Center for Hospitality Research Explores Menu Development

Industry Pros Focus on the Challenge of Constant Menu Innovation Left to right: Michael Lamb, director of HR, Hillstone Restaurant Group; Alex Susskind, associate professor, Cornell School of Hotel Administration; Tim Blaise, VP of culinary and beverage operations, Olive Garden; and Joseph Hotchkiss, professor, Cornell

The world's economic slowdown formed a backdrop as more than thirty restaurant professionals, faculty members, and students met at the School of Hotel Administration in September for a roundtable to examine the latest issues surrounding menu development. The session is one of a series of roundtables fromCornell's Center for Hospitality Research.

Withthe struggling economy, menu development roundtable participants agreed that menu innovation is a key to encouraging guests to return to a restaurant. Moreover, menu innovation is essential when costs are escalating, so that the restaurant continues to deliver value. Chaired by Professor Alex Susskind, the roundtable participants also focused on the importance of maintaining control over pricing.

Touching on thechallenges of product innovation, the roundtable participants emphasized the importance of maintaining a pipeline for new products. Since menu innovation is itself an operating cost, the process must develop menu items that are carefully tested for success when they are rolled out.

Hot topics at the roundtable included molecular gastronomy, which uses science and technology to make food better, the push toward local products and organic products, and animal welfare. These concepts are not unrelated. Looking at the idea of a 100 mile diet and organic products, for example, the participants noted the conflicting issues between buying from, say, a local farm that is not organic or a distant farm that is organic but must ship food many miles to reach your restaurant. Participants agreed that the discussion on this issue is just beginning, and restaurateurs will be working with these concepts for the next several years as they develop new menu items.

To view photos of the event, please visit this link.

For more information about future roundtables at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, please visit http://hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/events/roundtables/.

About The Center for Hospitality Research
A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 77 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. To learn more about the center and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu.

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