Even the trendiest menu needs these two: golden oldies and the signature silver.

Ever find yourself compulsively singing a song over and over again? Usually lyrics from some dumb commercial jingle you heard on the radio or TV? “Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver, the other gold.”

Trite, we thought, but true. When it comes to balancing the menu, every menu-even the most eclectic-needs those two.

In the course of asking operators to identify the golden oldies and the new signature silver items, we found two kinds of “gold”:

* Traditional favorites. Many of today’s most popular menu items are subtle updates of traditional favorites. When update, keep dishes really simple but make them a little more interesting with a signature detail.

* Dish a Vu. Nostalgia is a menu emotion: Food is like a music – it brings the memories of our best times.

“Silver” menu items fall in two categories, too-innovative creations and radically new versions of old standards:

* All-new creations. Increasingly, chefs create new combinations of ingredients for daily or weekly specials. Pastas and pizzas are motherlodes for creative chefs. But there are guidelines: you should always give customers enough recognizable clues in a new menu item so they have some idea what to expect.

* Traditional favorites remade. Frequently, a classically trained chef will take a traditional favorite–such as surf and turf–and update it so radically that it tastes and looks new, but still has the elements that made it so popular to begin with.

And here some general trends:

* Main-dish vegetables go mainstream. It’s no secret that vegetable main dishes have spread from vegetarian restaurants to mainstream restaurants for obvious reasons: better vegetables, better chefs and more customers interested in alternative entrees.

* Cook it light, but ditch the label. The nutritional backlash has not affected vegetable consumption, but it has affected how people feel about diet reminders when dining out. There is an opinion, if you want to kill something on the menu, in terms of sales, just call it ‘light’ or ‘heart-healthy.’ Customers don’t want to be reminded of dieting when they are dining out. Conversely, savvy customers can read menus and pick out for themselves the light items.

If any area of the menu remains immune to dieting, it is the dessert section. There is one change, however; standards for dessert quality have risen, and customers expect the dessert to be worth the calories they’re consuming.

TUQDHFE4JDP4

Eating out with children can be a great pleasure, but it can also be an awful pain.

Dining out together is an opportunity to share some special family time, enjoy new food experiences and catch up on what is going on in each other’s lives. It’s also a great opportunity to give mum and dad a night off from the cooking.  Recent studies conclude that a new kind of family decision-making dynamic is emerging. There is an on-going dialogue across generations. Parents place more importance on their kids’ tastes and opinions. Eighty-three per cent indicate that their child’s preference is important/somewhat important in selecting a quick-service restaurant location and seventy-six percent report the same is true for a full-service restaurant.

Most restaurant operators need a plan to attract families and build loyalty. For many restaurants, attracting kids and their parents is vital.

BISTRO spoke with Executive Chef Angelo Velante of the Mean Fiddler Hotel at Rouse Hill in suburban Sydney.

The Royal Oak Grill of Mean Fiddler is a casual but tasty affair. “The history and the location give the food the identity. The location pretty much determines the items on the plate. Fortunately we are in by the borders of the Hawkesbury region where most of our seasonal vegetables are locally sourced. To sum it up, we have a good quality, value for money, rural modern Australian, touch of Anglo-Irish feel to it,” says Angelo.

Rest assured the kids are well catered for too.

Leading Foods on Kids’ Menus

When kids under twelve do visit restaurants, pizza is far and away the most popular fast food for children, according to NPD CREST data. On the flip side, hot chips and chicken nuggets are also popular, but beginning to fall out of favour. Up-and-coming items include hamburgers, nachos and pasta for older kids, with fruit and ice cream gaining in popularity for younger kids. While pizza dominates for kids at dinner in a quick-service restaurant, pasta takes over that spot at full-service restaurants.

“The most popular food with younger kids in our kids’ menu would be ‘hands down’ chicken nuggets. Older kids tend to order from the main menu. They would order a pizza or pasta,” agrees Angelo.

“Kids under eight are fussy customer, they see eating as a chore. They like to eat easy pliable food, something to distract them. Unfortunately, deep-fried processed foods are tasty and easy to eat, that’s why we have to get nuggets shaped in dinosaurs to make it fun for them. We consciously try to help parents, disguise vegetables into purees just to make kids eat them.” As kids get older, their perception of the world and themselves changes, so changes their food preferences. Multiple research shows that eight to twelve-year-olds are concentrating on being adults. Terms like “kids”, “child’s portion” and “kiddy cocktails” drive them up the wall. Kids today want to be empowered. Eating out can provide an occasion to be as such.

Children’s portions are practical for very young children, but as they reach the tender ages of seven or eight, a child’s menu/portion is usually a real turn-off for kids. “As kids approach double digits, they want to explore, textures become a factor, their teeth get stronger, hence small steaks and harder vegetables become their preference. As their taste buds develop, they would incline to order more ‘grown up’ food dishes. They still want their fatty and salty items but in a different way; such as cheeses on pizzas, buttery mash on Shepherd’s Pie.”- says Angelo.

What are the parent expectations of kids’ menu? BISTRO asked Angelo.

“There are certain parents that expect wholesome home-cooked kids’ meal, i.e. Shepherd’s Pie, maybe Spaghetti Bolognaise, a healthier option as opposed to some parents that see kids nuggets and battered fish as a treat for their kids when they go out for a family outing.

“At the Fiddler, we have to cater for both, even though the good old nuggets sell the most, there is a growing demand for the healthier option for their kids. We serve salad on every kids meal, we even ask them if they would like some steamed vegetables instead of chips.”

Pricing Kids Menus

When it comes to the pricing items of the kids’ menus, unfortunately margins are very low. The main ‘profit’ there is in building the customer’s loyalty.

“Some items in the kids’ menu have a very low margin and some items we don’t make money at all.  Parents will always go eat out where the kids are looked after.  Inexpensive kids meals where there are healthy options, kids playground on-site all play a part in the destination.  Ironically it is more expensive for us to put salad and fresh veggies with our Sheppard’s pie on a plate than just nuggets and chips,” says Angelo.

“Just as adults have moved to greater use of deals and value menus, there continues to be a shift in the way kids are ordering at restaurants or, in many cases, how their parents are ordering for them,” says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst at NPD, a leading market research company. “What has gained in popularity is the use of value menus for kids meals and snacks.”

At the Mean Fiddler from Monday to Friday, there are selected specials designed for the family for $30. “These days, people are looking for value for their money. We know it can be really costly for a family of two adults and two kids with their meals, drinks etc.  With our $15 special, each of the adults can get their big main course (pasta, pizza, beef or chicken schnitzel) plus free beer or wine or drink. The two kids eat for free with anything they choose from the kids’ menu.  It just stretches their dollar more and make mum, dad and the kids happy,” says Angelo.

Dessert

When it comes to desserts, ice cream is essential. Eight of ten kids’ menu desserts use ice cream in a sundae, single scoop dish, shake or frozen novelty. “Kids love ice cream, cream and chocolate,” says Angelo.

“With that we also try to include some healthier options: banana split dessert; fruit & jelly cup.”

And at last, any item on kids’ menu needs to offer a beneficial health and taste experience. A parent may suggest it, but the child is the real decision-maker. If kids won’t eat it, it’s off the menu!

The highest proportion being in the middle to older age bracket (peaking at 65 to 74 years for men and 55 to 64 years for women). For children, there was a significant increase in those considered obese – from 5.2 per cent in 1995 to 7.8 per cent in 2007/8. Obesity among boys, particularly, had doubled.
With such startling statistics, it’s no wonder that many Australians have felt encouraged to review their own dining habits. Eating healthier foods – rather than strict dieting – seems to be the trend for people wanting to battle the bulge.
Interestingly, the younger generation is a leading force in this trend. A recent survey showed that Gen-Y diners would more likely eat lunch at a restaurant on weekdays if there was a wider choice of healthy menu options available.
All this, of course, is having some impact on restaurants, with chefs listening to customers and tweaking their menus to suit. More than would have been the case even three years ago, there is now often a variety of salads and grilled options on pub bistro menus.
BISTRO spoke to Nathan Thompson, the head chef at Zedbar in NSW’s Albury, about serving up nutritious – and tasty – fare. (The venue won ‘Best Bar Presentation and Service – Country’ at the national AHA Awards for Excellence last year.)
Keeping it simple
Thompson, who has been in the industry for nine years, says, firstly, it’s important to have pub food staples on the menu. “As long as you have Parmis and steaks, you can’t go wrong. Simple as they are, people want to come to a pub for food that they understand and recognise – not to have to bring an encyclopedia just to read the menu!”
At the same time though, Zedbar also has a wide range of healthy dishes, including six salads (comprising protein-rich items like chicken, beef, lamb and cheese, meaning these can also work as lighter-style mains), as well as grilled and vegetarian options.
Zedbar’s salads have great value as they incorporate different types of lettuces, plus yummy and vitamins and nutrient-rich avocadoes, sun-dried tomatoes, capsicum and eggplant.
Many of the dishes on the varied menu also come with creative dressings to add zest, like Japanese dipping mayonnaise, orange and cumin vinaigrette, lime and capsicum dressing, and chardonnay cream sauce.

Why it’s important
Thompson says having healthy fare on the menu reflects customer desires. “These days, people are a lot more aware of food and want to know more about it. They are becoming more health-focused, and so, the food that we do is aimed at enticing those people.”
The chef says the popularity of healthy items tends to change with the seasons, such as salads being favoured in summer. “We try to go with the seasons with our menus, so that it gives our customers something new to look forward to and also to ‘mix it up’ in the kitchen, so that the chefs don’t get stuck in a repetitive rut,” Thompson enthuses.

Healthy on the pocket
BISTRO had one burning question to put to Thompson – does having a wide choice of healthy options on the menu cost any extra in the kitchen?
Fortunately, Thompson shook his head. “No, it doesn’t. You actually save money. By using fresh, healthy ingredients, we save money on pre-done items. It is better for our customers as they appreciate things like home-made sauces. And, it also saves on prep-time (with fresh meals made quickly and grilling an easy method), which means more time to ‘prep’ for other things – or cleaning the kitchen!”
So, as you can see, providing healthy options really does make sense – for a venue’s budget, in attracting diverse clientele, and contributing to overall health in society. And, as Thompson has shown, thinking healthy is not just about throwing a bunch of leaves on the side of a plate, like an afterthought. Customers are yearning for nutritious dishes, which are tasty and show flair. So, why not deliver?

BISTRO, May 2010