit Rebusado
Sotanghon Guisado
Rice
Leche Flan
Tea

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 Guidelines in Menu Writing
9. Use accurate description and develop key words, locations
or other devices to identify items. Unless patrons know the
meaning of foreign words or phrases, do not use them.

10. Specialties, sandwiches or other items may be listed in a

separate group on the menu.

11. Do not arrange items by order of price.

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 Menu Evaluation
• An Important part of menu panning should be an ongoing process
• The menu as planned should be reviewed prior to its use and again
after it haas been served.

Checklist for Menu Evaluation:

1. Does the menu meet nutritional guidelines and organizational
objectives?
2. Are the in-season foods that are offered available and within an
acceptable price range?
3. Do foods on each menu offer contrasts of color? Texture? Flavor?
Consistency? Shape or form? Type of preparation? Temperature?

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 Menu Evaluation
4. Can these foods be preapared with the personnel and equipment
available?
5. Are the workloads balanced fro personnel and equipment?
6. Is any one food item or flavor repeated too frequently during
this menu period?
7. Are the meals made attractive with suitable garnishes and
accompaniments?
8. Do the combintions make a pleasing whole, and will they be
acceptable to the clientele?

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 Customer Satisfaction
• The ultimate test of a successfully planned menu is to
determine the degree of satisfaction on the part of the
customer.

Techniques to measure and evaluate customer satisfaction:

1. Surveys and Comment Cards
• Satisfaction surveys can be done formally via written surveys
and comment cards
• Less formal survey techniques: observations of actual eating
habits in dining rooms and plate waste in the warewashing area;
listening to informal comments from customers.

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 Customer Satisfaction
2. Frequency Ratings or Popularity Indexes
• These are established via formal or informal surveys wherein
customers are asked to rate and rank menu items according to
preference.
3. Sales Data
• Modern cash registers can track and evaluate the contribute
that each menu item makes
• Revise an existing menu or plan a new one based on the results
using one or a combination of these techniques
• High profit/high popularity items should be retained while low
profit/low popularity items should be discontinued.

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 Customer Satisfaction
3. Sales Data
• Low profit/high popularity and high profit/low popularity items
need careful considerations based on the organization’s mission
before determining which of thes items are retained or removed
• Important to assess the actual reason for the unpopularity of
food items before removing a seemingly unpopular item from a
menu; factors to evaluate include: the quality of ingredients,
preparation methods, holding time, and temperature at point-
of-service.

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Thanks!
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