Italian food is quite popular in Indonesia, and this can be seen from the many Italian restaurants in every corner of major cities. If you’re interested in opening your own Italian restaurant, deciding on the menu can be a complicated task if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs. We showcase the 4 key points to keep in mind when planning your menu.
Target customers
- Know who your target customers are and what type of Italian food they like.
- Fulfill their needs and expectations. For example, if they want to try the best Italian food that’s easily accessible in central Jakarta, make sure your restaurant serves up tasty, high-quality dishes in a location that’s convenient for them.
- Consider their nutritional needs and ingredients they may be sensitive to. For example, consider changing prosciutto (dried smoked ham) to beef.
- Adjust the menu pricing to match their financial capabilities while still ensuring a decent profit.
Production capability
- Don’t skimp on getting quality equipment and find out what Italian dishes can be made by utilising them.
- Cooking capability, cooking methods, Italian menu mastery and the speed of your kitchen should be taken into consideration. Calculate the needed time from preparation to serving.
Food ingredients
- Consider the location of your restaurant and the ingredients available in that location. As Italian ingredients are quite similar to Indonesian ingredients, you shouldn’t have much trouble finding them.
- Imitate the Italians’ habit of using only fresh produce that can be easily found for regular menu items. If there are seasonal ingredients, find out what special menu additions can be created from them while they’re available.
- If an ingredient cannot be found in local markets, try to find an alternative before deciding to import.
- Find out the standard price ranges and compare them among your distributors.
Food cost
- Although every restaurant has different food costs, the most common range is between 35%-48% for food and 28%-33% for beverages.
- After deciding the food cost, you need to check whether the price is suitable – not too low and not too high. The lower the food cost, the greater your profit.
- Understand the calculation system of food cost and find out standard prices on the market.
After you have understood who your target customers are, how the production process is run, how to acquire ingredients and how much your food cost is, then you are ready to decide on the Italian menu in your restaurant. Be it cacciucco or cacciatore, make sure that your menu planning is not miscalculated!
