Dinner Package Menu

In this article, we're going to review best practices in creating a priced per-person Dinner Buffet Package.

The Buffet Dinner package is priced per guest and includes your choice of two selections each for salads, mains, sides, and desserts, along with a variety of optional add-ons.

If you offer other menus in a similar style, the same process used for this package can easily be applied to those as well.

Your menus may use different terminology in the title or throughout. When creating menus, it's important to review and reference Tripleseat's Menu, Item, and Packages terms below. 
 

Item: an individual *thing* to sell to guests, often consumable, but does not have to be

• Examples of an item in TS include
  • Chicken Parmesan
  • Additional Bartender for 2 hours
  • Wireless Microphone

Item Group: a way for users to organize Items within a Package

• These are often meal courses (Appetizers, Entrees, Desserts)

Modifier Group: a container for a set of Modifiers for an Item

• For Chicken Parm, the modifier group could be Pasta Choice
• For Wireless Microphone, the modifier group could be Microphone Type 

Modifier: an available choice or feature for an Item, organized within a Modifier Group

• For Chicken Parm (Item) > Pasta Choice (Modifier Group) > modifiers could be:
  • Ziti
  • Penne
  • Angel Hair
• For Wireless Mic (Item) > Microphone Type (Modifier Group) > modifiers could be:
  • Handheld
  • Headset
  • Clip 

Package: a collection of Items offered together at a set price, often priced per person

• Example: Gold Plated Dinner Package > $75 per person
  • Guest might select 2 apps, 3 entrees, and 1 dessert within this package

Minimum / Maximum Selections: for Modifier Groups and Item Groups, these are the parameters around how menu mods (within an Item) or items (within a Package) a guest can select

• If no min or max is indicated, guests will not be limited in the number of choices
• Regardless of min or max in settings, TS Users will be able to select any number of mods or items within a doc template

Menu: a way to organize offerings - these offerings can be Items, Packages, or a combination of both.

• Examples of Menus might be:
  • Corporate Group Dinner Menu > could include packages, like:
    • Gold Plated Dinner Package for $75 pp
    • Silver Plated Dinner Package for $65 pp
  • Continental Breakfast Buffet Menu > could include items, like:
    • Assorted Muffins
    • Fruit Bowls
    • Breakfast Sandwiches
      
      
       

In addition to this article, you can view guides and videos by going to Settings > Menus. The guides are available at the top of the page.

Now, let's build a typical Buffet Dinner Package menu step by step. 


As stated above, the Buffet Dinner package below is priced per person, with the option to select two options for salad, mains, sides, and dessert, along with some add-on options.

 

First, you're going to make all of the options within the Salad, Main, Sides, and Dessert sections into ITEMS. To do this, go to Settings > Menus. 

You'll then go to the Items tab 

 Then click +New Item on the right side of your screen

For each item, you'll add the Display Name and optional Internal Name, check the Location(s) where it is available, set the Price to zero because the charge will be on the Package as a whole, set the Category to Food, and add the Description. Then click Update. Repeat this for each Item.

Modifiers
If any of the Items have a choice or option, you will need to add a Modifier to that Item. Let's use the Chicken Piccata under Mains as an example.

To add this Modifier, go to the main menu, click the Modifier tab, and then click + New Modifier.

Similar to adding Items, you will fill in the required and appropriate fields. If there were an upcharge for the Modifier, you would add the price. In this case, it will be zero.

You would then repeat this process for Penne and Angel Hair.


Next, you'll add those modifiers into a Modifier Group. >Go back to Items, select the Chicken Piccata  Item, and click the Modifier Groups tab. Then click +Modifier Group.

Fill in the required and appropriate fields. Be sure the minimum and maximum selections are added correctly. Then Save.

Now that you have your Modifier Group, click Add Modifier.

Select the modifiers for this group and click +Add.

This is how the modifier group should look once complete.

Now we need to add the Add-on section

Follow the same process of adding Chocolate Fondue Fountain as an Item

For the Barista and custom coffee drinks, there is a single charge and a per-person charge, so you'll have to add two items. One for each charge.

Now that we have all of the Items created with the appropriate Modifiers, we are ready to build the Package.

Go to the Packages tab and click + New Package.

Fill in the required and appropriate fields, and update.

Open the Package back up and click the Item Groups tab, then + Item Group

Create the Item Group for each section by filling in the fields along with the appropriate number of selections.

Now, add the Items into the Item Group by clicking Add Item

Then select all of the Items for that Group and click +Add

After repeating this for each Item Group, your Package should look like this. Click Update.

Then go to the Menus tab.

Click +New Menu button toward the right of the screen

Fill out the required and appropriate fields and Save.

Then click the Items & Packages tab and click +Add Packages

Then select the Package and click +Add

This is how your Menu should look on the front end after adding to your booking documents.

Here is how the dinner Package will look on viewable documents.

Reporting

The dinner selections will be reported as Packages, along with typical reporting options such as date ranges, grouping, sorting, and choice of columns of information.

Individual Items are also included in the report.