Resource
The Menu Engineering Course
This full-length online course contains everything you need to know to make the most of your menu. Learn to identify your menu's stars, puzzles, plowhorses, and dogs, and learn about menu psychology and design, managing your menu on your website and on third-party delivery sites, and adapting your menu when your restaurant is growing.
What's Inside?
- Menu Engineering Analysis
- Menu Psychology & Menu Design
- Making Your Menu Shine Online
- Changing Your Menu As You Grow
Make the Most of Your Menu
What if you could create a menu that drastically increases sales at your restaurant? Enter menu engineering. By knowing the food cost percentage, contribution margin, and popularity of every item, you can design a menu that suggests your strongest items to your guests.
In this online course, we go into detail about how to price menu items, how to identify your stars, plowhorses, puzzles, and dogs — and what to do with each of them. We also cover menu design and created 17 gorgeous new menu templates for you to make your own, as well as some great menu engineering examples. There's a section on online menus and third-party delivery sites, and a section on how your menu should change as you expand your restaurant.
Within the course, you'll find two bonus downloads: 17 gorgeous, customizable menu templates, and one responsive, pre-programmed menu engineering spreadsheet.
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What is a menu? A menu is a full list of all of the dishes available at your restaurant. This includes all food and beverages sold, the price, and (sometimes) a description of the dish.
What is menu engineering? Menu engineering is the practice of empirically analyzing every item on your menu to determine its profitability and popularity — and adjusting your menu to reflect your findings and increase revenue. It is also using menu images, layouts, and prices to optimize your menu and bring the most profitable menu items to your guest's attention.
What is menu psychology? Menu psychology factors in guest's perception when designing a menu. The psychology of menu design includes six principles: the paradox of choice, semantic salience, eye movement patterns, menu competition, the power of words, and social proof.
What are the four menu engineering categories? The four menu engineering categories make up the menu engineering matrix: stars, puzzles, plowhorses, and dogs. Stars are popular and profitable, puzzles are not popular but profitable, plowhorses are popular but not profitable, and dogs are both not popular and not profitable.