Purpose
This policy establishes responsibility and accountability for the development, modification, and discontinuation of menu items and recipes. Its purpose is to ensure that menu and recipe changes are appropriately managed, reviewed, and communicated before implementation.
Scope
This policy applies to the following processes:
- Introduction of new menu items
- Modifications to existing recipes, including ingredients, quantities, preparation methods, and plating
- Seasonal menu updates and limited-time offers (LTOs)
- Removal or discontinuation of menu items
- Changes to portion sizes or presentation
Roles and Responsibilities
Responsible and Accountable
The Operation General Manager or Manager is responsible for initiating and managing the applicable process and is ultimately accountable for its progress and completion.
Responsibilities include:
- Identifying the need or opportunity for a menu or recipe change
- Coordinating development, testing, and review
- Determining which appropriate stakeholders need to be consulted
- Ensuring required feedback and approvals are obtained
- Coordinating implementation and communication of the finalized change
- Ensuring the process is brought to completion
Consulted
Depending on the scope and requirements of the proposed change, the General Manager or Manager should consult the appropriate subject-matter experts. These may include:
- Chef de Cuisine — Culinary development, recipe execution, quality, and presentation
- Sous Chef — Recipe testing, production procedures, execution, and day-to-day kitchen considerations
- Executive Chef — Culinary standards, overall menu direction, quality, and significant recipe or menu changes
- Campus Dietitian — Nutrition, allergens, dietary needs, ingredient considerations, and related nutritional requirements
Not every role must be consulted for every change. The individuals consulted should be determined by the nature, complexity, and potential impact of the proposed change.
Informed
Individuals and teams affected by an approved change should be informed before implementation. This may include production staff, service staff, purchasing or inventory personnel, marketing or communications personnel, and other affected management up to the Dining Services Managing Director.
The General Manager or Manager is responsible for ensuring that affected parties receive sufficient information and direction to implement the change successfully.
Procedure
For any change covered by this policy, the General Manager or Manager should follow the procedure below:
Initiate
Identify and define the proposed new item, recipe modification, seasonal offering, discontinuation, portion adjustment, presentation change, or other applicable change.
Consult
Engage the appropriate individuals based on the culinary, operational, nutritional, financial, and other requirements of the proposed change.
Develop and Review
Coordinate recipe development, testing, costing, operational review, and other evaluations as applicable. Incorporate feedback from the appropriate consulted parties before moving forward.
Finalize
Finalize the product or recipe and prepare all affected materials, systems, and procedures for implementation. As applicable, this includes:
- Update menus, websites, and other customer-facing information to reflect the finalized offering.
- Review existing menu information and identify items or information that need to be corrected, updated, or removed.
- Review and update preparation and procedural methods for kitchen staff.
- Update inventory and ordering systems to account for new or discontinued ingredients and changes to par levels.
- Establish or update plating procedures and techniques to ensure consistency in portioning and presentation.
- Ensure applicable recipes, specifications, allergen information, and supporting documentation are accurate and up to date.
- Eatec menu input: Menu information will be entered into Eatec by a student employee under the supervision of the Operations Manager.
- Recipe input: Recipe information will be entered by a student employee under the supervision of the Chef de Cuisine.
Training and Implementation
Before and during implementation:
- Conduct hands-on training for all relevant kitchen staff before the go-live date.
- Brief front-of-house staff on the item description, allergens, and key selling points.
- Establish and communicate an official implementation or go-live date.
- During the first 7–14 days following implementation, increase quality checks and gather feedback from staff and guests.
- Address identified issues promptly and make necessary adjustments.
- Document relevant post-implementation observations, changes, and lessons learned.
Complete
Confirm that required updates, training, communication, and documentation have been completed and that the change has been successfully incorporated into normal operations. The Operation General Manager or Manager remains accountable for ensuring the process is carried through to completion.
Revision History
8/20/26 - Policy created.