Types of menus

A menu or a bill of fare – is a fist of the courses to be served at a meal or of the dishes which can be ordered at a restaurant the menu gives details and prices of availed dishes.

It must be clearly understood that there are several kinds of menus:

• Table d'hote or set-price menu - a menu forming a meal of two or three

at a set price. A choice of dishes may be offered at all courses; the choice аші t number of courses will usually be limited to two, three or four.

• A la carte - a menu with all the dishes individually priced. The customers сш | therefore compile their own menu, which may be one, two or more courses, true a la carte dish should be cooked to order and the customer should be prepared to wait for this service.

• Special party or function menus - menus for banquets or functions of all ківс As all the guests start the meal at the same time it is generally unsuitable to piat items such as steak or souffle on the menu for large numbers. Care needs to be taken with seasonable foods to ensure they will be available if the menu is printed well in advance thus avoiding difficulty and embarrassment.

• Ethnic or speciality menus - these can be set price or dishes individually priced specialising in the food (or religion) of the country or in a specialised food itself: ethnic - Chinese, Indian, kosher, African Caribbean, Greek; speciality - steak, fish, pasta, vegetarian, pancakes. The kitchen staff must know how to obtain and use the ingredients, and important in this respect is the ambience of the restaurant reflecting the menu.

• Hospital menus - these usually take the form of a menu card given to the patient the day before service so that his or her preferences can be ticked. Both National Health Service and private hospitals cater for vegetarians and also for religious requirements. In many cases a dietician is involved with menu compilation to ensure nothing is given to the patients that would be detrimental to their health. Usually hospital meals are of two or three courses.

• Menus for people at work - menus which are served to people at their place of work. Such menus vary in standard and extent from one employer to another due to company policy on the welfare of their staff and work-force. Progressive companies ensure that their employees are well looked after; some may charge for meals and some ask for a token sum and offer meals at a subsidized rate.

Menus for children - in schools there is an emphasis on healthy eating and a balanced diet particularly in boarding schools. Those areas with children of various cultural and religious backgrounds have appropriate items available on the menu. Many establishments provide special children's menus which concentrate on favourite foods and offer suitably sized portions.