What is the menu engineering? The term engineering is rarely used in the context of food industry. Engineering techniques and concepts can be used to attain desired results in the hospitality industry. The concept of menu engineering was developed by Kasavana & Smith (1982) which is a menu analysis methodology of evaluating and monitoring performances of individual menu item. Menu engineering involves taking a more structured approach to build and monitor food menu in restaurants. It uses two key measures to classify menu items namely: The contribution and popularity. Contribution or gross margin is the amount of money from selling the menu item. It is calculated as selling price minus direct cost of production.