The Trial Menu

To reduce food waste, restaurant owner Niko introduced a smaller menu for one month. Instead of twelve main dishes, there would be four, changing with the ingredients available. In a survey, regular customers had strongly supported the idea.

The first weekend was disappointing. Several people asked for dishes that were no longer offered. One customer who had praised the plan online left when she discovered that her favourite pasta was missing.

Niko was tempted to conclude that the survey had been useless. His chef, Mara, suggested another explanation. People had agreed with the goal, but they had imagined different ways of reaching it.

For the second week, they kept one familiar dish and explained why each of the other options had been chosen. Staff described the ingredients instead of simply telling customers that the menu was smaller.

Sales improved, although some customers still preferred the old menu. At the end of the month, Niko compared the results. Less food had been thrown away, but preparing new dishes had required extra planning.

He decided to continue, with changes. In the next survey, he asked people to choose between actual sample menus rather than agree with a general idea.

The answers were less enthusiastic and much more useful. Niko had stopped asking whether people liked an intention and started asking what they would order.