Introduction
The process of preparing a general menu program allows the server to always have preparations that meet the user's needs, both energy requirements, nutrients and sensory satisfaction, meeting their expectations.
Referring to the menu as a list of preparations that constitute a meal or preparation, considering itself as the starting and ending point of a food service, since all the activities of the different subsystems will depend on it.
Any establishment, institution or organization that offers a food service must take into account all the affects that influence the user or diner in the choice of food, where cultural, social, demographic, political and religious aspects intervene. The planning that will be carried out for the preparation of the menus will largely depend on this.
The selection of the preparations is a process that must be carried out properly, once the repertoire of recipes is filed, constant monitoring must be carried out, making possible updates to always provide quality service to the user.
Making a good planning in the elaboration of the menus is a step that is of great importance, since if the planning of both the main dishes and those that accompany it is carried out correctly, the waste and therefore the costs of the preparation.
Development
Menu concept
Before raising the points for the elaboration of a menu, it is important to determine what the concept of the menu is, it refers to the menu or primary products of the marketing subsystem as a list of the preparations that are part of a meal, according to the definition given by the Larousse dictionary. The planning of the menu in a food service must be carried out correctly, this turns out to be very complicated since it will determine the activities carried out in the other subsystems.
Menu planning goals
- Take the users into account. Satisfy the nutritional needs of the user. Respect the established budget. Determine bases to establish the activities of the rest of the subsystems. Help to create the image of the food service offered.
Planning policies
- Have a budget for each meal. Have a pattern of meals that will be served throughout the day. Service time period. Type of menu. Orders and special events.
Related factors
Here are some factors that can affect planning:
- Clients: Sociocultural factors and nutritional needs may intervene. According to these points, what the user wants or wants should be offered and not what the planner offers.Internal factors: for these they can consider the premises, equipment, furniture, utensils, as well as the production capacity, budget with which it is counted for each meal and also the type of service offered.External factors: various situations that arise and that are generally beyond the control of the server, for example: the weather, the seasons, availability of food or ingredients as well also state regulations.
Menu types
There are some ways to classify the types of menus that the power system offers, these are some of them:
- According to the food to be served (breakfast, snack, lunch or dinner). According to the variation (either static or varied). According to the possibility of selection (selective menu, not selective). According to the organization of the menu According to the period of time in which the menu is offered (cyclical menu: true, jumps, matches and / or random).
Basic rules for menu planning
Regardless of what the objectives of the menus will be, the basic rules for planning them must be taken into account, which are the following:
Nutritional balance
It is extremely important to make sure that the food offered to the user meets the energy and nutrient requirements that the user needs. Both in institutional and commercial food services.
A variety is required in the different aspects:
Texture: it is about the structure of the food and how these are detected in the diner's mouth, whether they are crisp, grainy, soft, soft and / or rubbery.
Consistency: refers to the level of viscosity, density or firmness that the food presents, being able to be gelatinous, fluid, rough, liquid, thick, medium thick, firm, among other presentations.
Color: It is a very important aspect for the presentation of the cymbals, since this gives presentation and a certain visual appeal. At the time of preparing the menu, care must be taken when combining the colors, some of them may be unpleasant and unappetizing, even if a dish with a unique color is offered.
Flavor: it is important to have a balance in the combination of flavors, mainly salty, acidic, bitter, sweet, spicy.
Shape: this aspect is a matter of creativity when serving food, and can be presented in different ways, whether in cubes, strips, grated, balls, among other presentations.
Moisture: this aspect aims to prevent monotony from appearing in the dishes, that is, to make dry food combinations with some juicy ones and avoid serving two preparations with the same consistency.
Preparation method: at this point it is intended to avoid the presentation of similar or repeated preparations, such as fried, roasted or boiled.
Procedures for preparing the menu program
General
To carry out a menu program that meets the characteristics required in a food service, taking into account the basic aspects and rules for preparing the food service, you must have the following procedure which can be adapted according to the server situation:
1. Preparation of the repertoire of recipes
Menu planning:
A preparation group must be indicated that is in accordance with the service offered. In this process you will be able to find a large number of preparations for use either in kitchen recipes, books, magazines, the same service, newspapers, television programs, radio or family recipes, friends, in short. However, not all will fall within the selection criteria for the different food services, which is why some processes must be carried out to choose the appropriate ones, for example:
Eliminate recipes that for various reasons are difficult or to some extent impossible to include on the menu, either because they do not fit the profile of the service consumer, have a very high budget or because of the unavailability of ingredients.
Once this selection process is carried out and you already have a repertoire of recipes that make up the menu program, these can be filed according to the preparation groups, for example: desserts, salads, pasta, creams, rice, among others, it is also possible to mark them with different colored cards for easy identification.
2. Preparation of the general menu program
Once the repertoire of recipes has been prepared, the next step is the elaboration of a general menu program, which consists of the following procedure:
Choice of main dishes for each meal throughout the cycle
This point highlights first the selection of the main dish, since this is what determines which preparations must accompany it. An important point is to always keep the budget, where the combination of very expensive preparations with other economic ones is recommended. In case of being selective menus, the quantity of main dishes will be taken into account and based on this a list will be prepared for the entire cycle.
Knowing how to identify which is a main dish is an important aspect, since it can not only be made of meat, it can also have some other ingredient, they constitute all or almost all food.
Selection of the side dishes
They are generally made with certain foods from certain groups such as those with mainly vegetables, cereals, tubers and legumes. For the elaboration of the menu not only the main course must be taken into account it is also necessary to make a good impression with the dish or dishes that accompany it, avoiding having a failure in all the preparation and generating more unnecessary expenses. Planning less elaborate and cheap main dishes, accompanied by creative and appetizing dishes. Where creativity has a very important role in this section.
Selection of vegetables and vegetables cooked in salads
This group of foods offer the opportunity to add color and a great variety to the dishes. This planning will have to be done with great care since nowadays people show a greater concern for their health and physical appearance, and this group of foods is becoming more frequent in the diet, it has even become a complete meal.
A good option is that of the counters or bars with vegetable dishes that, when seen with a good presentation and very varied, attract the attention of the public and become appetizing.
Choice of soup to serve
The soup should not be considered as anything, it is important to take into account its preparation, this can become a dish that accompanies the main dish, presenting an appetizing and desirable food, if not, it will be better to do without it.
3. Checking the general menu program
This is the third step that must be taken into account in the planning where you will drink carefully verify the menu program, being carried out every day taking into account the following aspects:
- If the menu is nutritionally adequate, if the foods or ingredients used are accessible and if they are available, if there are personnel and equipment available for their preparation, if they are pleasant and appetizing in terms of organoleptic characteristics, and Its elaboration is efficient and effective. If a food, the same flavor or preparation is repeated many times.
conclusion
In planning a general menu program, it is important to take into account all the aforementioned aspects from the planning objectives, server policies, the factors involved, as well as the basic rules of preparation, to have optimal results at the moment to offer the service to users.
When preparing the preparations, different alternatives must be taken, creativity plays an extremely important role for the introduction of innovations in this field. The satisfaction that the consumer, user or diner has after trying the preparation should be the primary objective of the menu planning.
During the elaboration of the menus in many occasions only the main dishes are taken into account and the garnishes or preparations with which they are accompanied are left aside, this being a great problem since in many occasions when not paying attention or subtracting Importances to the secondary dishes all the preparation turns out to be a failure. It is for this reason that good planning must be carried out from the main dishes to the complementary ones in order to give a better service avoiding the generation of unnecessary waste and generating greater expense, and therefore obtaining better profits.
Once the program is obtained, it should never be neglected, it is important to keep a constant checkup, being carried out every day to verify that everything is in order or general changes if necessary.
References
- Dolly T B. Administration of food services. Quality, nutrition, productivity and benefits. 2nd ed. Colombia: Editorial University of Antioquia. 2007. Domínguez LA, Ros CO. Food Handler: The Importance of Hygiene in Food Processing and Serving. 2nd ed. Spain: Editorial Own ideas; 2007.
