"Success
is measured by the memories you create."
-Thomas
Keller, The French Laundry
Your
guests define 'value' by the quality of the restaurant
experience and the memory it creates. Memories
of great value last and are shared with others.
Quality experiences don't 'just happen'. They
get orchestrated like a play or piece of music,
scene by scene, note by note. It requires a process. |
This
may seem an odd way to start a series on menu planning
within the context of 'Maximizing Your Profit', but,
as Aristotle was known to mutter, "It ain't."
Why? Because the Five Golden Rules of Method Marketing
are interdependent, working seamlessly in concert.
When you "Orchestrate a Memorable Experience",
it engages the guest and they allow you to charge
more. Great memories generate higher profits through
guest permission.
The Menu is the Messenger
Consider it the theme line of your play. While
not the whole show, it tells your guest who you are
and what flavor they should expect from their experience.
They understand your concept, because of the menu.
The menu is prime real estate. While spinning your
story, every square inch produces extra profit. But
like a well-crafted play, every moment must be developed
and count, not only for the way it engages the guest,
but how it makes money for you.
Where to start? Each Golden Rule intertwines with
the others. As such, the values and needs you define
through "Knowing Your Guest and Yourself"
provide the genetic code for all that follows. From
that foundation here is a new take on the classic
design credo: form follows function that follows
values which meet needs. It says that you
need to follow a pragmatic process that is based in
that powerful marriage of guest hot buttons and your
operational passions. Then, and only then, do you
add 'creative' design to the recipe. The fruit of
guest loyalty and higher profits comes from a well-tended
tree, not from the decorative fencing and product
labels of art direction and wordsmithing.
The Roadmap to Creating a World-Class Menu:
- Marry
the guest's hot buttons and emotional triggers with
your passion & values, the ones that "turn
you on"
- Balance
your capabilities with your physical plant
- Plan
your profit
- Write
your story and plan the menu real estate
- Design,
at last, and "Tah Dah!"
Marry
the guest's hot buttons and emotional triggers with
your passion & values
"To
eat with feeling is to eat with your head and spirit,
with your nose, your eyes, your ears, not simply your
palate."
-
Alexandre Cammas
How does your guest feel about you? What words do
they ascribe to the restaurant or the eating experience?
What sensations turn them on? This is the broth with
which you start. Put it on the stove and let the feelings
simmer. They reduce and intensify. To the stock, add
the core operating values you and your team identified.
Stir your imagination with the passion that got you
into the restaurant business in the first place. The
stockpot contains the fundamentals of a great menu
because it starts with feeling. It cooks and comes
to life. It creates aromas that drive you nuts, and
you're in heaven. In the next
issue we move "into reality" so that
you balance your capabilities with your physical plant.
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Part
I -Creating Memorable Menus
Part II -Creating Memorable
Menus
Part III -Creating Memorable
Menus
