How to Design a Menu
With More Appeal

It's very exciting to design a menu with more appeal for special entertaining. Whether it’s a family gathering, dinner party, or special event, you can take any ordinary menu and design a culinary delight. It really doesn’t matter what type of function as long as you provide a menu that is both pleasing in taste and offers a great presentation.

When you design a menu choose a variety of colors, textures, and a reasonable amount of food selections. This adds to the overall success of the menu and at the same time keeps the eye moving from item to item. This is important because a colorful food presentation allow people to focus on the food table.

Let’s say you’re planning a dinner party for some friends and you want to design your menu and make it special. And your menu looks something like this.

Roast Beef with Gravy
Black-eyed Peas
Macaroni and Cheese Bake
Fresh Garden Salad with Dressing
Dinner Rolls
Sweet Potato Pie
Ice Tea and Coffee

Let’s look at each menu item separately. - Design a Menu

Roast Beef and Gravy - I would probably add green peppers, mini carrots, and mushrooms. These vegetables will be cooked with the roast beef. This helps give substance to the roast beef, along with adding color and texture. Display the beef on a decorative platter with roasted potatoes.

Black-eyed Peas - Add fresh cut okra for color to the dish then slice red tomatoes and cut green onions around the serving bowl. Sprinkle tomatoes with basil.

Fresh Garden Salad with Dressing - Use Romaine lettuce, then have at least two salad dressings. Sprinkle each dressing lightly with black pepper and fresh parsley. Display in eye-catching containers.

Macaroni and Cheese Bake - Add cut broccoli and bake in the macaroni or cut up chunks of mild sausage, also sprinkle extra cheese on top after baking.

Dinner Rolls - Use an unusual basket, decorative bowl, or an unexpected platter for the rolls. Line container with a linen napkin and add soft margarine in a nice container.

Sweet Potato Pie - Thinly slice the pie and serve on a decorative plate with a dab of whipped topping on the side (not top) about half way the length of the pie. Lightly sprinkle topping with cinnamon. Add a cinnamon stick in the topping or a small piece of fresh mint. For more dessert selections, add dessert bars, then cut in a triangle instead of square.

Iced Tea - Add lemons to tea and cut lemon slices in half and freeze tea and lemon in ice tray. This makes the tea decorative and when the ice cubes melt, the tea won’t be watered down.

Coffee - Make fresh brewed coffee after guests arrive and have regular and flavored creamers and cinnamon sticks available. Use cubed sugar.

APPETIZERS AND/OR ADD ON MENU ITEMS -
Design a Menu

These are items you can serve as appetizers or add to your menu.

Country Deviled Eggs - Arrange eggs on bed of fresh lettuce on a nice platter. Fill in spaces on platter with bunches of fresh mustard greens. This helps decorate the platter.

Sliced Cucumbers - Slice ½ inch and add a teaspoon of spiced cheese spread, top with sweet relish and sliced olives.

Fresh Cut Fruit - Use metal or plastic skewers alternately different fruits. Then arrange fruit on decorative platter. OR, arrange fruit on platter and make instant vanilla or banana pudding for dipping fruit.

There are countless ways you can design your menu and make it more appealing. Just take your menu and use your imagination, be creative with your choices and remember color, texture, and a variety of food selections will bring everything together.

Not only must you design a menu that is appealing, your table must be set up appropriately for your guests to enjoy the entire experience. Great soul food and a fabulous table presentation go hand in hand.

I found an article that will be helpful in designing your food table for more appeal.

Soon you will be able to design a menu that will come alive and at the same time plan a meal that people will remember for a long time.

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