On the menu

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan, 1994 by Peter O. Keegan

For 30 years the NRA's annual menu contest has judged the imaginations, graphic expertise and impact of hundreds of menus--and is the NRA's most prestigious contest.

From handmade menus on parchment for footballs, menus are submitted to the NRA in droves in hopes of being recognized for their flavor, graphics allure, distinction and appropriateness. After looking over the unique entries, anyone can tell that menus explain a lot more than just what the food items and prices are.

"People get excited about entering the contest; it's a source of pride," said Jennifer Batty, the NRA's communications specialist, who has run the annual contest for the past three years. "They get ideas from the winning entries."

For the last six years, winning menus have been published in a book by Judith Radice and displayed during the NRA Show in May, giving foodservice operators models to view, contemplate and emulate.

"In scoring we look at design, imagination amd merchandising power," Batty said. "We send the winners plaques, and they can buy NRA Menu Contest Winner stickers to put on their menus -- which have been real popular."

Categories for the menu contest include restaurants with average checks under $8 per person; $8-to-$15-per-person restaurants; and restaurants over $15 per person; institutional; banquet/catering; specialty -- children's, dessert, wine, room service; most imaginative; best design; and greatest merchandising power.

Judges select a first-, second- and third- prize winner for each category, while picking a grand prize winner from the winning entries. "The grand prize winner is the biggest conflict," Batty explained, "because everyone has their favorite."

Menus are judged on the merits of their design in relation to the category, not content of the menu items. The main categories they are judged on are imagination, design and merchandising power. Imagination centers on creativity, originality and coordination of elements for novel and striking effects. Design is all about the layout, illustration, type face and paper that combine to present a clean, readable document. Merchandising power is judged on graphic layout, description and appropriate visual strategies that draw attention to featured items and entice customers to try additional dishes.

Six judges, two editors from the trade press, two writers from the consumer press and two designers familiar with menu design or designing in general judge the menus -- which last year numbered more than 70.

Batty said that each judge has his or her own pet peeve about menus. For example, one didn't like laminated menus even though durability is considered. "We're seeing more synthetic, washable paper," she said.

The judges are seeing more menus produced on desktop computers, she explained, addign that they are seeing some interesting textures with paper. "Last year's winner, Ciao Mein, was made of a cardboardlike material and was treated with a pigmentation process that brought forth beautiful colors," Batty said.

Batty also said she's seeing a lot more nutritional analysis as well as short, snappy descriptions of menu items.

"In the last three years we have seen more and more effort from institutional feeders," she said. "One maternity ward sent in a menu that was personlaized and had a baby's footprint on it."

Some of the more interesting menus she's received include a football from Don Shula's restaurant in Florida, hand-painted with one-fourth covered with Miami Dolphins' colors. "It was a regulation football that came with a tee and everything," she recalled.

Another interesting entry was a wave box from a place called Tsuanami, which was a plexiglass box that had descripiptions on it from a Hyatt in Hawaii. Another was a green mini hand fan that had a drink menu writen on it.

From Walt Disney, which sends a big box every year, there was a fish pail, with plastic fish in it with the menu items on them. Another entry was shaped like a golf bag for a golf course, a Western themer entered a menu tied together with rawhide stras and the name burned into it, and one from a comedy club came n that was "bigger than my desk," she said. "It was the ultimate punch line!"

Batty said that they receive more entries from chains than from independents. "The chains are usually creative; they set an incredible standard for everyone else," Batty said. "It gives operators lots of designs and styles to look at--to help them get ideas."

Batty said that the trend is toward easy-to-read menus now that the population is aging, and in the past two years, she has reveive some braille menus. "Last year we got one with a mini flashlight attached with Velcro to the side for patrons who had problems reading in low light," she said.

Batty also said photos are also important, and Bennigan's won in its category last year because it photos on the menu were so enticing.

The use of humor is also a big crowd pleaser, said Batty, as menus aim to make light of themselves to amuse and entertain the customer. She said a menu from a place called Willie C's instructed diners to "eat your vegetables" with funny, bullying tones.