Prepared Entrees Gain in Popularity

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Prepared Entree

About four of every ten meals (38%) eaten in restaurants are entrees, either Center of the Plate or Prepared Entrees according to the MenuMine Database. The distinguishing feature of Prepared Entrees is the integration of all primary ingredients (protein, carb and veggie) into a single entrée rather than an entrée with three separate components.

Center of the Plate Entrees comprise a greater share of total items (21.2%) than Prepared Entrees (17.2%), however, Prepared Entrees are growing faster than Center of the Plate Entrees and are up 1.4 menu share points since 2005. Prepared Entrees may be prepared in advance and they usually contain smaller portions of protein. As a consequence, Prepared Entrees are considerably less expensive ($8.95 on average) than Center of the Plate Entrees ($14.33). Tough economic times may spur further gains in market share for Prepared Entrees and, as the data suggest, for Appetizers also.


Menu Part	Item Share 2008	Pt. Gain vs. 2005	% Gain vs. 2005	Average Menu Price, 2008
Prepared Entrees	17.2%	1.4 pts	+8.8%	$8.95
Center of Plate	21.2%	-1.0 pts	-4.6%	$14.33
Hot Sandwiches	12.2%	+0.1 pts	+0.1%	$6.16
Appetizers	10.6%	+1.2 pts	12.7%	$8.75
Side Dishes	8.8%	+0.8 pts	-8.4%	$3.60

Source: MenuMine database of chain, independent and non-commercial menus, a service of Foodservice Research Institute

Menu Practices

Available for purchase on MarketResearch.com is MenuMine Menu Practices. Designed to advise menu developers at restaurant chains on the competitive strengths of their menu items, flavors and ingredients, menu data from restaurant chains examines key menu characteristics affecting menu item positioning. Menu item name and price data are analyzed in aggregate and individually for all chains. Menu characteristics include menu part, cuisine of item, protein type, leading items, menu prices, platforms, liquid flavor enhancers by application, dry flavor enhancers by application, new items on the menu, cooking methods by protein. An appendix details menu items and prices for each restaurant chain.

To view a sample of the MenuMine Menu Practices
Report for All Casual Independents, click the PDF icon.

Characteristics of Prepared Entrees

Prepared Entrees are suitable to advance preparation or purchasing in a fully prepared state. In the absence of a large protein portion, Prepared Entrees also lend themselves to freezing/chilling, days and weeks in advance. Prepared Entrees do not contain any chilled veggies (tomatoes, lettuce, others), because these do not hold up under cooking or chilling stresses.

Leading Prepared Entrees

Prepared Entrees that appear most frequently on restaurant menus are Chili (on 21.9% of menus), Macaroni and Cheese (19.7%) and Pasta with Meat (12.5%). Out of almost 12,000 Prepared Entrée menu items in the MenuMine database , Chili accounts for a 4.6% share of all items. Compared to 2005, Chili has retained its dominance with a share ranking at the very top. Mac and Cheese has improved its ranking (going from 3 to 2) as has Pasta with Meat (12 to 11) and Spaghetti (4 to 8).


Item Type	Category Incidence	Menu Item Share	Share Rank 2008	Share Rank 2003
Chili	21.9%	4.6%	1	1
Macaroni and Cheese	19.7%	4.5%	2	3
Pasta w/ Meat	12.5%	1.5%	11	12
Spaghetti	11.8%	2.1%	8	4
Burrito w/ Chicken	9.7%	2.7%	3	2
Chicken Parmesan	9.5%	2.4%	5	7
Fajita w/ Chicken	9.0%	1.7%	10	5
Spaghetti w/ Meatballs	8.3%	2.2%	7	8
Meat Lasagna	7.9%	1.8%	9	6
Fettuccine Alfredo	7.3%	2.5%	4	9
Burrito w/ Beef	6.5%	2.3%	6	11
Shrimp Scampi	6.3%	1.1%	15	16
Enchilada w/ Beef	5.2%	1.4%	12	10
Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce	4.5%	1.2%	14	13
Enchilada w/ Chicken	4.4%	1.3%	13	14
Number of Prepared Entrees:	11,970

Source: MenuMine database of chain, independent and non-commercial menus, a service of Foodservice Research Institute

New Items Added to Menus in 2008

More than 700 new items added to menus in 2008 are prepared entrees. Some of the more interesting ones are shown below.


Chain Name	Menu Item Name	Market Segment
Captain D's	Savory Shrimp Scampi Pasta Bowl	QSR Chain - Seafood
Jerry's Famous Deli	Chicken In The Pot	QSR Chain - Sandwich/Bakery
Koo Koo Roo	Chicken Pot Pie w/ Two Sides	Fast Casual Chain - Chicken
Jasons Deli	Chicken Alfredo	Fast Casual Chain - Sandwich
Pick Up Stix	Pad Thai w/ Shrimp	Fast Casual Chain - Asian
Greens Restaurant	Artichoke Gratin	Cut Edge Indep. - Vegetaritan
Hilltop Steak House	Shrimp Scampi	Cut Edge Indep. - Steakhouse
El Pollo Inka	Arroz con Frijoles	Cut Edge Indep. - Latin
Negril	Curry Goat Stew	Cut Edge Indep. - Latin
Left At Albuquerque	Carnitas Bowl	Casual Chain- Theme/Bar
Brio Tuscan Grille	Lobster Rissoto	Casual Chain- Italian D.H.
Sammys Woodfired Pizza	Szechuan Spicy Beef Noodle	Casual Chain- Theme/Bar
Ruby Tuesday	Gourmet Chicken Pot Pie	Casual Chain- Theme/Bar
Office Beer Bar & Grill	Shepherds Pie	Casual Chain- Theme/Bar
Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant	Mixed Seafood Farfalle	Casual Chain- Theme/Bar
Fatz Cafe	Four Bean Vegetarian Chili	Casual Chain- Theme/Bar
Weathervane Seafood	Single Lobster Pie	Casual Chain- Seafood D.H.
Scotts Seafood Grill & Bar	Lobster Risotto	Casual Chain- Seafood D.H.
Papa Razzi	Linguine Alle Vongole	Casual Chain- Italian D.H.

Source: MenuMine database of chain, independent and non-commercial menus, a service of Foodservice Research Institute

Growth Opportunities Abound

Contact Foodservice Research Institute for further information on Prepared Entrees. Segmentation and positioning of the category are very important. MenuMine stands ready to provide you with a thorough examination of options by cuisine of item, protein type, flavor enhancer type, carb platform and veggie varieties.

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