The person who plans menus for food establishments and drinks must be expert in many culinary aspects, and in general this task is assigned to the chef. However, a professional planner of menus should have knowledge not only of food but also of finance and administration.

Below, we provide practical ideas for the four basic elements, so that you design an excellent menu.

In the area of food planning menu should be:

• Knowing the tastes of customers. Knowing that their favorite dishes are definitely helps on sale.
• Being able to identify the variety of food ingredients which are available in the market.
• Be able to explain the different criteria that establishes the degree of quality ingredients.
• Knowing how the dishes are prepared, produced, cooked, served and how they are consumed by the customer. This information will allow better specify what kind of equipment is needed to produce the dishes. This knowledge will also indicate what level of skill is required for chefs.
• Knowing how the raw material is packaged, transported, received and stored, and the expiration date.
• Use your ingredients in various dishes, to lower your costs.
• Make standard recipes and weight conversions.
• Have knowledge of the “cross utilization” means use the menu ingredient more than once either as a dish, side dish or as a sauce.

Finance
Menu planning must understand the relationship between the cost of raw materials and other expenses. It should be capable of producing a successful and profitable menu. The charge of this task should understand how the cost of the portion affects the selling price. Do not forget that the price of the menu should be attractive to the customer, and therefore need to know how to calculate the cost of a recipe. The cost of the portion and the price must be related to the volume to achieve the utility.

Administration
Menu planning must consider the skills of staff. It is important to take into account the following aspects: utility, average check, trading style, menu style, type of service, restaurant and market environment to which it is addressed.

Price
In planning the menu should not be selected dishes that have a high cost of recipe and offer it to the client at a high price because most people can not buy it. The menu needs to offer good quality products at a reasonable price.