CCC Menu Planning and Engineering 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An item classified as a Dog in menu engineering is best handled by:
- Featuring it in a menu callout box
- Increasing its portion size
- Removing or completely reworking it (Correct answer)
- Lowering its price to increase volume
Correct answer: Removing or completely reworking it
Dogs are both unpopular and unprofitable, so they should be dropped or fundamentally redesigned.
Question 2: A menu item costs $6.50 to plate and sells for $26.00. What is its food cost percentage?
- 25% (Correct answer)
- 30%
- 20%
- 35%
Correct answer: 25%
Food cost percentage equals cost divided by price: 6.50 ÷ 26.00 = 0.25, or 25%.
Question 3: The 'sweet spot' or prime real estate on a single-panel menu, where guests' eyes tend to land first, is generally the:
- Bottom right corner
- Left margin
- Upper portion, just above the center (Correct answer)
- Bottom left corner
Correct answer: Upper portion, just above the center
On a single panel, eyes typically go first to the area at or just above center-top, making it prime placement for high-margin items.
Question 4: When calculating menu-mix (popularity) benchmarks in menu engineering, an item is considered popular if its sales share exceeds:
- 100% of the category average
- 50% of total restaurant sales
- Its own contribution margin
- 70% of the expected equal share of category sales (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 70% of the expected equal share of category sales
The standard menu engineering benchmark flags an item as popular when it achieves at least 70% of its expected equal share (1/n × 70%).
Question 5: A chef planning a new spring menu should base item selection primarily on:
- Items with the longest shelf life only
- Copying the top competitor's menu exactly
- Whatever the chef personally enjoys cooking
- Guest preferences, seasonal availability, and operational capability (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Guest preferences, seasonal availability, and operational capability
Sound menu planning balances what guests want, what is seasonally available and cost-effective, and what the operation can execute.
Question 6: Truth-in-menu regulations require that:
- Menus be reprinted monthly
- All prices end in .99
- Menu descriptions accurately represent origin, preparation, and ingredients (Correct answer)
- Every dish list its full recipe
Correct answer: Menu descriptions accurately represent origin, preparation, and ingredients
Truth-in-menu standards prohibit misrepresenting points like grade, origin, size, and preparation method in menu descriptions.
Question 7: Which change would most likely reduce kitchen labor cost through menu planning?
- Doubling the number of menu categories
- Requiring tableside preparation for entrées
- Adding more made-to-order à la minute dishes
- Streamlining the menu around fewer items with shared prep and stations (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Streamlining the menu around fewer items with shared prep and stations
A tighter menu with shared prep reduces production complexity, station load, and the labor hours required.
CCC Menu Planning and Engineering 3
An item classified as a Dog in menu engineering is best handled by: