Behind the Recipe: Sharing Chef Stories and Culinary Inspirations with eMenus
Restaurant menus are changing. The restaurant industry is always innovating to modify its services and offerings, and now it is time to reinvent its menus. The industry is gradually ditching paper menus and moving towards digital food menus.
Menu engineering has come into play to help restaurants create menus that do more than provide information; they engage the customers. Menu descriptions are no longer boring pieces of information; today’s digital food menus have captivating images and well-written descriptions that tempt a customer and pique his curiosity.
An iPad menu for restaurants can be infused with chef’s stories and snippets of culinary inspirations that transform into a narrative menu. Such menus become powerful upselling tools and help a restaurant connect with its customers.
Let’s learn more about this.
Digital food menus must share chef stories and culinary inspirations:
Let your iPad menu for restaurants tell a chef’s story:
Chefs are always brainstorming new recipes by combining ingredients or reinventing a classic dish by giving it a new twist. Instead of just adding a dry description of the dish, you may want to include the chef's version of how he came to invent that dish.
This works best for the signature dishes that a restaurant offers. It does not have to be a long, winded tale, but a small anecdote narrating what inspired the chef to concoct this recipe. Maybe he is reinventing a family recipe or a traditional local dish. The customers will feel intrigued enough to order it if the description positions it as a unique item.
Find the right angle and highlight it in your digital menu:
Every dish has a USP that is worth highlighting. Find a unique angle to highlight it through creative menu descriptions in your digital food menu. You can also create special categories for foods or beverages with a similar angle.
If you serve beverages that are a local specialty in the area, specify that on the menu.
Once your customers click beverages under this category, you can write a short description of each drink, specifying what makes it a local favorite. It may be a local ingredient, a tradition, or something else. Put that in the description in your restaurant QR menu to make your customers curious enough to try them out. If the beverages have a history, mesmerize your customers by providing details about its origin.
Be creative with your menu descriptions:
Menu descriptions should be captivating, just like the images that a digital tablet menu showcases. Always remember, images will tempt a customer, but a description will satiate their curiosity by providing tantalizing descriptions and encouraging them to try it out.
Check out this menu description here:
Beignets are a popular dish that gets reinvented and represented in many ways. Here is a dish named: “Lobster and Prawn Beignets”.
This Beignets variation is tempting, and it piques a customer's curiosity, as the combination of stuffing is unique. But he wants more information about it, and the description does the job perfectly!
“Spongy beignets filled with a lobster and prawn zesty mixture combining tomato and celery.”
It gives an idea of the texture, flavor, and ingredients in a single crisp sentence and tempts the customer to try it out. It sounds unique and appetizing, and it has all the necessary allergen information listed.
D - Dairy
N - Nuts
G - Gluten
V - Vegetarian
F - Fish
S - Shellfish
Ve - Vegan
Providing calorie, nutrient, and allergen information in your QR code menu ordering system is essential. You can learn about it here - https://www.emenu.ae/blog/navigating-nutritional-needs-using-e-menus-to-cater-to-dietary-restrictions
Be descriptive about the process:
Each dish served at your restaurant is unique. Customers these days are well-informed, and they do their research about dishes, restaurants, cuisines, and other related information. In short, they are not naïve, and due to social media platforms, they are aware of food ingredients and presentations.
Take advantage of your digital tablet menu to surprise them. Provide short but detailed descriptions regarding the ingredients, preparation, and presentation. Here's an example:
Dish name: Teriyaki Tofu Stir-fry
Description: “Tofu cooked in sesame oil and marinated in teriyaki sauce. Prepared with fresh garlic, fresh ginger, bok choy, baby corn, carrots, red peppers, edamame beans and broccoli florets. Topped with cashew nuts and mixed sesame seeds and served with steamed rice.”
It covers all aspects of the dish, starting from how it is marinated to how it is served. It will build their interest in the dish, and they will also appreciate the transparency. It will involve them in the creative process behind creating each dish.
A digital food menu is a highly productive tool; use it to enhance the operational efficiency of your restaurant. Be creative with your menu descriptions, go beyond the mundane details, and let the menu descriptions take the customers on a culinary journey.
eMenu will create the best digital menu for you. Get in touch with us to begin your digital transformation.