Opus Servus reviews the menu from two complementary perspectives: the commercial performance of the offer and the sensory quality of the food as experienced by the guest.
From a commercial perspective, the review considers costing, margins, pricing, menu engineering and the overall financial viability of individual dishes and the menu as a whole.
Where required, individual dishes can be broken down completely — ingredient by ingredient, yield by yield and component by component — to establish the true cost of the dish and determine its commercial viability from a margin perspective.
This helps identify where value is being lost, where adjustments can be made without compromising the dish, and whether the selling price and cost structure are ultimately sustainable.
Menu engineering forms an important part of this analysis, assessing dishes against two key measures: popularity and profitability. This helps identify the menu’s stars — high-performing dishes that are both popular and profitable — as well as plowhorses, puzzles and dogs, each of which may require a different commercial or operational response.
From a sensory perspective, the review considers flavour, balance, texture, presentation, portioning, relevance, guest appeal and execution.
Live tastings are an essential part of the process, allowing dishes to be assessed as they are actually delivered and providing practical feedback to refine execution where needed.
The objective is not to change a menu for the sake of it, but to identify where thoughtful refinement can improve quality, strengthen identity and support better financial performance.