The Specials Board is used in the smallest cafés to the largest and most sophisticated pubs and restaurants. It can be a very simple thing such as a blackboard with items listed in chalk (usually it's white chalk but here's another opportunity to use more colour and maybe get prepared by one of your staff who has the best design skills!).
There are many advantages to the Specials Board – it can highlight an item that is very profitable but less popular and so increase sales, it can show items with some ingredients you need to use up quickly, or it can be used to test a new item before it goes into your main menu.
But the biggest advantage is its ability to increase sales and profits because of the effect it has on customers. It gives people the feeling that the food is freshly delivered, immediately cooked and presented as a very special meal that is limited in supply. Some Special Board might even say 'only six left' or 'limited supply' or similar words to encourage sales.
For restaurants and takeaways this may mean changes to labelling for foods such as dips, salads, breads and other pre-packed products.
Why not try this and our other menu tips to spice up your menu? This is the last post in our series, stay tuned for more tips, advice and news on the Ordara blog.
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