A Culinary Perspective on Menu Development Presented by

1. A Culinary Perspective on Menu DevelopmentPresented by Charlie Baggs President& ExecutiveChef Charlie Baggs, Inc. c.baggs@charliebaggsinc.com www.charliebaggsinc.com Skip JuliusCEC, CRC, CCS Product Development Leader Gordon Food ServiceSkip.Julius@gfs.com www.gfs.com

2. Presentation at a Glance Consumer insights Increased ingredient cost Look at the menu Rising cost strategy How to capture customers interest Tracking trends Menu engineering Concepting and menu descriptions Pleasure principles

3. Convenience Health & Wellness It’s all about flavor! Consumer Desires Overlap Most successful products meet these characteristics

4. Healthy and Wellness trend • Berries • Calcium • Plant sterols • Gluten intolerance • Nuts • Omega 3’s • Soy • Blueberries • Pomegranate • Tea • Natural • High fiber • Whole grain • Fresh perception • Customized for consumer • Fortified • Reduced “Bad” Ingredients: HFCS, calories, trans fat, sodium, • Portion controlled • Flax, nutritious

5. Restaurant Trends Trend: Customization pick a pair, choose a combo and make my way. Source: Datassentials October 2007 Ideas: • Supper / Snack Combos – soup and sub or sub and dessert – separate (unbundled) beverage Trend: Decline in core diner dayparts (dinner and lunch) NPD Consumer Visits, August 2007 Ideas: • Add more snack-like foods Trend: Niche Focused Menus Ideas: • LTO’s that celebrate a style, region, or daypart • Bistro Bakery LTO – baguette, croissant and Bahn Mi sandwiches • Breakfast for Dinner LTO sandwiches • Italian Bistro LTO – bun and flatbread sandwiches • Calorie Controlled Flatbreads and Wraps

6. Restaurant Trends Trend: Upgraded offers for kids Ideas: • Make kid size Signature dishes • Fruits – fresh whole fruit, or cut fruit or cocktail available as side or dessert options or vegetable sticks with dressing cup or pack • Nutritional information posted for children’s menus citing accordance with acceptable standard of childhood nutrition, and awareness of childhood obesity concerns. Trend: Restaurants and environmental responsibility Ideas: • Waste reduction theme posters in store, sustainable paper sourced products • Segregated waste recycling waste containers Trend:Marketing lunch menu specials for workers Ideas: • Offer “buy two get a percent off” deals. • Offer daily weekday lunch special subs & combos • Offer frequent diner cards to local work places

7. Food Trends Overview

8. Consumers Want Choices • Convenience: Dine in, dine at home, or dine on-the-go • Cupholder Cuisine: Demands food that travels well • The Rise of Breakfast • Customization of Menu Items • Choice of Portion Sizes • Miniaturization of Treats/Indulgences • Choice of Sides • New Beverage Options • Bold New Flavors • Ethnic - Authenticity a must • Premiumization vs. Basic

9. “Green” is “IN” • Grass Fed • Hormone Free • Cage Free • Ethical • Fair Trade • Clean Foods • Carbon Footprint • Energy Efficient • Eco-Friendly • Free Range • Recyclable • Sustainable • Traceable • Vegetarian/Vegan • Locally Grown • Natural • Organic • Humanely Raised • Rainforest Alliance • Whole Foods

10. Food Trends Trend: Familiar with a Twist Ideas: • Take signature ideas and offer LTO variations Trend: Moving to smaller portions Ideas: • Half portion sandwiches, salads, entrees • Differentiate by focusing on quality – unique sauces, premium proteins and exquisite breads.

11. Food Trends Trend: Fruit & Savory (sweet & savory) Ideas: • Savory proteins accented by sharp, sweet fruit flavors - traditional or exotic (mango was 1st) • Fruit salsas or sweet glazes can be small in quantity applied but still provide significant identifiable flavor and texture Trend: Shrimp has greatest seafood share on restaurant menus. Ideas: • Add shrimp to your sandwiches, soups, salads

12. Consumer Trends Overview

13. Top Trends To Watch • Healthy Foods • Reduced Portions/Tapas • Small plates menus • Bite-sized desserts • Bold Flavors (Mexican & Asian) • Local Foods & Organic Products

14. Consumer Trends Trend: Communal dishes Ideas: • Combo platters, sharable Trend: Healthy, All-Natural, Better for You Items Ideas: • Incorporate nutrient-rich ingredients. perceived as inherently good due to high levels of anti-oxidants • Fruits include: blueberries, mango, cranberries, apples, kiwi, strawberry and oranges. • Bread ingredients could be: oats, walnuts, flax seed, wheat grass, soy, chives, barley, buckwheat, other whole seeds. • Condiment components include: olive oil, sesame, cinnamon, ginger, oregano, turmeric.

15. Customization • Offer sauce accompaniment • Offer portion size alternatives • Hot or cold serving option • Kid or adult packaging choice • Packaged for ‘the office’ or immediate consumption

16. Increased Ingredient Cost • Example: “The Clorox Story” Early in the 20th century hypochlorite became very scarce and cost increased due to supply and demand.

17. Your Menu is the Lifeblood of your Business.Don’t Take it for Granted! • Capture customers' interest • Encourage repeat visits • Review the menu now • Profitability • Operational constraints • Labor capabilities • Current trends • Seasonal menu options It can help to work with an outside/objective source

18. How do you create a menu that captures customers' interest? • Demographics • Regional Issues • Psychographics • What does your customer want • Who is your competition • What is the competition doing Know who your customer is!

19. Understanding the Menu

20. Menu Strategies And Practices • The Menu is the #1 Merchandising Tool • Rounding Theory • Eye Gaze Patterns • Shading, Boxing, Angled Specials, Top & Bottom of a List • Price to the Consumer, Not to Formula • Branding drives Image and Value

21. Rounding Theory • Under $5.00, guests only recognize price increments of 25¢ • Above $5.00, guests only recognize price increments of 50¢ and 95¢. • Over $10.00, the incremental price point is $1.00. • Common pricing strategy - a $2.54 food cost and a 33% cost percentage target should be priced at $7.62.

22. Rounding Theory cont. • Manager lowers pricing to $7.75 from $7.95 • In a year, most restaurants will serve in excess of 100,000 customers. • An extra 20¢ on just half of those customers (in pure profit) would put an extra $10,000 to the bottom line. • Restaurant only makes $50,000, so this is a 20% increase. • Fact Based Selling!

23. Eye Gaze Patterns • Customers don’t read menus. • Customers scan menus • The eyes follow a predictable path • Strategically place high-profit items • Customer spends less than 45 seconds scanning the menu.

24. Eye Gaze Patterns Mapped 2 3 5 1 7 4 6

25. Shading, Boxing, Angled Specials, Top & Bottom Of Lists • You can expect a minimum 20% increase • At the top or bottom of a list. • When you shade or box. • Patrons only scan menus. • Eye gaze motion will be drawn to variations in text, layout or format • Combine shading, boxing and special with other forms of merchandising

26. Price to the Consumer, Not to Formula • Formula pricing is lazy. • A formula price leaves Money on the table. • Customers have limited knowledge of raw costs. • Set price points based on the value perception of the guest and what the market will bear. • Use coffee as your example … • Fact Based Selling!

27. Margin Dollars Increase by 30-50% ! $1.50 $1.05

28. Where to get Trends • NRA • The Food Institute • CIA • Food Navigator • Technomic • Google • Datamonitor • Mintel • Datassentials • NPD • Publications (Trade & Consumer)

29. But…what are the real trends? How to filter out the “noise”

30. Flavor Trends

31. Flavor Trends

32. Macro Trends

33. Macro Trends

34. Menu Engineering • Your approach to menu analysis must have a plan • “What is your culinary Brand identity?” • Create and maintain a brand • Organization of menu / menu layout • Use a “Daily Menu” / daily specials • Maintain quality and consistency • Menu positioning

35. Engineering Menu Profit • Real Time Pricing • Set menu item performance levels -Don’t become emotionally attached -If items don’t perform or contribute: 86 ‘em • SKU Utilization- Get Creative • Specials – your best friend (BFF) -Steer customers to higher margin items

36. Consumer Food Prices Unadjusted Mar. ‘08 • All Items 4.9% • All Food 4.9 • Beef & Veal 4.7 • Pork 1.8 • Poultry 8.3 • Fish & Seafood 4.1 • Eggs 34.7 • Dairy Products 12.8 • Sugar & Sweets 2.8 • Fats & Oils 6.9 • Source: www.usda.com

37. ConceptingA “hamburger” doesn’t always sell itself Less descriptive More descriptive A fire grilled angus ground beef patty topped with Wisconsin cheddar cheese, Apple wood crispy bacon, fresh lettuce and ripe tomato slices on a toasted Sour dough bun A ground beef patty with melted cheese on a grilled bun with bacon, lettuce and tomato

38. Menu Descriptions • Include ingredients: spring onions, portabella mushrooms, etc. • Add terms to make ingredients alive:  caramelized, sautéed, basted, glazed, crispy, chunky, rich • Describe colors/temperatures/sensations:  chilled, cool, refreshing, soothing, blush, rosy, vibrant green

39. Concepting Action Words • Flavors (zesty, tangy, salty, etc…) • Cooking Methods (roasted, fried, caramelization, etc…) • Textures (soft, crispy, chewy, etc…) • Shape & Size (chopped, julienne, minced, etc…) • Cooking Action (drizzled, shaved, stuffed, etc…)

40. Making Food Irresistible

41. Great Food Gives Great Pleasure • Food and beverage is one of three essential human needs for basic survival • Yet, aside from love, nothing else evokes as much pleasure and passion as food! We Choose the Food That Gives Us The Most Pleasure!!!!!

42. Why it Works Understanding Why Food Tastes So Good…or Doesn’t PLEASURE

43. Genetics: Why We Respond to Food Pleasure Humans begin 5,000,000 BC Hunter-Gathers Agriculture begins 8,000 BC 0 AD Industrial Age 1900 AD

44. Genetics: Why We Respond to Food Pleasure • 4.998 % of human history is as hunter gathers • Natural selection results in our genes being predisposed as hunter gathers • The brain and body have 5 million years of developing mechanisms that respond to pleasure stimulus: it’s how we survived this long!

45. Food Pleasure Equation • When you have a food choice the brain calculates how much pleasure will be generated during the eating and digestion of any food. EXPECTATIONS! • Goal of the brain, gut and fat cell is to maximize the pleasure extracted from the environment in both food sensation and macronutrient content

46. Pleasure Rule #1 Taste Hedonics • Salt, Sugar, MSG, 5’ Nucleotides in solution yield most pleasure • Glutamates = Umami (MSG is but one) • Umami signals presence of protein • Salt + Glutamates = powerful hedonics • Emulsions – • Salt-fat: butter, salad dressings, mayo • Sugar-fat: chocolate, ice cream, cream

47. Pleasure Rule #2Foods High in Umami/Glutamates Many preferred food are naturally high in Glutamates: • Soy Sauce • Parmesan Cheese • Tomato • Potato • Sardines • Fish Sauces

48. Pleasure Rule #3Taste Hedonics • Salivation Response • We prefer foods that are moist or evoke saliva • Saliva is critical for solute contact with taste buds (no taste, no pleasure) • Saliva fosters food lubrication, enhances the eating experience • Why is there salt on crackers? • Add salt and fat (think potato chips) = perfect “salivation” food

49. Pleasure Rule #4Balance the BASICS™ • Balance • Acid • Sweet • Intended flavor and texture • Color • Salt

50. Pleasure Rule #5Texture About Texture • The brain has more difficulty “reading” a flavor when a food has more texture • The brain reads temp first, then texture and finally flavor • Foods like ice cream, foie gras and risotto are sensed as richer and more sensual