CCC Menu Planning and Engineering 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In menu engineering analysis, an item with high popularity but low contribution margin is classified as a:
- Puzzle
- Star
- Dog
- Plowhorse (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Plowhorse
Plowhorses sell well but contribute little profit per portion, so they typically need repricing or cost reduction.
Question 2: A chef wants to improve the profitability of a Puzzle item without removing it. Which action is most appropriate?
- Move it to the bottom of the menu
- Reduce its portion size drastically
- Reposition it to a high-visibility spot on the menu and have servers suggest it (Correct answer)
- Raise its price significantly
Correct answer: Reposition it to a high-visibility spot on the menu and have servers suggest it
Puzzles are high-margin but low-popularity, so increasing visibility and suggestive selling boosts sales of an already profitable item.
Question 3: Which formula correctly calculates an item's contribution margin?
- Food cost divided by selling price
- Selling price minus labor cost
- Selling price times food cost percentage
- Selling price minus food cost (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Selling price minus food cost
Contribution margin is the gross profit per item: menu price minus the plate (food) cost.
Question 4: A restaurant's dinner menu has an average check target of $45. Which planning error would most directly threaten that target?
- Offering a chef's tasting menu
- Using seasonal produce
- Clustering most entrée prices far below the target range (Correct answer)
- Printing the menu on heavier paper
Correct answer: Clustering most entrée prices far below the target range
If most entrées are priced well below the target, the achievable average check will fall short regardless of other factors.
Question 5: When planning a menu for a banquet operation, the most critical constraint to evaluate first is:
- The color scheme of the dining room
- The wine list pairing options
- The typeface of the printed menu
- Kitchen equipment capacity and production capability (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Kitchen equipment capacity and production capability
Menu items must be executable at volume with the available equipment, staff, and space before any other consideration.
Question 6: Cross-utilization in menu planning refers to:
- Training servers to work in the kitchen
- Combining lunch and dinner menus into one
- Sharing recipes between two restaurants
- Using the same ingredient across multiple menu items to reduce waste and inventory (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Using the same ingredient across multiple menu items to reduce waste and inventory
Cross-utilization spreads one ingredient over several dishes, lowering waste, simplifying purchasing, and reducing inventory.
Question 7: Which pricing method sets the menu price by dividing the item's food cost by a target food cost percentage?
- Competitive pricing
- Prime cost pricing
- Factor (cost percentage) pricing (Correct answer)
- Perceived value pricing
Correct answer: Factor (cost percentage) pricing
Factor pricing divides plate cost by the desired food cost percentage (or multiplies by its reciprocal factor) to set the price.
