By Marilen Fontanilla

A menu is defined as a sheet of paper or cardboard on which the names of all dishes available for ordering at a dining establishment is written. Older bills of fare (escriteau) of French towns circa 1600s are a far cry from our current versions, since these earlier menus laid out only the amount spent for the food to be served at certain feasts.

Individual menus, as we know them, came to be around the 1900s during the Restoration in France when eating houses posted on cards the dishes they provided. Since then, menus have undergone much transformation, moving from handwritten chalkboard entries, to plain black-and-white text on paper or board, to colorful artistic renditions by noted artists.

Today, studies are being done to find out how a menu’s design may affect ordering. In his book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, Cornell University professor Brian Wansink of Cornell’s Food & Brand Lab delved into how menu wordings can trigger an ordering response from diners. Using geographic indicators (“European style” green beans), sensory descriptors (juicy or plump), traditional adjectives (old-fashioned) and brand labels (Oreo or Butterfinger) increase the probability of dishes being ordered. There may indeed be an art and science to menu design that can influence diners to order a certain way.

F&B World takes a look at three examples of menu designs that manage to be both innovative and classic, with the clear objective of enticing diners to order their most delicious offerings.

Read the full article in the November-December issue of F&B World Magazine