Why Your Restaurant Should Embrace A Seasonal Menu

Adapting a seasonal menu for your restaurant is a good way to continue staying relevant in the industry while also keeping up-to-date with all the current trends. This will help you bring in more guests and increase business at your restaurant in an effective manner. In simple terms, a list of seasonal beverages and food items can immediately transform your menu into a more dynamic and enticing proposition.

Keep reading for the top four benefits of a seasonal menu for your restaurant.

Creates A New Marketing Opportunity 

Changing your menu in line with the seasons is a great marketing opportunity because it gives you another reason to reach out to your customers. In the West, that gives you up to four opportunities a year to advertise your menu to your guests. Or if you are looking to open a restaurant in Dubai, you could switch it up to twice a year.

Limited-time menu offerings are always a hit and give your guests reasons to keep coming back to your restaurant. Moreover, the seasonal connection may entice them to bring their friends and family – spreading news word of mouth – which is an important form of advertising.

Utilizes Locally Sourced Ingredients 

Creating a seasonal menu is a great chance to start using local suppliers and produce. While this depends on your region’s climate and seasonal finds, it does show guests that you are doing your part in contributing to the local community – a strong selling point today. 

There’s no better way to introduce your restaurant’s new menu than to connect the supply chain with a farm-to-table concept. Be sure to let your guests know that you use only the freshest of the freshest produce and namedrop nearby farms that you source the ingredients from. Drive home the fact that you are an important contributor to the community they live in and love from day one.

Engages Your Employees

A repetitive routine gets boring sooner or later. Switching up your menus every season gives your team a reason to experiment with new cooking techniques and use ingredients that would otherwise not be utilized. 

Make sure that your servers are well educated on what is new. They are the front-line marketers of your restaurant and hence must know everything about the dishes they will be recommending or answering questions about. When describing dishes, tell your servers to elaborate on what will be used and other dishes that complement well with the particular food item.

Keep Food Costs To A Minimum

Keeping food costs down is a priority at any point of the year. However, when you curate a menu that focuses on seasonal produce, you will find that certain seasonal produce is cheaper than usual. Examples include blueberries or zucchini which are easy to source in summer or pumpkin and butternut, found in abundance during fall. 

Your seasonal menu does not have to only revolve around the seasons; you can create your own special one too. For example, if there is a special event going on such as a sports event or a highly anticipated television show, you can revolve your menu such a particular theme. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your cocktail and food options and create a brand new dish.

Finally, you must also analyze the effect this can have on your kitchen and restaurant design. Since you may need to create contrasting dishes between summer and winter, analyze your kitchen and see if you have the equipment to handle two different cuisines. Then, look at your staff – would they be able to handle this switch?