Menu planning
What's covered
Key facts
Factors affecting menu planning
Examiners criticised dishes where portions for toddlers or schoolchildren were as large as, or larger than, the adult portions.
How to plan production
A contingency is something that might happen and cause problems, so a plan's contingencies set out what to do if it does.
Factors affecting menu planning
Top-band candidates linked dishes to the client group's needs, such as replenishing energy used in swimming or outdoor activities.
How to plan production
The spec pairs "sequencing/dove-tailing" with preparing, cooking and presenting more than one dish at the same time.
Factors affecting menu planning
The Eatwell Guide shows how much of what we eat overall should come from each food group.
How to plan production
The spec's environmental issues ask how dish production can be made sustainable by using less energy and reducing water consumption.
Factors affecting menu planning
Current advice is to eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day.
How to plan production
The spec's factors for planning production are equipment available, skills of the chef, time available, environmental issues, time of year (seasonality of commodities) and organoleptic qualities.
Factors affecting menu planning
The spec lists five factors when planning menus: cost, portion control, balanced diets/current nutritional advice, time of day, and clients/customers.
How to plan production
Mise en place is preparing the food and equipment you will need before you start cooking.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 18 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Which is one of the five factors the spec lists for planning a menu?
- •Brand of oven
- •Number of tables
- •Staff uniforms
- ✓Time of day
In a production plan, what does dovetailing mean?
- •Cooking one dish fully before the next
- ✓Fitting together the tasks for two dishes
- •Listing every ingredient with quantities
- •Tasting each dish before serving it
In a restaurant kitchen, what does portion control mean?
- •Letting customers choose any amount
- ✓Serving the same amount on every plate
- •Using the largest plates available
- •Varying amounts to suit each chef
Which of these should a dish production plan include?
- •A seating plan for the customers
- ✓Hot holding and storage instructions
- •The history of each dish's origin
- •The price of each menu item
According to the Eatwell Guide, how much of what we eat should be starchy foods?
- •About a tenth
- •Around three quarters
- •Exactly a half
- ✓Just over a third
What is a contingency in a production plan?
- •The final garnish for each dish
- •The list of ingredients and quantities
- •The order the dishes are served in
- ✓What to do if something goes wrong
Three minutes a day. Knowledge that sticks.
Practise all 18 Menu planning questions with spaced repetition, so what you revise today is still there in the exam. Free to use, no card needed.