On the latest Small Cafes Unite session organised by Food for Thought, Chef At Work’s Edwin Phua and Group Executive Chef Robin Ho of The Prive Group shed valuable insight on the topic of: “How I Did It: Avoiding Major Menu Mistakes”!
Both of them were down-to-earth, full of energy and shared generously on how to create a winning yet cost-effective menu. Three amazing tips that the audience took away from them last night (on top of a whole lot of great insights on menu creation):
1. Create a menu that has your own character and identity!
Instead of trying to please everyone (because you most possibly won’t be able to do so), create a menu that has your own character and identity. Do not try to mimic cookbooks or other well-known chefs’ menus, just be yourself!
2. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and know your limitations.
When creating your winning menu, make sure you put yourself in your customer’s shoes! One of the most important questions when doing so is probably to ask if your customers can fill their stomach with your food. In addition, do not try to create a menu that is out of your boundaries; make sure its within you and your staff limitations.
3. Avoid having flowery and tiny fonts on your menu.
Instead of using fanciful, flowery and tiny fonts, use fonts that are easy to read off from the menu! You don’t want to have your customer spending half of their time at your restaurant trying to figure out the words on the menu.
