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Overview: As a restaurant manager, you want to create a menu to offer your customers diverse and attractive meal options. This guide takes you through the process.
Start from: The Easilys menu.
To create menus, you need to have a menu template in which to insert them. You can multiply menu templates if you have several menu types for different guests, diets, textures, or segments. The menus will then enable you to manage your production more easily, thanks to Easilys support, which can use them as a reference to provide you with production reports or stock-out lists, for example.
Create a menu template
A menu is always part of a menu template. A menu template is the structure that your menus will follow.
If you already have a menu template and wish to create your menus on this existing template, go directly to the second step CREATE MENUS IN MENU TEMPLATES. If not, follow these steps.
Select the Menus> Menus tabs.
If there is no existing menu template on the site, you will be prompted to create one.
Select the message in the center of the screen.
If other menu templates already exist, select the cogwheels button to open the "Menu template options".
Then select Create a new menu template.
The "Create a menu template" window appears on the screen.
Complete the menu template configuration information:
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Define who and what the menu structure is for (1)
The recipes Easilys will suggest for inclusion in your menus will be those compatible with the Segment, Diet, and Texture combination defined by the menu template. The weights taken into account in the production reports will be those defined for the guest defined by the menu template.
- Name: This is the name of the menu template being created.
- Parent menu frame: Indicate the parent relationship of the menu template.
If you have the necessary rights, you can create new segments, guests, diets, and textures(1) by selecting the cogwheels.
- Segment: This is the segment concerned by the menus to be created on the template.
- Guest: This is the type of guest concerned by the menus that will be created on the grid.
- Diet: This is the diet for which menus will be created in the template.
- Texture: This is the texture concerned by the menus to be created on the template.
Notes: if you work in commercial catering, the concepts of Convive, Diet, and Texture will probably not be useful to you. Keep everything in Normal or Default. The notion of Segment could be useful when you offer different cards for different types of customer. This also allows you to define whether your card is a specific formula, for example.
Define menu structure (2)
- Custom: This is the manual menu template construction mode. This option allows you to manage all parameters.
- Based on a meal plan: This is the construction mode based on a food plan that can be created on the "Meal plans" screen. For more information, consult the Create a food plan article. With this option, you have no control over the parameters of the menu template, as the application scrupulously follows the food plan to create the template.
Define how menu items are sold (3)
- None (Aucun): No sales mode is defined.
- By recipe (Par recette): You can specify a selling price by recipe when building menus.
- By meal (Par repas): This sales mode is used if the application is connected to a cash register. If this applies to you, please contact Easilys Support for more information about interfaces.
Notes: in commercial catering, the By Recipe sales mode is mainly used. This will make it possible to indicate sales prices and track margins.
If a menu template is in None or Per meal sales mode, it will be impossible for the application to calculate sales and margins.
Set menu type (4)
- Normal: This is a simple menu.
- A choix: This is a menu that allows diners to choose their dishes according to a number of proposals defined afterwards.
- A la carte: This is a menu that allows you to use the guest order. This allows diners to order a daily menu, or several, according to their needs.
Notes: in commercial catering, always choose the A la carte or A choix menu type.
Additional options (5)
- The count entered per meal type is propagated to the recipe quantities: By checking this option, the staff numbers for the day are added as the forecasted staff for each recipe. Without this, the forecasted staff number is set to 0 and must be completed manually.
- The recipe's estimated count for the day is equal to its actual count for the same day the previous week: By activating this function, if you have recorded an actual staff number of 50 for a given recipe on Monday, the system will forecast a staff number of 50 for that same recipe the following Monday.
- Take into account in the management screen: By checking this option, you instruct the application to take into account the information contained in the menu template on the Management screen.
Notes: if you work in commercial catering, be sure to check this option, as it will enable you to track your sales, margins, etc. This option is very useful when you want to sell your products.
- Time limit for entering the workforce: Prevents entering staff numbers within too short a timeframe. If you specify a deadline here (number of days and cut-off time), only users with an authorized profile will be able to enter staff numbers once the deadline has passed.
Building the menu structure
If you have selected the "Based on a meal plan" construction mode, this part is automatically managed by the application. The structure complies perfectly with the chosen meal plan.
Select Add a service to start building the template structure. (1)
Select the desired service(s).
Indicate the days on which you will be offering menus. To deactivate or activate a day, select V or X. (2)
Optional: Indicate a projected number of employees per day. (3)
Optional: Add or delete meal items in departments. This makes it possible to adapt services for this menu template only. (4)
Indicate the number of dishes offered per meal item. (5) I
If you enter 2 without indicating that the menu is a choice menu, the application will assume that each guest eats both dishes offered.
Select Create at the bottom of the "Create a menu template" window.
Create menus in the menu template
Generate a blank menu week
Select the Menus > Menus tabs.
If no menu templates are available, you will be prompted to create your first template. See the tutorial above.
Select the menu template on which you wish to work.
Use the arrows or calendar to position yourself on the date you wish to create your menu.
Select Generate to generate a week's worth of menus.
A blank menu week is then generated, respecting the structure established by the menu template.
Complete the menu week
Select a pencil (1).
The "Choose a recipe" window appears on the screen.
You can filter to find a recipe more easily. (3)
You can type a keyword or recipe name into the search bar to find the recipe you're looking for. (4)
Select the desired recipe.
The recipe appears in place of the pencil you had selected.
If you wish to modify a recipe already in the menu, select it to reopen the recipe selection window.
Complete the menu for the service, the day, the week.
Select Save now to save your work.
Notes: in commercial catering, you will generally offer the same menu over long periods. This means you can create your menus simply by filling in the Monday, then duplicating the Monday menus over the entire period during which the menu is to be offered. To find out more, see Duplicate menus.