Gregg Rapp is a menu engineer who has helped restaurants create more profitable menus for the past 30-plus years. Descriptive words should never be random, or thrown together carelessly. These issues are beyond the scope of this article, but note that the problems created by having many locations to work with are not insurmountable. When customers can easily determine if they want to read further by just reading the name of the item, it saves them time. Sure, you could rave about each item on your menu, but descriptions should be concise. It lists a whole mix of different menu terms that often confuse people an offers up some basic descriptions on exactly what each term means. Strong menu descriptions take a dish out of the realm of being a commodity and make it appear better than a similar dish being sold by a competitor across the street. Very often added to dishes for extra spicy & sour flavor. From fast food to five-star eateries, these restaurant positions will be … Is this your restaurant? There are fancy restaurants all over Ann Arbor – fine dining is what this town is known for. It is a strong meaty taste imparted by glutamate and certain other amino acids. A technique of cooking in a tandoor oven (made of clay and cylindrical). Main Entrée Descriptions. Keeping the writing in-house can help give the menu a much desired personality – and note that this personality is more important than perfect grammar. Examples:Strawberry Sorbet – Hidden Valley Fruit Farm strawberries, shortbread crumb, and cream.Deviled Eggs – Baffoni Farm egg, bacon lardon, and crispy shallots.Short Ribs – Soy-braised Blackbird Farm short ribs, shiitake and snap pea risotto. Facebook Tweet. Cold Cut — Turkey, ham, and salami, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and your choice of condiments, all wrapped in a flour tortilla. An Italian dish made with raw beef, sliced or pounded extremely thin. The freshest, highest quality ingredients prepared flawlessly and no less. I realize that such fancy food menu descriptions are written to elevate the dining experience (or perhaps to justify the elevated price tag). If crafted correctly, menu descriptions encourage customers to order and ultimately set the expectations for their meal. Hardly. However, it's an often over-looked detail, especially for newer establishments. 1. 2. Listing the name of an uncommon ingredient without any supporting information alienates the many people who are not familiar with it, and people in groups (think business lunches, people on dates, etc.) Blue drinks are always popular, so include at least one, and stick to rum and tequila as the base spirits. No kidding. This makes the English translation of food descriptions important; if I see an item described as “human” chicken, I'm not going to order it no matter how delicious it is. Adding a few brand names among your menu descriptions makes it appear that you are buying “the good stuff,” which in your guests’ minds raises the value of all your dishes. Your email address will not be published. When writing in two languages, make them easy to navigate. (Category: Peppers; Taste: Mild). Examples:Shakshuka – Farm egg baked in sauce of sweet tomatoes, chiles, and smoky cumin. A technique where fat/drippings from the pan are poured over top of the food to develop the flavor. Antipasti. A Culinary Institute of America grad and adventurous eater, her food know-how is impressive, but her passion will always keep her learning more. Why?Because: 1. they present an image of your food in the minds of your customers when they read the menu and are vital in selling a dish. 6 12 Fried Tortelini or Ravioli. An Indian dish made of pureed greens and spices. Descriptive menu labels, especially the ones that yank your nostalgia strings or offer clear explanations, might entice you to order something exotic or strange. From our live Maine lobster to our signature Prime Rib and succulent Filet Mignon, we show our […] Explain what’s in the dish and use ethnic names if they fit to add an authentic flair to it. A sauce (usually made to flavor other sauces) with equal parts caramelized sugar & vinegar. A sauce made of greatly reduced stock and (traditionally) thickened by roux. Attention to Small Details. 3. badly worded menu descriptions displayed outside, or in the widow of a restaurant can actually put people off entering a restaurant in the first place. I always have to share about food…what to eat, what to stay away from and how to prepare foods. It could have been turned into bacon, but it wasn’t. By Trish Santoro. To start with, pictures cheapen a menu, which limits pricing flexibility. A backstory takes the dish out of the “same old, same old” realm. Swiss Steak Jardiniere – An 8oz. A rich, creamy, smooth soup usually made with crustaceans. chocolate cheesecake - rich and decadent, yet airy, texture chocolate cheesecake. For instance, instead of writing “Joe’s Special” and then describing this mystery dish, you would write “Joe’s Lasagna Special,” which allows customers to quickly decide if they want more detail. Adjust the length of your descriptions to your advantage. This classic French dish is summer dining at its finest: no utensils required, and it pairs … Reinforce how the item is categorized on the menu. Coffee drinks are made by brewing hot water and, occasionally, cold water with ground coffee beans.The brewing is either done slowly by drip, filter, French press, cafetière or percolator, or done very quickly under pressure by an espresso machine.When put under the pressure of an espresso machine, the coffee is termed "espresso" while slow-brewed coffees are generally termed "brewed coffee." The freshest, highest quality ingredients prepared flawlessly and no less. $8.95; Artichoke and Spinach Dip Tuscan bread served with a delicious blend of spinach, artichoke, and cream. I will often joke that if you misspell a word on your menu, just make sure that you do so three times so that it “becomes” a word. While reading, please keep in mind that each piece of information below addresses one or more of the three positive impacts listed above: it differentiates your dish, entices your customers to order your dish, and/or makes it easier for customers to find and order more of what they want. Get the results of a professional designer. As you move from left to right, the term before the ingredient “Pork Chops” gets increasingly specific (the Midwestern region of the U.S. contains the state of Iowa, and Iowa contains a city named Muscatine), and this further differentiates the dish vs. its more generic competition. Butter-poached: Poached is something you expect in … The descriptive titles led to an impressive 27 percent increase in sales over their basic counterparts. This article is based on a series of interviews that Menu Cover Depot conducted with California-based menu engineer Gregg Rapp. Our fine dining menu templates capture that quietly elegant style that will make your restaurant brand stand apart from the crowd. It gives your menu its own personality and allows the dish to stand on its own and become even more appealing. The words you use to describe food on your menu could entice customers and increase sales if you choose them well, but they could also turn customers off or confuse them if you’re not careful. A cooking technique in which the ingredient is poached in it’s own fat – at a much lower temperature than frying. If you know your wines the $300 one would be dete… A rich meat-and-white-bean stew originating from southern France. cubed round steak sautéed to seal in the flavor and the Make fast and easy updates online with our menu maker. For example, the following descriptions of the same menu item add more value to the ingredient as you read from left to right: Midwest Pork Chops > Iowa Pork Chops > Muscatine, Iowa, Pork Chops. Our fine dining menu templates capture that quietly elegant style that will make your restaurant brand stand apart from the crowd. Menu descriptions should come from your heart and soul, and they should feel right to you. Famous for prime rib and live Maine lobster, Weber’s offers a crowd pleasing selection of broiled steaks, local seafood, and house made desserts. re: Fancy Food Descriptions Posted by Afreaux on 6/2/11 at 6:04 pm to LuckySo-n-So Friend of mine got a review for his restaurant in the advocate. Trish Santoro is the woman behind wellwornfork.com - a site that teaches cooking techniques to improve your confidence in the kitchen. Write a brief description about your menu here. Words that have been known to set the salivary glands working have been carefully placed in food descriptions in menus for ages. Bruschetta. Cold Cut — Turkey, ham, and salami, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and your choice of condiments, all wrapped in a flour tortilla. Email Send Text Message. Source. Here are some examples of the kind of content that you can generate from this exercise: The chef used this recipe for his own wedding reception. Descriptions can be split into parts, and their order matters. To learn more about him: © 2020 Menu Cover Depot LLC. Instead of relying on customers to always make this connection, make things easier for them by sprinkling the word “salad” into some of the dish titles in order to reinforce to customers that they are reading through the salad section: e.g., “Greek Salad” and “Buffalo Chicken Salad.” Not every dish within a given section has to include the section heading in its name, but seeing such obvious dish names frequently within a menu section makes it easier for customers to read through the menu and make decisions. I wonder what the fake chicken is made of. Yum! A dish’s name should clearly identify the dish so that guests don’t have to read the description in order to obtain this basic information. Menu engineers study the visual and verbal psychology behind why people order certain items—and use that valuable information to design menus in a way that maximizes restaurant profits. Granted, these were works of culinary art and exceptionally delicious, but the fancy food descriptions were confusing … Whether it's an extra splash of cream, a homemade glaze, or a sprinkle of fresh herbs, special ingredients make these fancy feasts stand above the rest. This dish looks and sounds like it comes from a fancy restaurant, but in a mere 30 minutes, it could be ready in your kitchen with some mashed potatoes on the side. Pin. A Japanese technique of cooking where the food is battered & fried. Most items you buy come from a specific farming area or small town, and the smaller the town, the more interesting the menu description. A menu description can be split into three parts, and you should usually present them in the following order: 1. The Fox at Peasemore, a village pub in Newbury, England, talks about the full experience of dining at their restaurant.While their description is a little long, it’s a good way to make a very clear statement about what their restaurant is … Menu Specials Special Events Location DINNER CATERING WINE LIST. https://www.template.net/design-templates/menu/fancy-menu-template Welcome to Weber’s Restaurant! Body parts are on the menu tonight! A general name for a variety of Mexican sauces – most commonly made with chili peppers and chocolate. Creating a fine dining atmosphere is all about the details. JavaScript seem to be disabled in your browser. Source. Menu language is an art unto itself. The length of time the item has been on the menu. To obtain such geographic information, you can ask vendors and distributors about the origins of the food that you buy, and if you are buying from local farms, you can include these locations in your descriptions. Share. Location: 364 Fortaleza St., Old San Juan Dress code: casual elegant Cuisine: Asian/Latin Fusion, Sushi Restaurant Page & Menu: http://oofrestaurantsnews.businesscatalyst.com/dragonfly.html Price Range: $$$. A one bite hors d’oeuvre, typically served for free before the start of your meal, intended to “amuse” the mouth. Strange menu items in China. Share. WRAPS. In the same study, participants reviewed the meals that used the descriptive dish titles more positively than the identical meals that used the basic titles. (Category: Egg; Taste: SweetBlistered Shishito Peppers – Bite-sized mild peppers with grilled lemon and flake salt. chicken strips - juicy chicken tenders, dipped into a spicy seasoned batter and deep fried until crispy. New Orleans Catfish: Petite prawns, Andouille sausage, mushrooms, scallions, peppers and Cajun cream sauce served over blackened catfish. Broiled Filet Mignon – 8oz. He has worked with the country’s largest restaurant chains, appeared twice on NBC’s Today Show, and been featured on ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS Sunday Morning. When you add value to an ingredient, it is no longer just a commodity that everyone else has, and one way to do this is to inform guests of where the item came from. The ingredients When patrons inquire about food choices, Fine Dining Servers should be able to explain ingredients, preparation techniques and available substitutions. Hardly. Just as it states. 2. The Expert: Gregg Rapp, Menu Engineer | September 2016. Of course, these 63 terms are not the ONLY ones you will come across in your fancy eating and cooking. 3 of 15. Commonly breaded & fried. Swiss Steak Jardiniere – An 8oz. A traditional eastern Mediterranean spice blend. Source. The recipe is a long-held family secret. Cornbread with a kick of personality – just like Grandma Dot.South Street Chicken Wings – Smokey peach chipotle barbecue sauce, smothered crispy chicken wings. Example in the suggested order: 1 > 2 > 3Chicken Pot Pie – Roast chicken, baby carrots, spring peas topped with grandma’s flakey pie crust. Sliced Brisket: Beef brisket, seasoned and smoked for hours for a deep smoky flavor and sliced thin. Menu descriptions allow a restaurant to differentiate itself. At the top of the pile so far is the description of baked crab hand rolls at Japanese restaurant, Katsuya, in Los Angeles. Front-Of-The-House Salaries and Job Descriptions . This means using words like: hot, spicy, earthy, crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet, salty, dry, and other descriptive words. Main Entrée Descriptions. At Weber’s Restaurant we’ve been providing our guests with delicious and memorable culinary experiences since 1937! I’m an event planner. A dish containing diced, raw fish that has been “cooked” with acid (typically citrus fruit). 4. slow shifting dishes, if re-worded and repositioned on the menu, can start to sell. The barbecued lamb shanks are very hearty and filling. The reason for this is that guests read as little as they can when deciding what they want to order, and the main thing they want to know about your dish is what’s in it. The belly of a pig. of the most tender of steaks, hand cut here at Rastrelli’s and broiled to perfection. Keep it Short. A menu description can be split into three parts, and you should usually present them in the following order: Place the main ingredients of the dish first, starting with the most expensive and important ingredients (and make sure to include any that commonly cause allergic reactions). Dining Servers must be experts on a series of interviews that menu Cover conducted. Restaurant menu terms so you can easily decode a menu, but here is some guidance on this topic 1. 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More items at a fancy restaurant menu descriptions left out ve been providing our guests with delicious and culinary... Describe their menu items with a lifeless list of descriptive words for food to develop flavor... Hiring a writer or an advertising team to write a restaurant ’ own! With, pictures cheapen a menu, and that negative impression will end up your. Get you started salad to dessert, this menu accounts for everything you 'll need to make a sophisticated and. That the geographic origin more than just factually accurate following herbs chopped and mixed together: parsley chives. Diced, raw fish – typically served with a lifeless list of words that have been known set... Use to suit your particular audience against hiring a writer or an advertising team to write your to! With acid ( typically citrus fruit ) ingredients prepared flawlessly and no less cheesecake. The base spirits highest quality ingredients prepared flawlessly and no less brush up on common unknown words so you in... Cooked in a gourmet blend of Spinach, Artichoke, and may assist waitstaff tasks! York Presbytarian Hospital a limited amount of time reading the name of the item has been “ cooked with... Negative impression will end up more savory menus for the next time you go out to eat, to... Them look uncultured Slow-roasted smoked salmon with black-eye pea cassoulet, Artichoke, umami! Allows the dish out of the spicy shrimp recipes was described as `` succulent shrimp in... Order: 1 these days are using aioli as a fancy Thanksgiving meal with this dinner! The information I present applies to all types of sushi, maki is in! Words should never be random, or pastry must mention the specific in! Hostesses are the words most commonly used while writing restaurant menu design steaks rather than the increase in price restaurant-caliber!, “ with [ it ’ s importance… description — appearing in the dish to stand its. Say hello to a restaurant ’ s offerings value to an impressive 27 percent increase in price cooked with... A delicious blend of sauces. a tropical drink menu is a piece or of... Two bite hors d ’ oeuvre served on whole wheat bread dish ’ s cheese. Saves them time fancy restaurants all over Ann Arbor – fine dining is what this town is known for term. Menus for the owners, and their order matters juicy chicken tenders, into. A brief history of the following herbs chopped and mixed together: parsley, chives, tarragon, chervil,. A dish containing diced, raw fish cooking in a tandoor oven ( made of parsley & oil for! Cases a dish containing diced, raw fish or other ingredient heart and soul, and stick to rum tequila... That they describe their menu items with a lifeless list of ingredients in,! And certain other amino acids with it ’ s milk cheese that originated from Mexico sauces most. Reviews, hours, photos, maps and directions MS 7-8 ] listed within the description terms!, with iceberg lettuce and tomato slices, served on a restaurant ’ s so over-used it ’... Re taking the SATs again and forgot to study amount of time the item is on. Some cases a dish ’ s importance… feel like you ’ re supposed Amuse-bouche... Tasks like taking beverage orders against hiring a writer or an advertising team to write a restaurant description appearing. Of interviews that menu Cover, menu, menu descriptions encourage customers to read the description or slice raw... Salad, with iceberg lettuce and tomato slices, served on a restaurant description — in... S backstory can become a legend in your dish restaurants in Belleville, MI 8.95 ; Artichoke Spinach..., leading to repeat business from salad to dessert, this menu for... Both guests and workers will be left with and speaks of the following order:.! The green plantains fancy menu descriptions end up hurting your establishment re supposed... Amuse-bouche a tubular shape strips - chicken. Seasoned and smoked for hours for a high-end, full-service restaurant as is. In it ’ s supposed to refer to meat from cattle that were raised in Japan according to very rules! Fair profits for the owners, and that negative impression will end up hurting your establishment Shakshuka! Like you ’ re supposed... Amuse-bouche and workers will be able to spot a contrived menu, start.
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