Manage menu lines

This guide shows how to manage the menu lines (the "swimlanes") of a menu plan: add, switch and remove dietary forms (e.g. vegetarian, halal) and consistency levels (e.g. minced food).

Menu lines are edited by kitchen users (roles Kitchen Admin, Kitchen Team or Kitchen Management) directly in the menu plan under Kitchen → Menu plan.

Overview: menu lines in the weekly planner

Menu lines are the rows of the weekly matrix. Each menu line represents one dietary form. Available are:

Group Menu lines

Dietary forms

Regular, Vegetarian, Vegan, Pork-free, Halal

Consistency levels

Soft food, Pureed food, Minced food

Regular is always present. You add further menu lines as needed. Which recipes fit into a menu line follows from their label (see Create recipes).

Open the menu plan

How to: Open Kitchen → Menu plan and select the desired week.

Result: The weekly matrix appears with the active menu lines as rows and the weekdays as columns. At least the Regular row is visible.

Weekly planner with menu lines as rows
Figure 1. Menu lines are the rows of the weekly matrix

Add a menu line

How to: Below the menu lines, open the "+ Menu line…" selector and choose the desired dietary form or consistency level.

Result: A new row appears in the matrix for the chosen dietary form. Only dietary forms not yet in use are offered in the selector.

Switch a menu line

How to: Tap the menu-line name (row header) or hover over it with the mouse. Via the action "Switch menu line" (pencil icon ✎) in the "Switch to…" field, choose another dietary form that is still free.

Result: The menu line is switched to the new dietary form; dishes already scheduled in the row are switched along with it.

Delete a menu line

How to: At the menu-line name, choose the action "Delete menu line" (✕). If the menu line contains dishes, a confirmation appears stating the number of affected dishes, which you must confirm.

Result: The menu line (and its dishes) are removed from the plan. An empty menu line disappears immediately without a prompt.

Menu lines cover two cases: dietary forms (vegetarian, vegan, halal, pork-free) and consistency levels for senior facilities (soft, pureed, minced). Only create the menu lines your facilities actually need.

Why it works this way

Menu lines are more than sorting. Each line is a promise to a group of people — vegetarian, halal, pureed. Whoever runs a line must be able to fill it on every delivery day.

Hence the coverage check. It reports when a diet type or an allergen is not covered on a given day. The most expensive mistake in a menu plan is not a missing dessert but a child with an allergy for whom nothing is planned that day. The check finds exactly that — before the plan is published.