MENU ENGINEERING APPLICATION WITHIN MENU MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF RESTAURANTS IN ANKARA

Menu engineering is the process of evaluating the profitability and popularity of the food types in the menus of restaurants with a certain method. It categorizes food types according to their performance as good and bad. In most businesses, these performances cannot be analyzed in a healthy and regular way. The aim of this research is to analyze the menus of 4 restaurants with similar menus in the same location in Ankara province by using Kasavana and Smith method for the same product items. In this way, the most preferred and less preferred menu items by consumers were determined. The less popular menu items were determined as menus that should be improved or changed. In this research, mixed analysis method was applied and qualitative analysis method was applied first. When the menus of the businesses were examined, it was determined that 15 product items were the same menus. The data to be used in the analysis, menus, costs and sales were obtained from the business owners. Quantitative analysis method was applied to the findings obtained. In the quantitative analysis method, Kasavana and Smith method, which is a menu engineering analysis method, was applied and the findings of each business were analyzed separately with a two-dimensional menu engineering matrix. In the matrix, 15 menu items were categorized according to their performance. As a result of the evaluation, it was determined that some products should be removed from the menu while some products should be changed.