The science and art of menu creation

While seasons, produce quality and creativity are key, it is the patron who decides the success or failure of a menu

- Abhilasha Ojha

At home, on her bedside table, chef Radhika Khandelwal keeps a notebook to document her thoughts, with "dishes sometimes appearing in dreams". She is the owner of the restaurant Fig & Maple in Delhi. The notebook, scribbled with copious notes, travels with her everywhere. In it, Khandelwal also jots down memories of her childhood: "A visit to India Gate where I had kaala khatta as a child has, led me to create an elevated version of the flavour profile as a salad with amaranth leaves and jamun dressing."

For her, introducing a new menu is akin to a "home cleansing routine", wherein some old dishes move out to make way for the new.

Menus are at the core of restaurants and upmarket cafes, and chefs work overtime to strategise. Mood boards and notebooks with travel inspiration, links to Instagram and websites, even Pantone colour trends, are fodder for ideas. Additionally, there are "taste panels" in most restaurants with a select group of people, including food critics, senior employees, and some "regular" guests, trying out new dishes. Sometimes, ingredients command what is served—last year, almost all restaurants put millets on menus when Unesco declared it the International Year of the Millets.

Though restaurants replace menus two-four times a year, small changes are made on a monthly basis. Restaurants also have a full calendar, complete with regional and global cuisine-inspired pop-ups, Michelin-star guest chef specials and other culinary events. Many times, these events lead some dishes to become a part of the main menu.