It may be gazpacho soup without red pepper or a smaller steak on the plate. The differences may not even be discernible to diners at restaurants and pubs across the country.

But “menu-engineering” is the new buzzword in kitchens as restaurateurs and chefs fight the credit crunch. They are using their culinary skills to keep prices down and reservations up.

Those who have survived previous economic downturns know that the secret is to cushion customers from higher food bills without compromising food quality.

Diners should therefore expect to see more potato dishes and less rice on the menu. The salad garnish on a plate may disappear or be downgraded – iceberg instead of lollo rosso, and standard tomato instead of cherry tomatoes on the vine. Portions may be smaller.

As customers trade down, so lobster, fillet steak and chateaubriand may disappear from some menus.

These subtle changes allow proprietors to maintain their margins and stay in business.

They will also be important to the UK economy. The hospitality industry is worth £75 billion and supports almost two million jobs.

John Lederer, managing director of Brasserie Blanc, the chain headed by Michelin-starred chef Raymond Blanc, freely admits that he is keeping a close eye on prices.

He said: “The chefs are working harder and are looking closely at ingredients. We were doing a gazpacho recently and I noticed the cost of red peppers had shot up. So the chefs have come up with a bloody mary-style chilled soup with more tomato and no red pepper. The sweetness from the peppers is recreated by slower cooking of tomatoes.

“Shallots went up 400 per cent about three weeks ago so I have asked them to find an alternative. Our Scotch beef is up dramatically but we are still doing fillet steak, though we will make less money out of it.”

Duncan Ackery, chief executive of Searcy, which runs restaurants at the Tate galleries, Barbican, Royal Opera House, Bath Pump Rooms and Gherkin, admits that his business is already cutting meal sizes.

“Fish has gone up 35 per cent and meat nearly as much, and the price of 1kg of rice is £5.50, which is astonishing. Fruit and veg is up 20 per cent at least. So we’re looking at tougher portion control and less waste.”

His answer is to find cheaper cuts of meat and reduce the size of the most expensive part of a meal.

He said: “We are looking at dishes with a high-value protein element being slightly reduced. And slower-cooked food, shared food is in fashion. For instance, braised shin of lamb to share between a group of four. We can then use shoulder of lamb, which is cheap, while leg and loin is expensive.”

Jamie Barber, who runs the fashionable Villandry and Hush restaurants in Central London, is also looking for savings without sacrificing quality.

But some items are too costly for the menu. He has removed chateaubriand and replaced fillet steak with rib-eye. Lobster is off the daily menu and served as a midweek special.

Higher margins can be achieved from popular lower-priced dishes such as spaghettini au pistou, a pasta dish with broccoli, rocket and pesto dressing, and gratin of macaroni cheese.

Mr Barber said: “The trick is to buy in the raw material in advance and place orders four to six months in advance.”

Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, believes that the industry is well placed to weather economic difficulties.

“In the early 1980s and early 1990s people stopped going to hotels and restaurants but today they’ve got the habit of eating out and I think they will continue to do so. They will just be more careful.”

The lighter bite

Out
Big portions
Fillet steak
Rice
Lobster
Gazpacho with red pepper
Champagne
Fine wine
Salad garnish on plate
Exotic vegetables

In
Smaller portions
Slow-cooked meat casseroles
Meat pies
Potatoes
Tuna
Chicken
Seasonal vegetables
Chilled spiced tomato soup
Sparkling wine
House wine

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