What is Menu Engineering?
Menu Engineering is a menu analysis method developed in 1982 by Michael Kasavana and Donald Smith. It classifies each dish according to two dimensions:
- Profitability: the gross margin generated per portion (selling price minus ingredient cost)
- Popularity: the number of portions sold over a given period
Crossing these two axes produces a 2×2 matrix with four categories that have become standard terminology in restaurant management worldwide.
The 4-quadrant matrix
🐴 Plow Horses
Popular but low-margin. They bring customers in but weigh on profitability.
⭐ Stars
The holy grail: popular AND profitable. Promote them at every opportunity.
🐕 Dogs
Neither popular nor profitable. The first candidates for removal.
🔧 Puzzles
Profitable but underordered. Their potential is being left on the table.
How to calculate profitability and popularity
Profitability: gross margin per portion
Profitability is measured not as a percentage but as an absolute value — the gross margin per portion:
A dish is considered high profitability if its gross margin exceeds the weighted average gross margin across all dishes on the menu.
Popularity: minimum sales threshold
A dish is popular if its sales represent at least 70% of its fair share:
Worked example: brasserie menu analysis
| Dish | Sales/month | Ingredient cost | Price | Margin | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sirloin steak & chips | 148 | € 9.20 | € 26.00 | € 16.80 | ⭐ Star |
| Moules marinières | 122 | € 4.80 | € 18.00 | € 13.20 | ⭐ Star |
| Shallot bavette | 97 | € 6.35 | € 22.00 | € 15.65 | ⭐ Star |
| House beef burger | 201 | € 5.10 | € 14.00 | € 8.90 | 🐴 Plow Horse |
| Croque-monsieur | 178 | € 2.60 | € 10.00 | € 7.40 | 🐴 Plow Horse |
| House foie gras | 34 | € 12.00 | € 32.00 | € 20.00 | 🔧 Puzzle |
| Tuna tartare | 28 | € 8.50 | € 24.00 | € 15.50 | 🔧 Puzzle |
| Niçoise salad | 19 | € 4.20 | € 14.00 | € 9.80 | 🐕 Dog |
| Ham omelette | 12 | € 2.10 | € 9.00 | € 6.90 | 🐕 Dog |
The 4 strategies to apply by category
⭐ Stars — Keep and promote
Your Stars are the engine of profitability. Priorities:
- Position them visually at the top of the menu or in a dedicated highlight box
- Train staff to recommend them naturally in conversation
- Maintain consistent quality — this is your reputation
- Don't lower the price — customers are already ordering them
✅ The sirloin steak in the example generates € 16.80 × 148 portions = € 2,486 gross margin per month. It is your number-one asset.
🐴 Plow Horses — Reduce cost or raise price
Plow Horses are popular: removing them risks disappointing loyal customers. But their low margin is a drag on profitability. Strategies:
- Reduce ingredient cost: renegotiate with your supplier, tweak the recipe slightly
- Raise the price subtly: +€1–2 on a €14 dish may go unnoticed by guests but significantly improves margin
- Reduce visibility: place them lower on the menu and prioritise Stars in staff recommendations
🔧 Puzzles — Increase visibility and rework the pitch
The house foie gras is profitable but underordered — often a positioning or description problem. Actions:
- Rewrite the menu description to be more evocative and appetising
- Add a photo on a tablet or digital menu
- Use it as a server suggestion: "I'd recommend our house foie gras tonight…"
- Build a tasting menu around it
- If sales still don't improve, consider a small price reduction to broaden appeal
🐕 Dogs — Remove or completely rethink
- Check whether the dish serves a strategic purpose (attracts a specific customer segment)
- If it has no strategic value, remove it: you simplify the kitchen, reduce waste, and free up menu real estate
- If you keep it, rethink it entirely: new name, new price, new recipe
⚠️ An overly long menu hurts profitability: more items = more stock, more waste, more kitchen complexity. 15–20 well-chosen dishes often outperform a 40-item menu of mediocre options.
How often should you run the analysis?
- Monthly: full analysis using sales data from the month
- Quarterly: review prices and recipes in response to supplier price changes
- Annually: potential menu overhaul (seasonality, new dishes, removals)
The limits of Menu Engineering
- A Dog may be strategically important if it attracts a specific segment (vegetarians, children, allergy sufferers)
- Gross margin ignores preparation time — a quick dish can outperform a high-margin dish that ties up a chef for 45 minutes
- Popularity is influenced by menu placement, not just taste
Automated Menu Engineering in Fiche Technique Pro
Import your sales data, adjust the profitability and popularity thresholds, and instantly get the Stars / Puzzles / Plow Horses / Dogs matrix for your entire menu.
Menu Engineering feature available in Pro Plus plan.
Summary
- Calculate the gross margin for every dish (price − ingredient cost)
- Find the sales-weighted average margin → profitability threshold
- Calculate fair share × 70% → popularity threshold
- Classify each dish: Star / Puzzle / Plow Horse / Dog
- Apply the appropriate strategy for each quadrant
- Repeat monthly and measure the impact on your margins