CMC Menu Development & Nutritional Analysis 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When designing a menu for a patient with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which nutrient requires the strictest limitation?
- Vitamin C
- Phosphorus (Correct answer)
- Saturated fat
- Soluble fiber
Correct answer: Phosphorus
CKD patients must strictly limit phosphorus because impaired kidneys cannot adequately excrete it, leading to dangerous hyperphosphatemia.
Question 2: A chef is creating a prix fixe menu and wants to balance food costs at 28%. If the tasting menu sells for $120, what is the maximum allowable food cost per cover?
- $28.00
- $33.60 (Correct answer)
- $38.40
- $42.00
Correct answer: $33.60
28% of $120 = $33.60, which is the maximum food cost per cover to maintain the target cost percentage.
Question 3: Which menu engineering quadrant describes items with high profitability but low popularity?
- Stars
- Plowhorses
- Puzzles (Correct answer)
- Dogs
Correct answer: Puzzles
Puzzles (also called Challenges) have high contribution margins but low sales volume, suggesting they may need repositioning or promotion.
Question 4: When calculating the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for protein, the standard recommendation for healthy sedentary adults is approximately:
- 0.4 g/kg body weight
- 0.8 g/kg body weight (Correct answer)
- 1.2 g/kg body weight
- 1.6 g/kg body weight
Correct answer: 0.8 g/kg body weight
The RDA for protein is 0.8 g/kg of body weight per day for healthy, sedentary adults.
Question 5: A seasonal menu strategy that sources ingredients at their peak availability primarily benefits which aspect of menu development?
- Increases standardization across all locations
- Maximizes flavor quality while reducing ingredient cost (Correct answer)
- Simplifies FDA nutrition labeling requirements
- Eliminates the need for cross-utilization planning
Correct answer: Maximizes flavor quality while reducing ingredient cost
Peak-season ingredients offer superior flavor and are typically less expensive due to abundant supply, directly improving both quality and food cost.
Question 6: Which cooking method retains the most water-soluble vitamins (B vitamins and vitamin C) in vegetables?
- Boiling in large volumes of water
- Pressure steaming (Correct answer)
- Blanching and shocking
- Roasting at high heat
Correct answer: Pressure steaming
Pressure steaming uses minimal water contact and shorter cook times, best preserving water-soluble vitamins that leach into boiling water.
Question 7: A HACCP-based menu development approach would require a chef to identify Critical Control Points (CCPs) primarily to:
- Reduce preparation time for high-volume items
- Prevent, eliminate, or reduce food safety hazards to acceptable levels (Correct answer)
- Standardize portion sizes across all menu items
- Improve the nutritional profile of menu offerings
Correct answer: Prevent, eliminate, or reduce food safety hazards to acceptable levels
CCPs are steps in the food production process where control can be applied to prevent or eliminate food safety hazards.
CMC Menu Development & Nutritional Analysis 2
When designing a menu for a patient with chronic kidney disease (CKD), which nutrient requires the strictest limitation?