This article originally appeared in the March 2008 edition of Pizza&Food magazine.
Let Your Menu Speak
Winning menus help clients feel welcome and safe.
Before a client begins to eat, he has already evaluated you three times: when and how he is first welcomed, when he finds a seat, and when he reads the menu. The first two tests depend on the degree of hospitality received and on the ambience of the place. If the greeter is courteous and calm and leads the guest to a table that is neat, tidy, clean and inviting, the restaurant already gets a good grade, but it’s not always so, even though this small effort would be enough. The menu, also, can be full of pitfalls, and it has the ability to self-destruct. Those who frequent restaurants often encounter menus that are crumpled, dirty and, above all, confusing. This is how one will surely fail the customer’s test; this can only be remedied by serving an A+ meal. Wouldn’t it be better to coddle your clients with a menu that is worthy of your daily efforts? Don’t lose everything on such a small account, especially after you have put out a lot of work. The menu’s job is to tell the story of your kitchen; once you have informed your clients about the service they will get, they will be happy; they will think they are the center of attention, and they will remember you. Owner Nicola Salvatore explains: “The menu breathes and is alive. It follows the business’ development; in fact, it’s the hub around which all activities rotate. Even logistically, the titles and the ingredients of each dish give you your shopping list.”
Nicola Salvatore, besides managing his Pizzeria Stuzzicheria Stella D’Abruzzo ( www.stelladabruzzo.it), is president of the regional Association of Pizzerias and Pizzaioli Pizz’Abruzzo DOC; he also teaches at the School for Pizzaioli, located in Francavilla al Mare (Chieti province).
individual characteristics coupled with a food symbol).” This is not all; Salvatore also arranges the pizza choices according to size, including the already mentioned children size, as well as maxi pizzas for two or three people, and the giant ones which feed up to four people; all are available with two toppings. Gluten-free pizzas are also offered.
and won the 2006 national Championship of the Classic Spicy Pizza.” Salvatore says that anyone who wants to eat this food, which costs 5 euros, can get it at the pizzeria. It’s obvious that he uses both menu manipulation and merchandising very wisely.
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The carryout menu goes hand in hand Arranging Menu Choices Well with the regular menu. “This menu is
Salvatore’s menu is well thought out. abridged and folded; it’s for the customer He says, “We have about 15 classic choices to take home,” explains Salvatore. “This is and about 10 fanciful ones. To this, add intended to induce the customerto become the unique pizzas: those with seasonal faithful: in it there is a cutout for the ingredients; the children’s menu, which Carta Stella, which guarantees discounts offers smaller portions; and, finally, those on promotional sales. A complete menu that are very creative—in particular, contains choices of unusual foods. For the Astropizza, with 12 different pizzas example, a whole page is dedicated to the rotated during the year (each follows ‘Pizza With Abruzzo’s Viagra,’ which has the sign of the zodiac, each one with its hot peppers and Pecorino Romano cheese,
Celebrating in Style
Oriana Tirabassi, acrobatic pizza world champion, recently moved to Hong Kong, where she is promoting Italian food. Her 2007 New Year’s Eve menu was decidedly for the few, since the cost per customer was $450. Here is a list of the many courses: aperitif; antipastos; marinated salmon with arugula; Parmesan cheese and vegetable soufflé; spaghetti with seafood; egg noodles with Pecorino cheese and lamb ragout; salmon filet with herbs and buttered vegetables; zampone sausage with lentils; panettone with mascarpone cream; fruits; and coffee.
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