Designing the menu

When tasked with the creation of a new menu for my partner organization, there were a few things that I wanted to do:

- ensure the physical design was professional and attractive, with a style that represents the spirit of the women working here

- ensure that the structural design made it easy for the restaurant staff to execute orders, and for guests to have a variety of choices in a compact space (two half pages had to share the entire regular menu)

- ensure that the menu content reflects the traditional meals the staff are accustomed to making (the daily/weekly specials would leave room for international dishes), while providing the quality and options that our largest customer base (German tour groups and local NGO conferences) are asking for

For the menu background, I photographed the motif on our table runners (also on the cushions and chairs), which is an original design. I put this on a standard A4 size document (to be folded in half as the menu), and added floating boxes to the inside page with 5% translucency, so that the motif remains visible behind the menu type, without interfering with its readability.

I then divided the inside space into five areas, separated by a floating horizontal line: introductory information about the organization (cross-selling our craft products at the same time); drinks; starters; main dishes; dessert.

On the outside covers, I put an image at the top of each side. The idea for the cover photo was to use the same composition in the finalized design (it’s the same photo I took for my blog header), but with food on the plate, and maybe some customers sitting at the table to the left (without blocking the water view). For the back cover, we are trying to sell the women’s traditional dance performance. That image would be replaced with one in the dining area, women (who are all staff members in the different departments) dancing in the foreground, and happy customers watching and photographing in the background. I didn’t manage to get the perfect picture myself, as most traditional meals had been in the evening, when it is too late to photograph with clarity. But the image below shares the idea.

On the front of the menu, I separated the name of the restaurant from a slogan (to be determined) with the organization’s logo. On the back cover, I again divided the space in two with a floating horizontal line: the upper space promotes the dancing, conference, special occasion bookings, and accommodations (a two-sided brochure in the same style was to be created (which could fit inside the folded menu and be given to customers who want to take it with them), one side for the accommodations and breakfast menu pricing, one side for conference and special occasions). The lower space has our operating times and contact information, plus directions with a map to find us (a better, more straightforward map was also to be created). All of the essentials were put into minimal space, without any clutter.

For the structural design of the menu, the first thing to do was simplify the pricing structure. I went to six other restaurants, considered competition for either their proximity to us; the content of their menu (only a few other restaurants specialize in African food); for working with a social cause (one restaurant employs and trains deaf servers); or for having lunch specials that give an indication of what people pay for midday meals.

The drinks were the easiest items to structure: we know how much it costs us to buy them (no food costing has to be done), we only need to ensure that we fit somewhere towards the lower end of the average price range, since customers have to travel outside of the city centre to reach us, and our closest competition (also serving traditional food just down the road) has the cheapest drinks around.

To be able to fit everything in a small area of the menu, I categorized the drinks into wines, beers, hard drinks, sodas for hard drinks, juices, hot drinks, soft drinks, and water. This simplified structure gives us a bit more profit on some items, and a bit less on others, but overall, it should average out equally, and takes up much less space on the menu than before (we had more than a full A4 page dedicated to drinks, with slight differences in prices between different beers, ciders, hot and soft drinks). I also added a discounted ‘Cake and Coffee’ combination, something that both the board and tour groups have asked for repeatedly, for visits when they don’t have enough time for a sit-down meal.

Structuring the price for the main courses was a bit more complicated. We receive customers for both lunches and dinners at times, and most customers going out for lunch aren’t willing to pay dinner prices. At the same time, I didn’t want to complicate things in the kitchen by having a different menu and preparation for lunch and dinner, as we never know how many people are coming in a day, and the staff need to build their skills slowly, as straightforward as possible.

So the option I came up with was to offer each dish in a light portion and a full portion, the main difference being the amount of meat included (many other restaurants use vegetables as a garnish, not a side dish (due to local eating habits), so it made sense to focus the difference on the meat). I created sample prices based on averages from the competition (lunches were often N$40-N$55, while dinners went from N$70-N$110+, more often hovering around N$90), and I think that the full portion meals could move up in price, especially since the size and quality of the side dishes on this new menu are much higher quality than those in many other restaurants. I wanted all main dishes to be roughly the same price, so that we could also offer a discounted 3-course meal, which is often popular with foreign tourists in other countries, and could increase our profit margin by adding a soup and low-cost dessert to the bill.

For the menu content, there were a few customer concerns to be addressed, based on surveys I had created and compiled: meat was often too bony and extremely dry; they wanted game, not just meats they could get back home; there were no vegetarian options, and a lot of the items on the old menu were not available, or had key ingredients substituted with less desirable ones.

For starters, I wanted to give the kitchen maximum flexibility to use the freshest (or most tired) seasonal ingredients, and one of the easiest ways to do that is with a soup of the day. The flexibility in wording on the menu also ensures that we never have to tell a customer that a particular soup is not available, as long as we have at least one ready at all times.

In western countries, salads would also be a starter option, but Namibians are not big on vegetables, so I moved it to a side dish option with the main course.

Game kapana (small pieces of grilled meat and spice) was a must on the menu, as the new chef had advertised it on national television during an interview. Using the new grill to prep meat and finish the cooking on order (rather than cooking meat in the oven and then leaving it over heat where it dries out) should address customers’ concerns about the meat quality.

For the main course side dishes, I thought that the easiest way for both the customer to be satisfied, and for the kitchen to be able to prep for six different main courses, would be to have one list of starches, and one list of vegetable sides (that are ALWAYS available, not seasonal), with the customer able to choose one of each. If they want an additional side, they can order and pay an additional price for it, and couples or groups can also share different sides to have more variety.

At the same time, the vegetarian option on the menu combines all of the vegetable side dishes, sauces, and starches into a delicious platter full of colours (I tested it with a conference group of vegetarians, and they were extremely happy with the meal).

For the main dishes, fillet and sirloin steaks replace bony chops and other local cuts. There is a braai (bbq) option combining different meats and sausages (without specifying which ones are available, so that customers do not complain if zebra or kudu or lamb is not available, for example). A German-style schnitzel is available for those who want something more familiar, and a house recipe potjie (pronounced poy-key) is available, cooked like a stew in the solar cooker, with large pieces of mixed game meat falling off an easy-to-maneuver hard central bone.

The sauces are also packed with vegetables and vitamins, hiding the nutrients and the idea from locals who don’t like to eat them, and pleasing the tourists who always appreciate a quality sauce.

For the dessert, I again wanted to avoid having a list of sweets that may or may not be available, so our own oshikandela cheesecake (made with a local sweet yogurt) is on the permanent menu (because it was also advertised on television by the new chef), and the daily special will have additional desserts for people to enjoy.

Overall, I think I’ve turned a pretty comprehensive set of requirements into an attractive menu. The recipes are quite simple to prepare, yet full of flavour and flair. The challenge for the restaurant moving forward will be to make sure the recipes are available as advertised, and to maximize profit through proper control of purchases and portioning.

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