A new book by Nick Lander, husband of highly regarded wine judge and writer Jancis Robinson, has written a new book entitled ‘On the Menu‘. Lander has been a restaurateur at L’Escargot in London in the ‘Eighties, and has written ‘The Art of the Restaurateur’ previously. He is now a restaurant reviewer.

Lander calls for better menus in restaurants in his latest book, in which he also traces the history of menus, as well as their design. He describes a menu as ‘the most important piece of paper in the restaurant industry‘. He is surprised that no one has previously written about the importance of menus. The book was inspired by his collection of menus over the past thirty years, and decided to put the collection to good use by writing about them. Using crowdfunding to raise funds to write and publish the book, he completed it in three months. 

The book includes 80 menus from his collection, as well as interviews with top international chefs, including Noma’s Rene Redzepi, and The Fat Duck’s Heston Blumenthal. In his book Lander presents do’s and don’ts of restaurant menus: 

#.  A weakness has been letting the chef create the menu, rather than it being a collaboration between chef and restaurateur. The chef should inspire the menu and it should be written by the restaurant owner, he writes.

#.  The look of a menu influences his restaurant review, Lander writes. This applies if the menu has a plastic cover, is torn, smudged, and is just a photocopy. He laments the decline in creative menus, as more and more restaurants print them in-house, making them look ‘tired’. He calls for colour in menus, the black and white alternative not making the restaurant appear ‘very interesting‘.

#.  Lander would like to see a simple short daily menu, with the date on it, listing the dishes which inspired the chef on that day.  Such a menu reflects seasonality and ingredient freshness. The ultimate is to see a menu which incorporates both a list of food items, and a list of wines, two pages each allocated to food and to wines. 

#.  Lander recommends paying attention to the font, and differentiating the size of headings and sections. The darker the restaurant is, the larger the type size should be, he advises.

Locally I have found the following:

#   A simple A 4 sheet of paper is a poor reflection on the restaurant and its quality, or lack of

#   Spelling errors sadly are rife, and it is evident that many chefs cannot spell well, especially if they use French food terms. We visited The Shortmarket Club in its first week of opening, and both its menu and wine list had spelling errors. A common winelist error is the incorrect spelling of Franschhoek. Winelist spelling errors are inexcusable when one has the bottle to double check from. 

#   Menus are often too comprehensive, making it difficult for patrons to choose. 

#   As a writer I appreciate as much ingredient detail as possible. One ingredient which is often omitted in the menu description is chili, an irritation when one discovers it whilst eating. Another is balsamic vinegar, which is drizzled over anything and everything, without declaration. 

#   Menu folders make the menu look good, and Delaire Graff and Indochine must be commended for their classy menus through the use of menu covers, and quality paper.

‘On the Menu’ by Nicholas Lander. £30.  This Blogpost has been inspired by an article in ‘Big Hospitality‘. 

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: click here  Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein