Menu Item Master and Menu Item Definitions

A menu item master record is a property-level menu item record. This record resides at the top of the menu item hierarchy, and its primary purpose is to appear in reports. A menu item master:

• Does not appear on workstation touchscreens

• Does not have a price

A menu item can have only one menu item master per property (for example, one Shrimp Cocktail master record exists).

A menu item definition record is a revenue center-level menu item record. Menu item definitions determine how menu item master records act, how and when they appear to a workstation operator, including:

• Screen look up (SLU) on which the menu item appears

• Menu item class to which it belongs

• Menu levels where the item is active

• Name of the item that appears on touchscreens

Menu item definitions are the records that customers can order. Menu item definitions appear on touchscreens and print on order chits, guest checks, and customer receipts. A menu item can have up to 64 menu item definitions in a revenue center for a single menu item master. The following figure shows the relationship between the menu item master and menu item definitions.

When customers order menu items (configured as menu item definitions), the sale count of the menu item master increases. This is the purpose of the menu item master record. Only one instance of the item needs to exist in a property, but multiple menu item definitions allow this master record to behave differently.