Menu Design Menu Engineering 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Menu engineering as a profitability analysis tool was developed by which pair of researchers?
- Donald Smith and Michael Kasavana (Correct answer)
- Julia Child and James Beard
- Howard Johnson and Raymond Kroc
- Paul Bocuse and Auguste Escoffier
Correct answer: Donald Smith and Michael Kasavana
Donald Smith and Michael Kasavana developed menu engineering at Michigan State University in 1982 as a framework for analyzing menu item profitability and popularity.
Question 2: In menu engineering, items classified as 'Stars' are characterized by:
- High popularity and high profit margin (Correct answer)
- Low popularity and high profit margin
- High popularity and low profit margin
- Low popularity and low profit margin
Correct answer: High popularity and high profit margin
Stars are the ideal menu items — they sell frequently and generate strong contribution margin, making them the cornerstone of a profitable menu.
Question 3: What term in menu engineering describes items with low popularity but high profitability?
- Stars
- Plow Horses
- Puzzles (Correct answer)
- Dogs
Correct answer: Puzzles
Puzzles are high-margin items that don't sell well; the challenge is figuring out how to boost their popularity through repositioning or promotion.
Question 4: 'Plow Horses' in menu engineering are menu items that have:
- High popularity but low profit contribution (Correct answer)
- High popularity and high profit contribution
- Low popularity and high profit contribution
- Low popularity and low profit contribution
Correct answer: High popularity but low profit contribution
Plow Horses are popular favorites that customers love, but they don't generate strong contribution margins, so operators often try to raise prices or trim portions.
Question 5: In menu engineering, 'contribution margin' is calculated as:
- Total revenue divided by number of items sold
- Selling price minus the food cost of the item (Correct answer)
- Gross profit minus labor cost per cover
- Food cost percentage multiplied by selling price
Correct answer: Selling price minus the food cost of the item
Contribution margin equals the selling price minus food cost, representing the actual dollar amount each item contributes toward covering overhead and profit.
Question 6: The primary goal of menu engineering is to:
- Reduce the size of the menu to simplify kitchen operations
- Maximize overall menu profitability by analyzing item performance (Correct answer)
- Improve the visual aesthetics and branding of the menu
- Increase the number of items offered in each category
Correct answer: Maximize overall menu profitability by analyzing item performance
Menu engineering uses sales mix data and contribution margins to identify which items drive profit, enabling operators to make strategic decisions that maximize total profitability.
Question 7: Menu mix percentage (MM%) in menu engineering measures which of the following?
- The physical percentage of menu space each item occupies
- The proportion of total sales volume represented by each menu item (Correct answer)
- The markup percentage applied to each menu item's cost
- The ratio of food cost to total menu revenue
Correct answer: The proportion of total sales volume represented by each menu item
Menu mix percentage shows how often each item is chosen relative to all items sold, which determines whether an item is classified as popular or unpopular in the matrix.
Menu Design Menu Engineering 1
Menu engineering as a profitability analysis tool was developed by which pair of researchers?