Tips & Tricks .>. Write great descriptions

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Great descriptions paint a vivid image in the minds of hungry guests. We all want great descriptions, but how do you write one? Well, if your menu was put together by a professional you have it easy. All you have to do is copy the text word for word from your existing menu.

For those of you who don't have the professional help but would still like some great insight to make your menu more tempting, we offer two powerful guiding principles:

Add detail

Let's examine a favorite, the cheeseburger...

"Beef patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato and pickles."

What's good about that description?  For starters, the ingredients. But people want to know more. Words sell.  How would you make it better? Adding descriptive detail brings the dish alive.

A hand-made, tender pillow of beef, tucked between a lightly toasted sesame seed bun, melted swiss, buried under crispy bacon, with freshly cut tomato, onions and pickles. Topped off with a sweet and tangy thousand island dressing.

Which would you buy? 

Add personalization

Using personalization can add increased life to the description you're writing. Take a look at this description for Chicken Parmesan before adding personalization. 

"Two chicken breasts, smothered with fresh marinara, and tasty Parmesan cheese on a fluffy bed of pasta."

That's a pretty good description. Here's the same dish with personalization.

"Two chicken breasts, smothered with secret recipe house marinara sauce, Parmesan cheese on a fluffy bed of Italian imported spaghetti."

Personalization is that which differentiates your dishes from everyone else. It can add mystery, intrigue, and texture. It's not just vivid descriptions, it’s the attributes that uniquely differentiate your restaurant.

Personalization comes from a number of sources:

1. The origin of a recipe

2. Special preparation

3. Source of the ingredients

4. The personality of the cook who prepares it

5. The dishes' unique presentation.