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Food Adjectives
About Menu Descriptions
The Purpose:
To communicate to patrons what is offered, how the menu item is cooked, presented, and at what price.
To effectively market (advertise) your menu items for your restaurant operations.
The Rules:
To be simple, clear, and graphic.
To present an exact description of what the customer will receive.
To avoid catchy slang if it will confuse the diner.
To be accurate: e.g. if the description says it is from Maine, it better be from Maine.
The Truth:
To avoid irregularities by descriptions.
To avoid the "switch". Don't indicate one food item and serve another.
Tips for Writing Accurate & Appealing Menu Descriptions
Use accurate preparation methods, point-of-origin information, and quality representations.
Use accurate weight or portion sizes.
Use readily understood terms such as: charcoal broiled, deep fried, saut�ed, baked, broiled,
poached, roasted, barbecued and smoked.
Provide nutritional information for any nutritional claims made.
Descriptive Terms to WATCH
Absolute accuracy is a must when using terms in menu descriptions that are affected by the
Truth in Menu Labeling Laws. Descriptive words are often the determining factor in the customer's
selection of a menu item.
black angus beef
fresh
kosher
natural
center-cut ham
flown in daily
low-calorie
non-fat
cholesterol-free
heart healthy
low-fat
reduced
corn-fed or milk-fed
heart smart
made from scratch
sugar-free
Additional terms affected by these laws are flagged with an asterisk * in the Descriptive Terms for Menus
Additional terms affected by these laws are flagged with an asterisk * in the Descriptive Terms for Menus
table provided below.
Examples of Menu Phrases
The Salad Course: The Georgia Salad is a delightful combination of roasted pecans, fried green
tomatoes and Virginia ham on a bed of spinach, arugula and bibb hearts, with sweet onion slices
and buttermilk dressing ($11.95).
Entr�e: Baby Clams Over Linguine - Baby Clams saut�ed with garlic, herbs, clam broth, and white
wine over linguine pasta served with an Italian roll.
Dessert: Peach Melba - Peaches saut�ed in rum over vanilla ice cream topped with fresh
raspberries and sauce.
Links to Additional Tips on Writing Menu Descriptions
Menu Copy: Add Spice to Your Menu Copy without Changing - This article from Restaurant
Partner.com offers suggestions for improving menu profitability by making changes to the
descriptions of food items listed on a restaurant menu.
Descriptive Terms for Menus
A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
* = Terms that have to meet Truth in Menu Labeling Laws
A
B
C
aged
aromatic
array / array of
assorted
an assortment of
authentic
baked
beautiful
bite-size
bitter
bland
blazed
a blend of
blended
blunt
boiled
braised
browned
burnt
buttered
buttery
black angus beef *
caked
calorie free
candied
caramelized
char-broiled
cheesy
chilled
choice
choice center cut
chocolate
chocolate flavored
cholesterol free *
chunked, chunky
cinnamon
classic
clove
coated
cold
colorful
cool
covered
crafted
crisp
crumble, crumbly
corn-fed *
creamed
country, country
style
creamy
artfully
creamed
creamy
crisp
crunchy
cured
center-cut *
dazzling
decadent
deep-fried
delectable
delicate
delicious
delight
delightful
distinctive
doughy
dressed
drizzle, drizzled
dry, (dry-aged)
dull
elastic
encrusted
epicurean taste, treat
ethnic
exquisite
exotic
extraordinary
famous
fantastic
fat
fat-free *
festive
finger-food
finger-licking
fizzing, fizzy
filet / fillet, filleted
flaky
flavorful
flavored with
fleshy
fluffy
fragile
free--range *
fresh
fried
frosty
frozen
fruity
full, full-bodied
furry
flown in daily *
garlic, garlicky
generous
generous portion
gingery
glazed
gluten-free *
golden
gooey
gourmet
greasy
grilled
gritty
hand-rubbed
half, halved
heaping
hearty
heart healthy *
heart smart *
homemade
honey-glazed
hot
hardboiled
heavenly
honeyed
ice-cold
icy
indulgent
infused
intense
intriguing
J
julienne
juicy
K
kosher - salt, meat, etc. *
Top
D
E
F
G
Top
H
I
jumbo
crumble, crumbly
K
kosher - salt, meat, etc. *
L
large
lavish
layered
lean
leathery
less
light / lite *
lightly-breaded
lightly salted
loaded
low *
low-calorie *
low-fat *
low sodium *
lukewarm
lemon-flavored
marinated
mashed
meaty
messy
mild
minty
mixed
mixture of
moist
mouth-watering
mushy
made from scratch *
nationally famous
natural *
non-fat *
nutmeg
nutty
nutritious *
O
oily
open-faced
organic *
P
palatable
peppery
perfection
petite
pickled
piquant
plump
poached
popular
pounded
prepared
prickly
pulpy
pungent
pur�ed
luscious
Top
M
N
Top
Q
No entries for Q
R
rancid
reduced *
refresh / refreshing
rich
ripe
roasted
salt / salty
satin, satiny
saut�ed
savory
scrumptious
sea, sea-salt
seared
seasoned
served in
served steaming
served with
sharp
silky
simmered
sizzling
slow-cooked
rubbery
S
Top
T
silky
simmered
sizzling
slow-cooked
skillfully
small
smoky, smoked
smothered
smooth
soothing
southern style
sour
special
spiced
spicy
spiral-cut
spongy
sprinkled
steamed
steamy
sticky
strawberry flavored
strong
stuffed
succulent
sugary
sugar free *
superb
sweet
sweet-and-sour
syrupy
tang / tangy
tantalizing
tart
tasteful
tasteless
tasty
tempting
tender
tepid
terrific
thick
thin
toasted
topped
tossed
traditional
tough
U
unflavored
unseasoned
V
vanilla
vanilla flavored
velvety
vinegary
W
warm
waxy
wet, wet-aged
whipped
whole
wild
wonderful
whipped-cream
topped
woody
X
No entries for X
Y
yummy
Z
zesty
zippy
Back to Top
Contacting the Teacher
Nancy Miller-Randall teaches FSA 107 Menu Planning. Students can contact her through her MCC e-mail
address [email protected].