On the Menu: The World’s Favourite Piece of Paper by Nicholas Lander

I love menus as much as I love cookbooks. Chefs and restaurateurs put into words both the feeling of the place they serve, and what they are actually serving. On the Menu by Nicholas Lander goes into all the things I love about menus.

Reading this book now as opposed to a year ago gave me a different perspective with the Covid-19 pandemic decimating much of the restaurant world as we know it. Flipping through these pages brings more nostalgia than would otherwise hit me as great restaurants have shuttered their doors across the U.S. Having said that, this book really brings the joy of reading the written menu and I loved the author’s interviews with different chefs on what inspires them in the kitchen.

There are 11 chapters in the book, and each chapter goes into a different facet of menu planning: The Menu as Travel; The Origins of the Menu; Planning the Menu; The Ever-Expanding Menu; Designing the Menu; The Menu as Fundraiser; Protecting the Menu; The Wine List; The Menu Briefing at Babbo, New York; The Menus as Memento; and The Menu as Edible Art.

I learned the most in Protecting the Menu chapter, and why menu creation is a paradox, according to Lander. Creativity is often unique in each restaurant and is almost impossible to protect, and when trying to protect that creativity it goes against the spirit of openness in a restaurant. He writes in this chapter under the headings “Protecting an Individual Dish” and “Protecting the Other Ingredients of a Successful Restaurant” that some restaurants go to lengths to try to protect signature dishes, although it is impossible even with just a list of basic ingredients with no describing words at all of how the dish is prepared. My favorite chapter was The Menu as Edible Art, with it’s showcase of late 19th century menus, mid century modern, to the simplicity of the 1990s.

A great book about the actual make up of the words on paper that greets guests when they enter a restaurant. And what makes people even stop by to eat there in the first place.

Notes: Fun book solely dedicated to the paper menu. No recipes here, just menus.

Book Info:

• (Amazon) On the Menu: The World’s Favourite Piece of Paper by Nicholas Lander
• Unbound; 2021.
• ISBN-13: 978-1783529407
• Paperback, hardcover, and ebook. 304 pages.