The Ala Carte Theme Menu

Pixan: Exquisite Cuisine in the Heart of London

Pixan, our top-notch dining establishment, is filled with tantalizing treats that will leave you wanting more. It is situated in London, a city well recognized for its cities and a popular travel destination for people from all over the world (Ashley, 2012). Our goal is to provide our clients with the most exquisite cuisine possible through Pixan’s high caliber services. Our customers are well-served by a delivery of delectable sweets and beverages. Our restaurant boasts a warm atmosphere with perfect lighting conducive for heartwarming conversations and smooth music playing in the background. Experience fine dining in style as Pixan specializes in European cuisines which are prepared by the best chefs in London.

A Breathtaking Location

We are located in the center of town in one of the buildings facing the tower bridge which is a tremendous monumental structure. The bridge attracts a lot of people, and the view of the site is breathtaking which gives our restaurant the competitive edge it requires (Earle, et al., 2006). The restaurant is on the seventh floor, and our customers experience the delicacies with professional services offered in a unique experience. London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and therefore, it experiences a high influx of tourists. Due to this strategic location, our restaurant focuses on offering European dishes as our main cuisine (Fuller, 2011). Moreover, most people fly to London to try out the experience, and we aim at enhancing their stay by providing them some of the most delicious meals made from local ingredients. The restaurant is opened daily from 5 pm to 11 pm.

Suggestion and Justification for Human Resource and Equipment

Pixan restaurant was opened in 2009, and since then, we have seen a high turnover in the hospitality industry that brings the need to get more employees to ensure that the restaurant is successful in the industry. The hospitality industry requires individuals with specialized skills and most of them are aged between 20 and 45 years (Jacobs, 2017). The employees at Pixan are divided into departments depending on the individual abilities of different people. The division aims at enhancing productivity and efficiency as individuals with similar skills can work in teams. During the hiring process, we use various methods to advertise for available job positions such as the use of social media platforms, print media and even the use of mass media. After different individuals complete the interviewing process successfully, they are exposed to two weeks training to help them understand the culture of Pixan restaurant (Taste of home, 2016).

The kitchen staff is well planned out staring with the head chef who delivers the fine delicacies. Our service staff, cashiers, supervisors and general manager play essential roles to make our customers feel at ease and enjoy their food in a luxurious touch (Earle, et al., 2006). After conducting thorough researches, we decided to have two types of tables which include the ten table of four and two table of two with an overhead hue bulb that changes color to create a warm atmosphere (Pizam, 2017, p. 145). At Pixan, the bar is essential for the guests who come and have a drink only or after their meals. There are cleaning equipment, fire system as well as state of the art kitchen equipment.

Menu Cost and Pricing

Pixan, an elegant dining hotel that is experienced in preparing European cuisines, promises a luxurious and classy touch in the experience (D.Traster, 2013). Our design of the menu is meant to ignite your appetite, and it delivers exactly what it promises. Regarding visibility, our menu has legible and clear fonts indicating the name of the dish and also the type of ingredients used to make it. It consists of three starters dishes which are creamy tomato soup and basil bruschetta and salade de tomates (Gimenez, 2012). The main course includes three different types of food which are Linguine Alla Bolognese, Soy and honey pork chops and porcini pork tenderloin and lastly three desserts which are a banana pancake, dark chocolate cake, and tiramisu. The full designed menu is included below. The menu of Pixan restaurant gives our guests a new experience that others do not and is available at an affordable price (The Garden of Eating, 2009). We offer pocket-friendly prices as we want the experience to be felt by everyone seeking a taste of European cuisine.

Appendices

Starters

Creamy tomato soup 6.5 fr

Crab and corn soup 10 fr

Salade de tomates 7.5 fr

Main Courses

Easy lemon pasta with chicken 24.5 fr

Patatas bravas fries with roasted tomato aioli 21 fr

Beef stew 25 fr

Desserts

Shepherd’s pie 12 fr

Vanilla mug cake 9.5 fr

Chocolate cookie ice-cream 11.5 fr

The Italian Experience

The reason for choosing European cuisine as our restaurant’s main concept theme for our foods makes it a hub rich in culture and a tourist attraction cite as well. Our restaurant also specializes in Italian dishes like Italian wedding soup. The Italian wedding soup is common for starters and is a renowned food in the region, and due to this fame, it is demanded by most of the tourists (Mifli, 2000). We also provide our customers with an Italian experience through the variety of our cuisines. The service offered at Pixan restaurant aims at making the customer feel appreciated and satisfied for visiting the restaurant.

Starters

In Europe, creamy tomato soup is made from local ingredients and served as a sweet appetizer. For example, in Italy and France, the creamy tomato soup is a typical delicacy and a classic to crave for and is an excellent choice to start with. Salade de tomates is a type of salad which is traditionally from France but has made its way to the rest of England, and it is very famous, and it is quite easy to make (Earle, et al., 2001). The main course follows the starter which is the substantial course of the meal. From past experiences, we have observed that most of our customers are only interested in the main course as they feel that the three courses will make them extremely satisfied. Moreover, other clients insist that the starter and dessert take their concentration away from the main course.

Main Courses

The menu that we chose is straightforward, precise, and legible, that’s why most of the customers like it. We chose only three types of main course to ensure the standard of the food served is maintained. The specification helps our kitchen staff continually improve their skills, and due to their vast expertise, they offer delicious meals which keep our customers coming back to our restaurant. The first main course is Easy pasta with chicken which brings out an explosive taste in the mouth (Food Network, 2017). The dish comprises of Pasta that has been cooked alongside seasoned chicken with salt and pepper. It uses local ingredients that can be found in most of the groceries and supermarkets located in London. The cooking method of the cuisine requires 35 minutes for serving as the preparation time taken is 10 min and a cooking time of 25 minutes (Food Network, 2017).

The next dish on our menu is beef stew. Beef stew is a slow-cook beef with mirepoix which is incredibly tasty. The need to saute the mirepoix first in vital before putting the beef and tomato paste in the recipe. After it is well cooked, the meat turns tender and tasty. Lastly, Patatas bravas fries with roasted tomato aioli is the third dish on the menu. The dish takes 1 hour 15 minutes to make and when well done it becomes very crispy outside and soft inside. It comprises of potatoes that are dipped in tomato aioli then baked till they become crispy. Patatas Bravas has a golden brown look rich in calories. Besides that, most of the customers love it due to its appealing look (Taste of home, 2016).

Desserts

Dessert is the meal that usually comes after the main course and often consisting of many types of sweet cakes, chocolate, ice cream, cookies, fruits, or sometimes of an intense flavor, one such as cheese. Scholars in the hospitality industry have depicted eating dessert can put you in a good mood because of its sweetness. Pixan restaurant aims at providing our customers with a distinct experience with our unique desserts. They say that nothing can give you more happiness than eating your favorite one. Pixan restaurant has taken this statement and incorporated it into our activities to ensure that we offer all our clients their favorite meals.

The three main desserts we choose to serve are Shepherd’s pie, Vanilla mug cake, and Chocolate cookie ice cream sandwich. The shepherd’s pie is a dessert that is prepared for about 2 hours and 35 minutes. The ingredients used to provide a sweet and moist texture as you eat. It brings out an enjoyable feeling that satisfies one’s craving especially that for sweet food. The sweetness in the shepherd’s pie can help relieve stress from a person’s mind especially after a long day at work.

Secondly, the chocolate cookie ice-cream sandwich has an inviting look with the taste of sticky substances that are both crunchy and melts in your mouth. It is most commonly preferred by customers in Europe due to its sweet nature (Food Network, 2017). The third dessert is the tasty vanilla mug cake, prepared from vanilla extracts combined with flour, butter, and frozen cream will give you a healthy sweet to end your happy meal. Vanilla mug cake’s ingredients are usually mixed in a mug and then put in a microwave for some minutes. All the desserts served to reflect the Italian culture, and they touch the hearts of our customers who are usually seeking to experience the European culture when they visit London.

Beverages

Accompanying the salivating delicious foods with some Italian wine from the best vineyards in Europe can be a memorable experience at Pixan. A variety of white and red wines are available to choose from. The wine has been taken for a long time, and it has been proven to have valuable health benefits such as reducing the risk of depression and preventing different types of cancers (Mifli, 2000, p. 47) our customers get a wide range of wines to select from starting with white wines like Chardonnay, Semillon, and Cabernet Sauvignon which come from Burgundy and Bordeaux (Earle, et al., 2006). Italy is renowned for having hearty wines and as such, Pixan restaurant prefers to provide these wines to match the European theme demonstrated by the types of foods that we serve. The wines are made with Italian grapes whose taste is so refreshing especially when accompanied with meaty dishes.

The red Bordeaux wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, made from a dark fruit, play a perfect pairing wine that goes well with beef stew and can also warm our customers’ hearts because the reds from dark fruits are high in tannins. Our restaurant would like to recommend salsa verde to eat with the beef stew as well, and in this case, a sip of Chianti would be an excellent choice to fulfill the taste of our customers. A plate of pasta with chicken will be more delicious with an inexpensive, medium-bodied Italian red wine such as Chianti, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or a pure Sicilian red (Taste of home, 2016). The balancing of the wines with the food especially for pasta dishes gives it the sweet and sour taste. The patatas bravas dish pairs well with Chateau Montus Madiran which is a light red wine that washes down the seasoned meal with a balance of flavors.

Special Considerations

At Pixan, we value food hygiene for our customers thus ensuring no case of food poisoning. We consider the state at which the food is being served and the waiter/waitress attending to our customers. A cleanliness standard is required in the kitchen where the cooks and the chef wear the appropriate dressing such as aprons, hairnets, and safety boots for maneuverability. The importance of using the correct code of dressing is to ensure anyone handling food is clean and professionally serves the dishes (D.Traster, 2013, p. 56).

Fire safety in restaurants is also of paramount importance since the staff needs to learn the step by step processes of what to do during an emergency (Walter-Oqurek, 2001). We have a storage room for cleaning equipment, liquid, and extra fire extinguishers to be used in case of a fire. We have Set up fire alarms, smoke detectors, fire escape routes, and other safety equipment that assist in the mitigation of risks posed by an accidental occurrence of fire-related accidents.

Marketing and Promotion

The use of social media platforms for marketing is one of the trends that have been highly accepted by both customers and companies in the hospitality industry (Ashley, 2012). Moreover, social media marketing provides an opportunity for the company to interact with its clients at a personal level which promotes brand loyalty. Therefore, Pixan restaurant will adopt the use of various social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and others to increase its brand awareness (Fuller, 2011, p. 34). The marketing team will aim at ensuring that our customers are aware of any discounts, the introduction of new types of food into the menu, and also keep reminding them of the different combinations that aim at ensuring they experience the great European culture embedded in the theme of our restaurant (Mifli, 2000).

Conclusion

The hospitality industry in Europe is continually expanding by the day, which means that companies therein have to engage in aggressive marketing strategies to gain a competitive edge. As such, Pixan aims at increasing its brand recognition among its clients to maintain a significant market share. Moreover, the restaurant will continually improve its service to ensure that its clients continuously access the best European-themed foods and beverages. The continuous improvement will ensure that the restaurant gains a competitive edge in the industry. The strategies will also provide that Pixan enlarges its market share by attracting potential clients using different approaches.

References

Food Network, 2017. Easy Lemon Pasta with Chicken. [Online] Available at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/easy-lemon-pasta-with-chicken-recipe-1911176[Accessed 15 4 2017].

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Pizam, A., 2017. International Journal of Hospitality Management. Hospitality Management, 3(4th), pp. 245-256.

QSR Magazine, 2017. Finance Options That Help Restaurants Prosper. [Online] Available at: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/content/finance-options-help-restaurants-prosper[Accessed 23 October 2017].

Taste of home, 2016. Creamy Corn and Crab Soup. [Online] Available at: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/creamy-corn-crab-soup[Accessed 23 October 2017].

The Garden of Eating, 2009. Beef Stew, Classic Winter Comfort Fare. [Online] Available at: http://www.thegardenofeating.org/2009/03/beef-stew-classic-winter-comfort-fare.html[Accessed 7 March 2017].

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Walter-Oqurek, J., 2001. The Menu Maker’s Guide to Restaurant Menu Design. 2nd ed. Epsom: Calico .

Wiley McVety, P. W. B. J. a. W. C. L., 2008. Fundamentals of Menu Planning. 3rd ed. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.