Chapter 2: Menu Development

TRUE/FALSE

	1.	The menu is the primary food service sales tool.

ANS:	T	PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	2.	A menu should be laid out to flow in the same order as the items are served in a meal.

ANS:	T	PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	3.	Specials should generally be priced at lower-than-average contribution margins to ensure that they will sell.

ANS:	F	PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	4.	Menu engineering should be used to help determine the placement of items on the menu.

ANS:	F	PTS:	2	DIF:	Average

	5.	One advantage of a well-designed menu is that it eliminates the need to train the waitstaff regarding sales techniques.

ANS:	F	PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	6.	In maintaining minimum standards, the customers’ perceptions are of primary importance.

ANS:	T	PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	7.	Your menu doesn’t have anything to do with your operational manner and processes of daily functioning.

ANS:	F	PTS:	2	DIF:	Average

	8.	One disadvantage of a combination menu is that it offers little opportunity for use of excess production.

ANS:	F	PTS:	3	DIF:	Challenging

	9.	One advantage of a daily menu is that it allows the manager to take advantage of special buys and to offer them as daily specials to the customer.

ANS:	T	PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	10.	Menu cost and menu price are the same thing.

ANS:	F	PTS:	1	DIF:	Average

MULTIPLE CHOICE

	1.	In designing a menu, which of the following should be considered?
a.	Customers	
b.	Product availability	
c.	Skill level of staff	
d.	Kitchen design	
e.	All answers are correct	

ANS:	E
All answers are correct

PTS:	2	DIF:	Average

	2.	What is a good way to research your customers’ preferences?
a.	Look them up on the Internet	
b.	Guess what their preferences will be	
c.	Conduct a market survey of past, present, and potential customers	
d.	Ask your competition what their customers’ preferences are	

ANS:	C
Conduct a market survey of past, present, and potential customers

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	3.	Which of the following elements must menu planning include?
a.	Printing the menus from a template	
b.	Consulting with your competition	
c.	Training your vendors to bring the right ingredients	
d.	Considering menu type, menu nutrition, menu design	

ANS:	D
Considering menu type, menu nutrition, menu design

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	4.	How can you accurately calculate the menu cost of an item on your menu?
a.	Using your menu recipes and the cost and amount of each ingredient	
b.	Remembering the cost of similar items at other restaurants where you’ve worked	
c.	Asking your vendors for their opinion of what it should cost	
d.	You cannot calculate menu costs because your vendors might change	

ANS:	A
Using your menu recipes and the cost and amount of each ingredient

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	5.	Let’s say your menu offers free-range chicken and organic beef entrée items on the menu. The vendor couldn’t bring either this week. What can you do?
a.	Substitute more economical chicken and beef products	
b.	Substitute more expensive chicken and beef products	
c.	Inform guests and allow them to decide whether they still want the item	
d.	Remind guests that free range and organic meats are healthier	

ANS:	C
Inform guests and allow them to decide whether they still want the item

PTS:	3	DIF:	Challenging

	6.	Waitstaff can increase sales by which of the following means?
a.	Presenting the specials using appetizing language	
b.	Offering wine pairings to go with the entrées	
c.	Making their offers to the customers at the appropriate times during the meal	
d.	All answers are correct	

ANS:	D
All answers are correct

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	7.	Waitstaff can also benefit directly from increased sales. Why is that?
a.	Good salespeople can work in any industry	
b.	When sales increase, tips generally increase as well	
c.	Customers are more content when they have wine and dessert	
d.	Waitstaff enjoy additional training	

ANS:	B
When sales increase, tips generally increase as well

PTS:	2	DIF:	Average

	8.	Which of these is an advantage to using a standard menu?
a.	Standard menus allow for great flexibility from day to day	
b.	You don’t need to select items for a standard menu, because these are created by a franchise owner	
c.	Because menu items remain the same, future sales are easier to predict	
d.	Such a menu offers suggestions to your guests, so your servers don’t have to do so	

ANS:	C
Because menu items remain the same, future sales are easier to predict

PTS:	2	DIF:	Average

	9.	When you barter goods and/or services, how are these accounted for in your sales?
a.	Barter transactions should be accounted for at fair market value	
b.	Barter transactions are inherently illegal	
c.	Barter transactions cost you less, so you should account for them at cost	
d.	Barter transactions need not be accounted for, because no money changes hands	

ANS:	A
Barter transactions should be accounted for at fair market value

PTS:	3	DIF:	Challenging

	10.	If your restaurant is very expensive and upscale, your menu must:
a.	Feature organic and vegetarian items	
b.	Include a long wine list	
c.	Spell out dollar amounts instead of using numerals and dollar signs	
d.	Match your image	

ANS:	D
Match your image

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

SHORT ANSWER

	1.	Why do restaurants conduct market surveys?

ANS:	
Restaurants conduct market surveys to find out customers’ preferences.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	2.	What is indirect competition?

ANS:	
Restaurants that do not share your cuisine but do share your customer base are called your indirect competition.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	3.	Define a standard menu.

ANS:	
A menu that stays the same each day is called a standard menu.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	4.	Define combination menu.

ANS:	
A menu that has some items that stay the same each day, and others that vary from day to day, is called a combination menu.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	5.	What is the name of the menu that is common in schools and hospitals?

ANS:	
The type of menu that is common in schools, institutions, and hospitals is called a circle menu.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	6.	What does menu nutrition mean?

ANS:	
Menu nutrition means the qualities of the food items in terms of nutrients, calories, and other related qualities.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	7.	What is menu design?

ANS:	
The art of laying out the menu so that the customer’s eyes are directed to items you wish to sell is called menu design.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	8.	How do you derive menu mix percentage?

ANS:	
The number of an item (like roast beef sandwiches) sold, divided by the number of all items (like all entrée sandwiches) sold, is called the menu mix percentage.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	9.	Customers might still return even if they perceive your restaurant as too expensive. If they perceive your restaurant as unclean, will they return?

ANS:	
No

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy

	10.	What is barter?

ANS:	
Bartering is defined as trading goods and services without the exchange of money.

PTS:	1	DIF:	Easy