What's on the menu?

When 60 yearold Englishman Carl Weininger ran up a tab of pound 22000 close to R19 lakhs on a Frozen Haute Chocolate last December hunger had nothing to do with it He admitted he had the dish which boasted of an 23 karat edible gold and a two carat diamond garnish and was announced as the worldrsquos most expensive dessert by Guinness World Records presuming it would lift his spirits Rahul Akerkar prefers to keep the menus of his restaurants simple and personally chooses the font phrasing and layout Pics Satyajit Desai u00a0u00a0 While Weiningerrsquos extravagance is shocking the fact that a restaurant mdash in this case New York eatery Serendipity 3 mdash would introduce a dish like that is even more curious Immersed in a project in Houston when we contacted him Gregg Rapp American menu engineer and restaurant consultant explained ldquoIntroducing such items shakes up the consumerrsquos decision process Itrsquos all about having some fun with your menurdquo Gadgets and gimmickry Rather than introducing such exorbitantly priced dishes Indian restaurateurs however like to have their dose of fun by making their menus look quirky Neville Vazifdar director of Royal China explains that was the idea when his restaurant introduced iPad menus over a year and a half ago ldquoThe iPad had just been launched and we felt customers would enjoy the gadget as it was something they hadnrsquot seen beforerdquo Also the images helped people to try out new items ldquoEarlier most people would order the usual fare but once they could see what other dishes looked like they were willing to experimentrdquo Marketing professional Dina Shah has designed the menus of Irish House and Cafe By The Beach ldquoItrsquos important to give customers as much or as little information as theyrsquod like before they order and iPads are a great way to do thisrdquo Rapp says However he adds that some guests donrsquot like to see a menu at all Television personality Mini Mathur falls into this category of diners The mother of two who frequently dines out with her husband and kids says ldquoWhen we head to a place we order at least two of our favourite items for which we donrsquot even consult a menurdquo But ideally Mathur says her family prefers to head to Moshersquos at Cuffe Parade Indigo at Colaba or Pali Village Cafeacute in Bandra ldquowhere the menus are well balanced and there is something for everyonerdquo Minimalism is the key There are some eateries which believe in the ideology that less is more and prefer to keep it simple For example Irish House has wooden menus with funny oneliners Similar inscriptions adorn the wall ldquoA menu communicates your brand so we wanted to make it fun and quirkyrdquo says Dina Shah a marketing professional who has coordinated the menu replete with doodles and couplets for Cafe by the Beach ldquoMarket research and food trials are also part of putting together a menurdquo Shah adds The iPad menu at Royal China enables customers to order new items Top chef Rahul Akerkar likes to keep the menus of his restaurants simple too While the covers are usually styled by a designer he personally chooses the font phrasing and layout He explains ldquoThe way a menu reads can tempt you or put you off If your menu is minimalist then the customer may expect the cuisine to be avantgarderdquo No wonder the menus of his restaurants mdash Indigo Indigo Deli Neel and Tote on the Turf mdash are inscribed in clear typeface and have a description that is not only easy to understand but interesting enough to tempt the palate The covers are either leather or card a choice that he tells us is simply rooted in practicality ldquoYou want a cover that is durable and can withstand wear and tearrdquo The menu is the mirror Akerkar however believes that a restaurantrsquos ambiance and table setting make the first impression on customers while the menu follows later ldquoA menu tells the customer what to expect and how the dining experience will be But this is where many restaurants falter Theyrsquoll have a cool sounding menu but the food wonrsquot live up to expectationsrdquo So how does one decide what goes on a menu and what stays off Divya Thakur creative head of graphic design studio Design Temple believes ldquoThe key ingredients of a menu mdash the naming of dishes the style of description the ingredients the wine pairing the presence or absence of pricing mdash help convey the restaurantrsquos identity style and nature of foodrdquo Explaining the intricacies of how a menu is designed Thakur says ldquoFor the menu of Neel the Indian restaurant at Tote on the Turf we began with a simple yet modern rendition of the logo in Hindi The owners Rahul and Malini Akerkar and I were keen to reflect the integrity of Indian food We chose indigo blue for the font as the restaurant is largely white and a burst of blue adds to the environmentrdquo Superstar Rajinikanth features on the menu of Dakshin Culture Curry Thakur is also proud of the menu she designed for Southern Spice at Taj Coromandel Chennai ldquoFor Southern Spice we developed a logo inspired by the banana leaf and a script that alludes to its origins The entire range of menus is inscribed on cloth with a gold linear border inspired by South Indian sarisrdquo From my hearth to your heart Suhas Awchat proprietor of Dakshin Culture Curry the South Indian bar and restaurant at Shivaji Park admits ldquoOur awardwinning menu which even retails for Rs 1362 as memorabilia is an unabashed attempt to transport diners into the world of South Indian cinemardquo He credits producer R Mohan for the restaurantrsquos design and menu in 2002 The menu not only has South Indian megastars such as Rajinikanth Kamal Haasan Chiranjeevi and Mammootty urging you to have Appam and Chemeen Mangacharu king prawns in a mango and coconut milk gravy but even Awchat and his wife Deepa occupy one page dressed in filmi attire and share their success story Food and restaurant consultant Nidhi Behl of Tout de Suite Culinary Solutions says that a personal touch is crucial in order to make customers feel that restaurant owners are reaching out to them But trying to infuse it in a menu can be tricky she explains Thakur couldnrsquot agree more She says ldquoThere should be a certain nostalgia value in the menu But it shouldnrsquot be superficial A menu should be as personal to a chef as possible If he doesnrsquot ldquofeelrdquo for or really connect with what hersquos putting on the plate chances are the food wonrsquot have soulrdquo Rapp believes itrsquos also important for chefs to point out what makes their dish different and share anecdotes with customers that have triggered their own happiness ldquoThis will help them connect to your memoriesrdquo he adds Deepti Dadlani Brand Marketing and Communications professional deGustibus Hospitality which handles Akerkarrsquos restaurants says ldquoIndigorsquos menu features a recipe by Rahulrsquos grandmother because he was really close to her Signature dishes are kept because one is proud of themrdquo No fine print please Food enthusiast Kunal Vijaykar admits that he usually tries out an ancestral recipe or a chefrsquos recommendation But he confesses that most Indian menus leave much to be desired in terms of design He complains that often the font is too small ldquoI donrsquot want to have to pull my glasses down to the tip of my nose to read whatrsquos on the menu Dim lighting is another pet peeverdquo However the diehard foodie admits that he is ready to overlook these shortcomings if he gets to enjoy outstanding food ldquoUltimately I donrsquot care if the menursquos chalked out on a blackboard as long as what it offered is excitingrdquo he adds Come back baby Rapp however affirms that right from the service to the ambiance cuisine tariff and menu design everything must work together to generate complete satisfaction for the customer ldquoA restaurant needs to create an experience so the guest feels the value and will returnrdquo Meanwhile Behl emphasises that while consistent quality will bring the client back for more revamped menus also play a crucial role ldquoThe culinary horizon of the Indian consumer has expanded tremendously and if they want to retain their clientele restaurateurs must keep reinventing their menusrdquo Reiterating the point Thakur says ldquoWhen a restaurantrsquos menu stays unchanged for a long time itrsquos probably because it has struck a chord with the customers But tastes keep changing with time so a restaurant should alter its menu at regular intervalsrdquo