November 3, 2020 In the latest edition of Trend Watch, we assess three continuing menu trends you can expect to see across Canada. Read more about this post
February 3, 2020 By Asad Amin One of the biggest casualties of time-crunched contemporary life is breakfast, which has become one of the most-skipped meals in Canada. However, for the savvy foodservice operator, the first meal of the day offers fresh opportunities Modern-Day Breakfast “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a
prince and dinner like a pauper,” or so the saying ... Read more about this post
September 5, 2019 By Gregory Furgala Canada has a new demographic — officially, at least. With legal cannabis widely available, consumers who partake now constitute a new set of data points, providing business owners, restaurant operators included, new insights into understanding and catering to them. Market research firm Technomic is amongst those exploring the category. For the first quarter ... Read more about this post
August 23, 2019 By Scott Wallace When chefs become infatuated with an ingredient, it tends to filter down into our daily lives, and there’s no shortage of new trends. But with seafood, most diners know only a few highly valued and well-known species, like Atlantic lobster, halibut, sockeye salmon or Chilean seabass, while the true diversity of the world’s ... Read more about this post
April 30, 2019 By Mark Jachecki
Millennials are entering parenthood, and not surprisingly, their kids are picking up on their food savvy, creating an increasingly important family demographic in commercial foodservice in Canada. Brands have noticed, too. Operators and chains that didn’t offer kids’ menus previously, like Tim Hortons, have recently rolled out menus intended to appeal to Millennial ... Read more about this post
April 15, 2019 By Gregory Furgala
Remember charcoal? Remember how it was suddenly affixed seemingly every menu? If you don’t, here’s an incomplete list of what it made its way into: burger buns, pizza, lemonade, ice cream (and cones), lattes, macarons, croissants, crepes, waffles, wontons, ravioli, mozzarella and crusted on tuna. Chatelaine proclaimed, “This dark and moody food trend ... Read more about this post
August 24, 2018 By Jo-Ann McArthur
Last month I talked about the casting off of traditional mealtimes. Consumers are increasingly in favour of all-day snacking, with breakfast and lunch the meals most at risk. Dinner, the meal skipped least often, is still seen as a traditional time for a family to gather together, and hence carries more social and ... Read more about this post
January 31, 2018 By Jordan Knox
In the restaurant industry, things are always changing and evolving as new restaurants and new products are constantly becoming available. To keep up, restaurants need to consistently update their menu offerings, but what is the best way to do this? For most restaurateurs, changing a menu can be a daunting task that may ... Read more about this post
September 27, 2017 By Geoff Wilson
The most important real estate a restaurant has is its menu. The structure of a restaurant’s menu has a significant effect on many aspects of a restaurant’s operations including revenue, food cost, equipment requirements, pantry counts and, most importantly, guest satisfaction and repeat visitation. Getting the menu right is crucial to success.
Key drivers ... Read more about this post
May 16, 2017 By Sean Beckingham
For years, the relationships between restaurateurs, menu selections and hungry patrons remained mostly unchanged, various exceptions always included. Enter social media, an online voice of fandom, frustration and customer-on-keyboard justice; food photos, on-site selfies and reviews, both positive and scathing.
Before the golden age of the Internet, consumers had to go in-house to find ... Read more about this post
March 31, 2016 Most commonly, when a client asks for a menu redesign, the answer to the question “when did you last change it?” is a few years ago or more. Inevitably I wonder if that means: their prices haven’t changed in as many years,
they’ve continued to offer underperforming items,
they’ve neglected to develop new menu items that speak to ... Read more about this post
March 31, 2016 By Misty Beazley Leave a comment Many food service owners and operators view the bar as a holding area for guests to enjoy cocktails while waiting for a table. Others see it as a place for those who aren’t eating a full meal but just having drinks. Either way, it is a spot that is needed yet ... Read more about this post
July 21, 2015 The art and science of creating the perfect menu By Alex Fraser and Lee Parsons
July 21, 2015 Leave a comment In most restaurants, menu development is one of the most exciting and important endeavours chefs and owners take on — whether it’s in the beginning stages of a new restaurant eager to tempt the market with its ... Read more about this post
June 22, 2015 Tip of the Week Sponsored By: Tip of the Week:
Don’t make your menu look like a price list
June 22, 2015 If your menu lists all your items on one side of the page with a line of dots connecting each item to its price, you are inviting your customers to order their food based on how much ... Read more about this post
June 18, 2015 By Diane Chiasson There is a lot of information out there on designing a menu with regards to eye patterns, fonts, layouts, category management, wording and cost. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that your menu is your best marketing tool and to treat it as such.
Having worked as a restaurant and retail consultant for the ... Read more about this post
