Anatomy of a Menu Change

Part of the biggest thrill in working as a chef is the constant change of product availability in seasons...which make me just that much more enthusiastic about changing my menu every 12 weeks .The one thing nobody knows it was actually goes into changing a menu. i start to work on a menu the day after a release one. i .e while my winter menu comes out Monday i have already started to craft ideas for spring ,talking to purveyors and finding getting general input on ideas for inventory etc. .you have to do a lot of experimenting asking fellow colleagues there input on dishes they taste and run specials until something hit home then a week or two later try it again to see if the response changes,you have to re-do order guides,inventory sheets, product lists to be faxed to your salesman so you can play one guy off of the other.Then you have to find away to run one menu out so you can start from scratch with the next but still manage to not have a 100 things on the 86 board.when you have gotten this far its time for rough drafts,re-prints,editorial changes,wine pairings, etc.all the while still working the line 60 plus a week. I guess it is the thrill and the challenge that drives me, the challenge to get some one to love my food enough to return only to be dazzled by a whole new line up! tah... the joys of cookery.