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Build a seasonal menu around what suppliers have now
Get fresh dish ideas that use what's in season and on your suppliers' lists, balanced across the menu and your kitchen's skills.
When to use it
At each change of season or menu
Step by step
Collect supplier availability
Copy this month's availability lists or emails from your veg, meat and fish suppliers, and note your best sellers and kitchen limits (stations, staff, equipment).
Ask for menu ideas
Paste everything into your AI assistant with this prompt.
Prompt to copyI run the kitchen at a [style, e.g. 60-cover modern British bistro]. Supplier availability this month: [paste]. Best sellers to keep: [list]. Kitchen limits: [e.g. 3 chefs, no deep fryer, small pastry section]. Target food cost: [30]%. Suggest a menu of [5] starters, [6] mains and [4] desserts that uses seasonal produce, shares components across dishes to reduce waste, and balances meat, fish and vegetarian or vegan options. For each dish: name, short menu description, key components, which station makes it, and the prep that can be done ahead. Flag any dish likely to run above the target food cost.Talk it through with your team
Share the ideas with your sous chef and front-of-house lead, pick the ones that fit and test them in a tasting session.
Write the final menu
Ask the AI to tighten the menu descriptions for the dishes you chose, then paste them into your menu document.
What you get
Starter: Charred hispi cabbage, miso butter, crispy shallots (shares shallots with the steak main). Main: Hake, mussels, leeks and cider sauce (fish station, sauce made ahead). Dessert: Forced rhubarb, ginger custard, oat crumble.
Tips
- Ask for ideas that share prep components; it's one of the easiest ways to cut waste and keep the pass running smoothly.