Creating a Menu Item, Step by Step

FoodyAdminLast updated: Thu Apr 16

Before You Start

A menu item lives inside a category (Salads, Burgers, Drinks, etc.). If no category exists yet, create one first from Menu → Categories. See Categories and Items for the full explanation.

You also want your stock items added in Kitchen → Stock if you plan to track food cost. That's not required to save the item; it just means the cost tab will be empty until you wire up ingredients.

Open the Create Item Form

In FoodyAdmin:

  1. Go to Menu → Items.
  2. Click New in the top right.

Items list with the New button

The Create Item modal opens with three tabs: Détails, Recette, Coût. You'll fill Détails first, save, then come back for Recette (cost) if you want to track food cost.

Step 1. Image

Drag an image into the dropzone or click to upload. You can also paste a URL.

Image dropzone

Tips:

  • Square or 4:3 images look best across POS / web / kiosk.
  • Aim for 600–1200 px on the long edge.
  • JPG or PNG, under ~500 KB.

If you skip the image now, customers on the web app see a placeholder. You can add it later.

Step 2. Name

The name your customers see. Required.

Details tab with name, category, price

Tips:

  • Keep it under ~40 characters so it doesn't wrap on the POS screen.
  • Avoid internal codes like BRG-01. Customers see this.

Step 3. Description

Optional. Shown on the web app item page and on POS when staff tap the item. Not printed on receipts.

Use it to list what's inside ("Beef, lettuce, tomato, house sauce, brioche bun"), highlight allergens, or tell a short story.

Step 4. Category

Pick one of your existing categories from the dropdown.

Category dropdown

Why this matters:

  • Reporting groups sales by category.
  • Kitchen routing sends tickets to the right station (grill, bar, pastry) based on category settings.
  • Printer assignment uses the category, not the item.

Categories are internal. What customers see is the menu group the item is in. That's a separate concept covered in Categories and Items.

Step 5. Price

The base price the customer pays. Enter in your restaurant currency (₪, €, $…).

  • If your restaurant has variants (Small / Large), this base price is overridden per variant. See Variants & Sizes.
  • Whether the price is tax-inclusive or exclusive is a restaurant-level setting (VAT rate in Settings → Taxes). The number you type here follows that rule.

Step 6. Active Toggle

Controls whether the item is visible on POS / web. Leave it on unless:

  • Seasonal item off the menu for now.
  • You're migrating from another tool and want to stage items before publishing.

Prefer toggling Active off over deleting. Deleting is permanent; toggling keeps analytics history intact.

Step 7. Variants

Variants are sizes, flavors, or choices sold at distinct prices (e.g. Small / Large; Classic / Spicy). Full walkthrough: Variants & Sizes.

You can save the item now and add variants later. Nothing forces the variants to exist at create time.

Variants section with Add button

Step 8. Modifiers

Modifiers are customer-selectable add-ons or changes ("Extra cheese +₪5", "No onions"). Full walkthrough: Setting Up Modifiers.

Like variants, they can be added after the item is saved.

Step 9. Save, Then Open Recette

Click Enregistrer. The item lands in the list.

Items list after save

Click the item to re-open it, then switch to the Recette tab. This is where you connect ingredients (stock + prep) and see the real food cost of the dish.

Recette tab with ingredients

Each ingredient row picks a scope (Match item size / Fixed quantity / Custom per variant). Full explanation: How to Configure Ingredients & Portions.

The Coût tab shows you:

  • Food cost per variant
  • Food cost percentage vs. price
  • Gross margin
  • A breakdown popup when you click any prep ingredient

Step 10. Verify on POS and Web

Being in a category is not enough to make the item show up for customers. The item also has to be attached to a menu group:

  1. Go to Menu → Menus, open a menu (e.g. "Lunch").
  2. Open a group (or create one), click "Add items", pick your new item.
  3. Save.

The item now appears on the POS grid and on the web QR menu for that restaurant and location.

See Categories and Items for the full menu / group / category distinction.

Troubleshooting

SymptomFix
Item not visible on POSNot attached to a menu group; or group's channel setting has pos_enabled off.
Item not on web QR menuGroup's web_enabled off; or group hidden; or menu's availability hours exclude the current time.
Price shows wrong taxCheck Settings → Taxes VAT rate + whether prices are inc/ex VAT.
Image blurryRe-upload a higher-resolution source (600–1200 px long edge).
Variant portion missingOpen the Variants editor, fill the Portion field per row. Needed for recipe cost to compute.

What Next