Building Menus

Menus let you organize your recipes into structured, priced offerings — whether it's a daily lunch menu, a catering package, or a seasonal dinner list. Each menu tracks its total food cost automatically, so you always know your margins.

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How Menus Fit Together

Menu (e.g., "Weekend Brunch")
├── Menu Section (e.g., "Starters")
│   ├── Menu Item → linked to Recipe (with price override)
│   └── Menu Item → linked to Recipe
├── Menu Section (e.g., "Mains")
│   ├── Menu Item → linked to Recipe
│   └── Menu Item → Combo (multiple recipes/items)
└── Menu Section (e.g., "Desserts")
    └── Menu Item → linked to Recipe

Concept	What It Is
Menu	A named collection of sections and items — represents what you're serving
Menu Section	A grouping within a menu (e.g., "Appetizers", "Entrées", "Drinks")
Menu Item	A sellable product with a price — linked to one or more recipes
Menu Section Item	The connection between a section and an item, with optional price and serving-size overrides

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Creating a Menu

1. Navigate to Menus from the main menu
2. Click New Menu (or Create Your First Menu if you don't have any yet)
3. Enter a Menu Name (required)
4. Optionally select a Category and Menu Type (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Catering, Special Events, or General)
5. Click Create Menu

Your new menu starts with a default section called Main. You can rename it or add more sections right away.

Menu Settings

After creating a menu, you can update its settings at any time by clicking the edit icon on the menu page:

Field	Purpose
Menu Name	The name your team sees in lists and reports
Description	Optional notes about this menu
Category	Group menus by category for filtering
Menu Type	Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Catering, Special Events, or General
Status	Active (in use) or Inactive (hidden from meal planning)
Save as template	Mark this menu as a reusable template
Notes	Internal notes visible only to your team

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Adding Sections

Sections organize your menu into logical groups. Every menu starts with one section, and you can add as many as you need.

To add a section:

1. Open your menu
2. Click the add section button
3. Enter a section name (e.g., "Appetizers", "Entrées", "Sides")

You can drag sections to reorder them. Each section shows the number of items it contains.

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Adding Menu Items

Menu items are the dishes and products your customers order. Each item links to one or more recipes, which is how the system calculates food cost.

Creating a New Menu Item

1. Open the menu section where you want to add the item
2. Click Create New Menu Item
3. Enter a Menu item name
4. Set a Base price (the customer-facing price)
5. Click Create Menu Item

After creation, you'll be on the menu item detail page where you can add recipes, configure modifiers, and more.

Linking Recipes to Menu Items

A menu item on its own is just a name and price. To get cost calculations, you need to link it to a recipe:

1. Open the menu item
2. In the recipe components section, search for and add your recipe
3. Set the serving size (how many servings of the recipe make up one menu item)

The system calculates the menu item's food cost from the recipe's cost per serving multiplied by the serving size. For example, if a recipe costs $5.00 per serving and you set the serving size to 1.5, the food cost for that menu item is $7.50.

Adding Existing Menu Items to a Section

You can also add an item that already exists to any menu section using Copy Existing. This places the same item into a different section or menu — with its own price and serving-size overrides.

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Per-Section Pricing

When a menu item appears in a section, you can override its base price and serving size for that specific appearance:

Override	What It Does
Price override	Sets a different customer price for this menu/section (the base price stays unchanged elsewhere)
Serving size override	Changes how many recipe servings make up one order in this context

This means the same "House Salad" item can be $8 as a starter and $12 as a main — each with different portion sizes and accurate cost tracking.

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Menu Cost Tracking

Each menu automatically calculates its total food cost by summing up the costs of all its items. On the menu page you'll see:

• Per-item cost based on linked recipes and serving sizes
• Section totals across all items in a section
• Menu total across all sections

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Managing Menus

Availability

Menu items have an Available for ordering toggle. Unavailable items appear with an Unavailable badge in the section and are excluded from meal planning.

Archiving

To remove a menu you no longer need, use Archive from the actions menu. Archived menus can be viewed under Archived and restored at any time.

Tip: Archiving a menu doesn't affect the recipes or menu items inside it — they remain available for use in other menus.

Duplicating

Need a similar menu? Use Duplicate from the actions menu. This creates a copy of the menu with all its sections and items, which you can then customize.

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Common Questions

Q: Can the same menu item be in multiple menus?
A: Yes. A menu item is independent — it can appear in as many menus and sections as you like, each with its own price override.

Q: What happens if I change a recipe's ingredients?
A: The menu item's food cost updates automatically. Costs flow from ingredients → recipes → menu items, so changes propagate through the chain.

Q: Do I need to create a recipe before creating a menu item?
A: No, you can create a menu item with just a name and price. But without a linked recipe, the system can't calculate food cost — you'll only see the price you entered.

Q: What's the difference between base price and price override?
A: Base price is the default price set on the menu item itself. Price override is a per-section adjustment — it only applies when the item appears in that specific section.

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Next Steps

• Understanding Modifiers — Customize menu items with add-ons, removals, sizes, and substitutions
• Combo Menu Items — Build combo meals from multiple recipes and items
• Creating Recipes — Set up recipes to link to your menu items