My menu concepts class is crossing over into the purchasing and cost control class which is crossing over into the managment HR class which all ties into good nutrition. This all comes together and makes the Law class seem way more relevant.
As the days progress and I read into these books I can clearly see why all these classes are lumped together in the "L" block here at the CIA.
In the past I have designed and implemented well over 100 menus. Using them to sell my favorite foods, to promote the style of cooking I liked at the time, to represent a holiday or a themed event. I usually constructed them with some thought about the dishes and completed the basics of food costing and generating par and prep lists from them.
Now though, I am seeing past the general base that is the menu and learning about its origin, its original purpose and the ways in which it can be fine tuned, optimized to really generate capital in this business of tight margins and expiration dates.
The first restaurants were based on "restorantes" or restoratives, foods to heal and revitalize after the days journey. With the health movement starting to gain more and more momentum into the main stream of the industry it seems that the menu is returning to means to accomplish several goals. first it can once again reflect it's origins by offering the consumer a means of restoration. Using fresh and local products free of chemicals and hormones as well as full of more vital nutrients. This combined with the knowledge to manipulate the menu to generate profit can accomplish the goals of the business man inside the chef. allowing for a successful restaurant and a healthier clientele who in turn continue to patronize the local that restores them.
I now see that more time must be given to the deeper underpinnings of the menu to ensure that it can accomplish all that it can. It is the restaurant, the rudder by which the chef moves across the sea of food and beverage waves.
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