Five Tips for an Affordable Tasting Menu

If you would have visited ten upscale restaurants on Valentine's Day, you probably would have come across at least five Valentine's Day tasting menus. Once a must-have option for Valentine's Day, tasting menus have faced a lot of backlash lately. With the downturn in the economy and restaurant customers cutting back on spending lavish amounts of money for a single meal, the perception of value given to the upscale tasting menu has dropped significantly. Does this mean you should drop the tasting menu completely from your restaurant's repertoire?

On the contrary. In this climate of "who can get the best deal," offer your customers an affordable, sensible tasting menu. You'll be providing them with a dining experience at a right price—an experience, hopefully, that your guests will want to share with their friends, either by word of mouth or by treating them to dinner out.

Five Tips To Make Your Tasting Menu Affordable
1. Go vegetarian
Kaya, a Caribbean fusion restaurant in Pittsburgh, PA, offers a once-monthly vegetarian tasting menu. This event has become so popular that reservations are required and, often, people are turned away. And it's all for $39 per person—a steal, considering the often $50+ price tags on most tasting menus. A vegetarian tasting menu can get a whole new customer base visiting your restaurant, a base that has been proven to be fiercely loyal.

2. Go local and seasonal
Eating local and seasonal has far surpassed trend status. Connecting with local suppliers and ordering what's freshest will bring down the cost of a tasting menu. Showcase local flavors and regional dishes and win over your most foodie customers.

3. Use less pricier cuts of meat
What is the difference between a flat iron steak and a NY Strip steak? Well, for one, the price. In the hands of a great chef, a flat iron steak can taste just a succulent as a NY Strip, but for dollars less a pound. Customers are embracing different cuts of meats these days—no longer is filet mignon the only beef option that matters.

4. Serve fewer courses
Do your guests really need (or want) a seven course meal? Offer a five course option, with a price reduction to boot.

5. Instead of wine pairings, offer less expensive beer pairings
If your tasting menu features wine pairings, your guests may be turned off by the high prices. What about offering a beer pairing instead? Served in small glasses and carefully selected to compliment your menu offerings, a beer pairing can appeal to your customers' sense of fun.

More Tasting Menu ideas...