Special and one-off menus: are they worth it?

With hospitality businesses facing huge cost-increases but still needing to turn a profit, what is the role of a one-off menu that adds complexity, cost and pressure? From Lunar New Year to seasonal truffle dinners, how do you choose your special menu and what are the benefits? We spoke to the experts.

Jack Fitzhenry of Glebe’s The Wedge says set menus are a chance to help people create their dreams.

Weaving magic for guests 

“I enjoy the hospitality part of the business. I like creatng an event that is a bit more special,” says Jack Fitzhenry, head chef of The Wedge in Sydney’s Glebe, where they’re preparing their Valentine’s set menu. “It’s a chance to help people create their dreams.”  

The Wedge regularly does one-off menus, not only because Fitzhenry enjoys the magic of them, but also because they can be financially rewarding and create a point of extra interest for regular customers and staff.   

“With a curated menu – rather than à la carte service – things get a little bit smoother with stock and planning. You know exactly what’s needed. It makes it an enjoyable night of service,” he says, adding that it also gives the kitchen a chance to try more unusual or high-end ingredients.” 

“The style of the event might let you try something a little different or unusual for the customer, so you might have a bit more of a budget to play with,” he says, citing a sold-out venison dinner.   

“Budget can impinge on creativity sometimes, so it allows for one night where we don’t have to feel guilty about spending a bigger budget.” 

Tapos Singha of Queensland’s Miss Moneypenny says offering special menus is essential for cultivating positive guest experience.

Risk factors 

There are, of course, pitfalls to watch out for, including extra staff costs if menus align with public holidays, or not being able to get hold of a featured ingredient at the last moment, which may require menu reprints.  

There is also the risk of a poor turnout. In this instance, using the event as a marketing tool for publicity can keep a venue top of mind, according to Fitzhenry. His advice is to make sure that one-off menus are well documented so that you can use them as a future showcase.  

Head chef at Queensland’s Miss Moneypenny’s in Broadbeach (and Noosa), Tapos Singha agrees on every front.  

“The benefits are the customers getting something different from what we do day-in-and-day-out,” he says. “Guest experience is a high priority for us.”   

 Like Fitzhenry, Singha tries to do as many one-off menus and events as possible, including a dinner series in 2023 that showcased a caviar and champagne night, and a wagyu and whiskey dinner. According to the chef, if you know your audience and pick the themes right, then nine out of ten dinners will sell out, and he also loves using the events to really delve into items that aren’t easy to put on a regular menu.  

How the unexpected attracts sponsorship 

“For Valentine’s Day there’s maron on the menu, and usually that would be quite challenging,” he says, because the produce needs to be flown-in and size-specific, which is tricky for regular supply.  

Sigha also notes that having a partner or sponsor involved can alleviate the costs of a high-end menu, citing dinner with beef supplier Jack’s Creek. But again, it’s more about the creativity for Singha and the freedom to use unusual produce than making a huge profit.  

He says the only real downside is a potential waste of any excess should numbers fluctuate. But even this can be turned to the venue’s advantage; “I’d rather have too much so that no customers are disappointed,” he says, adding that he builds excess produce into the margin and it becomes staff dinners.   

Maurice Terzini of Icebergs Dining Room and Bar believes special menus shouldn’t just be about food. They should also encompass art, graphic design, architecture and fashion.

Branding, creativity and focus 

For restaurateur and icon of Australia’s hospitality industry, Maurice Terzini, one-off menus serve several functions.  

“It’s for competition, you know,” says the man behind Sydney’s Icebergs Dining Room and Bar – along with newly opened Snack Kitchen, Potts Point and more. “You’re challenging yourself and the competition. Challenging clients to decide where to spend their money,” he tells InSeason. 

For Terzini, a one-off menu is not just about the food. It includes art, graphic design, architecture and fashion, and is a reinforcement of everything that Icebergs embodies. Over the years, he’s seen a huge rise in special menus and now weighs up the cut-through one might have, not simply whether it will make a profit.  

“We’ve always tried to keep that artisan approach so that a unique menu or one-off gives you a sense that the restaurant is participating in a more artisan approach,” he says.  

“It’s also a chance for everyone to talk creatively – it gives the chefs, sommeliers and the bar an opportunity to create – and we can also introduce specialty service, like table-side,” he says.  

“Everything we do has to have an Icebergs approach to it. There’s narrative, with fashion, art, music, everything. Creativity is really important because it keeps you connected to like-minded creatures.”  

It’s also about staying current in a fickle food world, offering a chance for the venue to engage with new ideas and clients. “Whether it’s with new techniques, styles of wine making, whatever it is, it’s important.”  

 Leveraging content 

In a cost-conscious landscape that now also requires hospitality to engage social media, Terzini says it’s important to leverage your one-offs as much as possible and to use them to create content that reflects your brand.  

“If it’s not going to be financially successful, make sure that it’s justified by the content you capture. There’s got to be an endgame – and that’s not necessarily the bottom line. It can be authentic content that isn’t like anybody else’s.”