Stop Adding Menu Items
Without a System

Every Item That Doesn't Pass a Gate
Costs You Money

The New Menu Item Approval Checklist · Part of the Menu Profit System™

Most restaurant operators add new dishes based on instinct — a chef's idea, a seasonal ingredient, a guest request. Some work. Many don't. And the ones that don't quietly erode your margin, complicate your kitchen, and dilute what's already performing.

This checklist gives you a structured, repeatable process to evaluate every proposed menu item before it ever reaches a guest. Five gates. Clear criteria. A verdict at each stage. No more hoping a dish performs — you'll know before it launches.

• ✓ A clear, repeatable process so every new item is evaluated the same way — regardless of who proposes it
• ✓ Financial clarity before launch — contribution margin and food cost confirmed in writing, not estimated
• ✓ Operational confidence — know your kitchen can execute the dish consistently before it hits the floor
• ✓ A multi-item tracking grid — assess up to 5 proposed items simultaneously with gate-by-gate verdicts
• ✓ A formal Final Sign-Off section — documentation that protects you when decisions are reviewed
• ✓ A tool your team can own — hand it to your GM or Head Chef as a standard operating procedure

"No new item should appear on your menu without passing through this checklist first. An item that fails two or more gates should be reworked or rejected — not launched."