The menu is seasonal in the sense that plans are altered to include the special foods featured for each season. Foods in season have a higher quality, are usually cheaper, and are better flavored.

Adjusting Navy meals for the climate should also take into account the great variation in climatic conditions under which Navy ships and shore stations operate. Menu plans should be made to suit the weather in which you are operating. Food needs differ, and appetites usually change with variations in temperature. Crisp, cool, fresh finds are appealing to the patron in hot weather. Heavier, heartier foods such as hot soups, stews, and hot cereals are welcomed in cold weather. Fresh fruits and vegetables are at their highest quality and lowest price at seasonal peak. In hot weather, a variety of beverages, including fruit juices, should be available.

LOADING GUIDES.- The best guides for planning menus and determining loading requirements are accurate records of a ship's own past usage and menu plans or menu summaries of previous extended cruises. Usage data and menus used during extended cruises should be collected to provide a basis for balanced loading for future deployment.

The 45-day Subsistence Endurance Base (SEB) contained in Food Service Management, NAVSUP P-486, volume I, is a guide that can be used with ship's usage data in planning menus and load lists for 60-, 75-, 90-, and 120-day operational endurances.

Menus not only affect the health and morale of the crew, but also directly affect the endurance of a ship. Endurance requirements vary among ship types and classes, and the amount of food storage space varies even between ships with identical complements. Proportionately smaller quantities of perishable foods are available on extended cruises, and this calls for increased use of semiperishables, particularly ration-dense foods.

FREQUENCY CHARTS.- Developing a meat plan, frequency charts, and spacing patterns are necessary preplanning functions that assure an acceptable, appealing menu that is also within the daily monetary allowance.

A meat plan  also called a meat block shows the number of times the various types of meat (including breakfast meats), fish, poultry, and cheese are to be used each week on the cycle menu. This planned usage is directly related to the relative costs of these items, their relative popularity, and their availability. A planned pattern of usage during the cycle menu period will enable you to balance the use of expensive, moderately expensive, and inexpensive meat items.

Construction.- The menu planner uses past menus that have known acceptability, the inventories of stocks on hand, and the Federal Supply Catalog, Federal Supply Group 89, Subsistence, as guides for developing the meat plan. When the meats have been chosen, they

Figure 7-6.-Sample meat plan.

are plotted on a frequency chart, spaced on a spacing pattern, and finally entered on the menu draft.

Frequency charts and spacing patterns form the framework of the menu and like the meat plan, are developed before the menu is drafted.

Frequency charts are developed for each major menu item or section; that is, the meat, poultry, fish entrees, potatoes or potato substitutes, vegetables, salads, desserts, soups, and breads that form the basic menu structure. These charts serve as the advanced plotting of what to feed at which meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner) and how often. An example of a vegetable frequency chart is shown ix

Spacing pattern (ig. 7-  show when the item will be served With a spacing pattern, the menu planner can plot a balanced distribution of food items so that there is an appropriate interval between the less popular items that are served, and so that the menus are not beef heavy or corn heavy.

Revision.-An important step in the final review of cycle menus is the use of the frequency chart to check the menu for repetition.  This is done by listing the number of meals containing each type of food. Then checking that the spacing of similar items, such as ground beef, is adequate, that different methods of preparation are used, and that the basic menu features a

Figure 7-7.-Sample vegetable frequency chart.

Figure 7-5.- L-Sample meat spacing pattern.

variety of dishes. It is particularly important to check the meal plans for the first 3 days at the beginning of the first week's menu and the end or last 3 days of the preceding week's menu in the cycle. Revise the frequency chart by eliminating identical or similar items served too close in succession.

MENU BOARDS.- Menu boards assist in planning menus that are based on crew preferences. There are two kinds of menu boards: (1) a menu-planning board that actually plans the menu within the foodservice division and (2) a menu-review board that functions in an advisory capacity.

Menu-Planning Board.- A menu-planning board acts on major decisions affecting food supplies, on the selection of food choices commensurate with galley equipment, workload, and other administrative decisions. The menu-planning board should be composed of personnel with foodservice experience. The menu-planning board consists of MSs from the foodservice division.

Menu-Review Board.- The menu-review board consists of personnel from all divisions on board. This board can bring in new ideas on menu planning. All commanding officers formulate their own policy as to the number of board members. Menu boards, their requirements and functions, are discussed in Foodservice Operations, NAVSUP P-421.

Menu Changes.- The commanding officer may grant written permission to the food service officer to make necessary changes in the approved menu. Such authorization may be furnished in the ship or supply department organizational manual. Under this authority the food service officer may make changes in the menu necessary to meet any emergency that might arise. At the discretion of the commanding officer, a weekly summary of menu changes made and the reasons for the changes are provided to the commanding officer at the time the forthcoming weekly menu is submitted for approval.

Each menu should include a notation at the bottom of the menu stating that "The food service officer is authorized to make changes to this menu when, due to unusual or unforeseen circumstances, it may be necessary to provide substitutions for food items not in stock or to permit timely use of perishable foods."

Menu changes should be kept to an absolute minimum and should not be made without advance approval by the food service officer.

SELECTIVE  MENUS.- A  selective (multiple-choice) menu includes one or more choices for the crew in each category. One or more choices are recommended under the following circumstances:

  If a popular entree or vegetable is to be served, offer an alternative.

When a high-calorie, high-fat entree is to be served, offer an alternative.

If savings can be realized by offering a high-cost entree with a low-cost one, offer a choice.

If practical from a production standpoint, a selection of various meal components can be offered, including entrees, vegetables, breads, and beverages.

DRAFTING THE MENU.- To do the best possible job in menu drafting the Navy menu planner needs a good working atmosphere in which to think. In addition, the sources of information mentioned earlier in this chapter-the meat plan, the frequency charts, and the spacing patterns that have been developed-are needed.

Most meals are planned around main dishes of meat, and other food items are planned to complement main dishes.

Use the standard Menu Draft, NAVSUP Form 1092, to build the week's menu . The menu planner has room for listing each menu item in a meal and has a column for the AFRS numbers to eliminate guesswork on the kind of food, the method of preparation, and the essential breakout data. Use standard abbreviations to achieve coordination between the jack-of-the-dust (or subsistence storeroom storekeeper) and galley personnel; for example, (f) for frozen, (cn) for canned, (dehy) for dehydrated, and (inst) for instant foods. Certain standard menu items, such as coffee, are printed on the draft to facilitate drafting.

The following steps illustrate the proper sequence in drafting major meal components:

Accompaniments to menu items should be written alongside them, shown as follows, or may be written directly underneath them, space permitting.

Meat, Poultry, and Fish.- Using information from the frequency chart and the spacing pattern, enter the meat, fish, or poultry entrees planned for each day on the menu draft form. Introduce variety to the menu by the recipes selected for the preparation of each meat cut or poultry entree. For example, beef, pot roast on the frequency chart and spacing pattern, may be entered as L10-1 Ginger Pot Roast on the menu draft, and the next time this style of beef is repeated on the spacing pattern, it maybe entered as L10-2 Yankee Pot Roast on the menu draft. preplanning the entrees includes the selection of an alternative choice of meat when rabbit, fish, or liver is shown.

Figure 7-9.-A Menu Draft, NAVSUP Form 1092.

When all entrees for the cycle have been entered on each week's draft, it is good management to review the drafts to determine the following: (1) whether the proper variety and balance are maintained, (2) if higher portion cost entrees are balanced with lower portion cost entrees, and (3) if preparation of the entrees is within the capabilities of galley personnel and equipment.

Vegetables.- Frequency charts are developed for both potatoes or potato substitutes and vegetables in conjunction with the meat frequency charts so that the items selected will complement the meat, fish, or poultry item planned for each day. Entering the potato or potato substitute and vegetables on the menu draft is the second step in menu planning. Variety of preparation of the entree items should be introduced on the menu by the selected recipe card.

Salads and Salad Dressing.- The AFRS offers many varieties of salads and kinds of salad dressings, as well as recipes for relishes. These numerous recipes are a fine foundation for a varied bar of consistently high quality. An array of salads and relishes can be prepared from the excellent variety of fresh, frozen, and canned fruits and vegetables available.

When you are selecting salads for the menu, planning is needed to achieve variety and to avoid costly leftovers. Because the salad bar generally offers some variety, there is a temptation to offer the same assortment daily. With good planning, changes from day to day can be achieved.

When you are planning for salads and relishes, there are several factors to consider: (1) seasonal availability for procurement, (2) temperature and climate, (3) equipment and labor, and (4) combinations of salad ingredients.

Select a salad dressing suited to the salad ingredients on which it is to be used. Use tart dressings with bland-flavored salads. Consult your Foodservice Operations, NAVSUP P-421, for ideas.

Breakfast Fruits and Cereals.- Steaming hot cooked cereals are a welcome and warming component of a hearty breakfast in cold weather. Warmer climates and higher temperatures tend to swing the popularity pendulum toward dry, ready-to-eat cereals.

Offer a choice of fruit and juice each day to make sure a good source of vitamin C is available to the patrons. Either the fruit or the juice should be citrus or tomato. In addition, fruits can be used to introduce variety on the menus; for example, raisins in oatmeal or rice, blueberries in pancakes, and apples in fritters.

Desserts. - Desserts should be individualized to each meal just as other menu components, taking into account the patrons' preferences and other factors influencing the menu, such as climate, cooking facilities, and the skills of the personnel.

Desserts are classified as light, medium heavy, or heavy. Plan to use the one that goes best with the rest of the meal. If the meal includes hearty salads and creamed vegetables, a light dessert, such as fruit cup or flavored gelatin, is more appropriate than a medium heavy one (puddings or ice cream and cookies) or heavy desserts (cakes and pies). Balance out the day's dessert by planning alight dessert (chilled pear halves and oatmeal drop cookies) with a heavy dinner at noon and a heavy dessert (spice cake with lemon cream icing) with a light supper. One heavy dessert daily, especially one that must be baked the same day it is to be served, is sufficient for most messes.

To ensure a variety of dessert choices in your menus, make maximum use of mixes, ice cream, prepared pie fillings, gelatin desserts, and other convenience foods.

A caution that should be observed, however, in planning desserts is avoiding a repetition of the same flavors. It is easy to miss hidden flavor repetitions when breakfast juices and dinner and supper salads contain fruit. Watch for these duplications in dessert planning.

Breads and Breakfast Pastries.- Piping hot yeast rolls and quick breads dress up a meal any day of the year. Hot breads can play an important role in balancing cold meals.

When you write a menu, be realistic. If baking facilities are limited or if inexperienced MSs have not yet fully developed their baking skills, you should limit baking items.

Soups.- The soup is one of the last items planned for a lunch or dinner menu. This sequence in menu planning is not based on the relative importance of soup to a menu, but rather on its relation to other menu items. Soups are classified as light, heavy, creamed, and chowder and, as with dessert items, are selected to balance and complement the menu. The number of times a soup is offered each day or each week should be based on the crew's acceptance of soup. If the acceptance of soup is high and you feel justified in including it on the menu at both lunch and dinner meals, plan to serve a different soup at each of these meals. Make maximum use of dehydrated soups and canned condensed soups in order to offer a variety on the menu. Leftover soups are highly subject to contamination; consequently, they create a health hazard. Fresh soup should be prepared for each meal.

Beverages.- The beverage component of menus includes coffee or tea. Milk is very nutritious and deserves a permanent place on the menu. It can be served chilled plain, or flavored, or in hot cocoa as a cold weather beverage. Coffee and tea are not necessary for good health and offering another choice for either beverage is acceptable, such as good quality drinking water.

Iced beverages added to the menu during warm weather are refreshing and provide an enjoyable change from the steady consumption of hot coffee or tea during the winter months. All iced fruit beverages in the AFRS contribute additional vitamins and minerals, as well as energy from the sugar they contain. Avoid overuse of the same juices or fruit beverages on the weekly menus. Milk shake machines and carbonated soda dispensers may be used in the mess also.

RECORDING THE MENU.- The Menu Draft, NAVSUP Form 1092, should be carefully checked and edited for accurate recipe numbers as well as for correct recipe titles and should then be presented to the food service officer for analysis. The food service officer analyzes the menu to make sure it is nutritionally balanced and reflects sound management with respect to personnel, food supplies, and food preparation equipment. The NAVSUP Form 1092 should be returned to the leading MS (approved or with noted changes) for typing on the GM Menu, NAVSUP Form 1080. NAVSUP Form 1092 should be retained for use in preparing recipe number lists and instructions on the daily Food-Preparation Worksheet, NAVSUP Form 1090.

When you use the NAVSUP Form 1090, recipe numbers should be eliminated from the NAVSUP Form 1080.

The NAVSUP Form 1080 is signed by the leading MS in the Prepared By block, by the food service officer in the first Approved block and then submitted to the commanding officer or the designated representative for approval and signature in the second Approved block. Menus may be submitted for command approval each week or the cycle menu maybe submitted in its entirety quarterly, seasonally, or when a new cycle menu is prepared.