The Benefits of Adding a “Café Gourmand” to Your Restaurant’s Menu
You can’t have your cake and eat it too—unless you’re in France! When it comes to desserts, the French have found a clever solution. As true food lovers, they’ve decided not to choose between the many delectable sweets available but to keep their options open.
Why choose from a variety of delicious desserts when you can enjoy them all?
Imagine ending your lunch or dinner with a perfect pairing: a nice cup of coffee accompanied by a selection of mini desserts. A true delight for the taste buds!
That’s exactly what the French “Café Gourmand” offers.
This popular dessert option is well-known throughout France, from Parisian bistros to the finest restaurants.
A café gourmand is the perfect way to satisfy your customers’ cravings while optimizing resources and encouraging them to order more next time.
Let me guide you through what a café gourmand truly is, how to implement it in your restaurant, and the benefits it brings for both you and your guests.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
What is a Café Gourmand?
The café gourmand was born from a desire for both convenience and indulgence. It’s quite common for the French to finish a meal with something sweet.
Rather than choosing just one dessert, customers sometimes want to sample several, especially when they can’t decide on a single option. This led to the idea of offering coffee paired with a selection of miniature desserts, allowing guests to experience a variety of flavors without committing to one large dessert.
The café gourmand captures the essence of French dining: a love for variety, a focus on quality, and the pleasure of combining different flavors in one experience. It also reflects the French appreciation for moderation—indulging in small, controlled portions, a concept still highly valued today amid diet culture trends.
Since its inception, the idea behind the café gourmand has remained the same: a cup of coffee (or tea, which would be called a thé gourmand) served with a selection of small desserts, typically three to five different options. These desserts could be mini versions of larger offerings or entirely different choices. The key is that the composition is not fixed; the selection changes daily and is presented to customers by the wait staff.
So, what are the benefits of adding the café gourmand to your menu? Beyond enhancing your guests’ experience, the café gourmand can be a great way to increase revenue and minimize food waste.
Here are the benefits of offering a café gourmand to your guests:
What is a Café Gourmand?
The café gourmand was born from a desire for both convenience and indulgence. It’s quite common for the French to finish a meal with something sweet.
Rather than choosing just one dessert, customers sometimes want to sample several, especially when they can’t decide on a single option. This led to the idea of offering coffee paired with a selection of miniature desserts, allowing guests to experience a variety of flavors without committing to one large dessert.
The café gourmand captures the essence of French dining: a love for variety, a focus on quality, and the pleasure of combining different flavors in one experience. It also reflects the French appreciation for moderation—indulging in small, controlled portions, a concept still highly valued today amid diet culture trends.
Since its inception, the idea behind the café gourmand has remained the same: a cup of coffee (or tea, which would be called a thé gourmand) served with a selection of small desserts, typically three to five different options. These desserts could be mini versions of larger offerings or entirely different choices. The key is that the composition is not fixed; the selection changes daily and is presented to customers by the wait staff.
So, what are the benefits of adding the café gourmand to your menu? Beyond enhancing your guests’ experience, the café gourmand can be a great way to increase revenue and minimize food waste.
Here are the benefits of offering a café gourmand to your guests:
Benefits of Adding a Café Gourmand to Your Menu
Enhances the Guest Experience
Offering your guests the chance not to choose is the best thing you can do.
Many people struggle with decision-making, from the significant choices in life to the small ones like picking a dessert. Giving them the option to avoid choosing among your delightful desserts can be a real relief!
They get to try different flavors and textures in a single order, satisfying all their cravings in mini versions—creating a memorable way to end a fantastic dining experience.
Plus, you introduce them to a completely new concept. While café gourmand is popular in France, it isn’t well-known globally. Offering this elegant French experience brings both curiosity and exclusivity, encouraging guests to try something new.
Minimizes Food Waste
As a manager of any food establishment, optimizing resources and minimizing food waste is essential for maintaining your environmental standards and saving money.
Any solution that reduces food waste is worth considering. The café gourmand uses smaller portions of available desserts. These can be fresh desserts made specifically for this offer or leftovers from other items on your menu.
For instance, smaller portions of desserts that might otherwise go to waste can be used here. Leftovers from breakfast, such as small cakes or fruit salads, or sweets from afternoon tea, can also find a place on the café gourmand plate.
Do you see how useful this could be?
Versatility and Creativity
Beyond using leftovers, the café gourmand also allows your chefs to unleash their creativity.
They can create a specific seasonal café gourmand offering using available ingredients. It’s also an excellent way to “test” a new recipe. Letting guests sample a smaller version and provide feedback helps you decide if a dessert deserves a permanent spot on the menu.
Because the café gourmand is ever-changing, it offers a daily creative outlet for your team to experiment and innovate.
Since we both know how important the financial aspect is for any business, let’s delve deeper into that
Financial Benefits of Adopting a Café Gourmand
While satisfying your guests is crucial, you’re also in business to make money. You’ll be pleased to know that a café gourmand is often priced higher than other desserts on the menu.
Desserts already offer good margins, so having one that can be priced higher while utilizing leftovers is a win-win.
The higher price is justified by the combination of coffee and multiple desserts (usually three to five selections).
Your customers will feel delighted with this fantastic dessert selection, and you’ll be happy with the increased revenue.
It’s a win-win!
Since food waste can represent 4 to 10% of your total food costs, turning this potential loss into revenue can make a significant difference. You’re not just using available ingredients to create new dishes; you’re also selling items that need to be sold quickly.
Good preservation and selling techniques are vital to using this new offer correctly and truly minimizing waste.
Beyond optimizing internal operations, the café gourmand can encourage guests to spend a little more. Its higher price than a simple coffee or dessert increases the average check size, representing a great cross-selling opportunity if your servers are well-trained.
Guests who only wanted coffee because they feared a dessert would be too much might be enticed by this new offer combining small dessert options with the coffee they initially wanted.
By combining coffee and dessert at a slightly lower price than ordering both items separately, you smartly play on cost versus value perception. Not to mention that they are getting not just one, but a selection of desserts.
Simply put, you’re offering a great deal—so why would your guests say no?
Highlighting this unique offering will differentiate your establishment. You’ll introduce customers to new products that they may be more inclined to order in full-size portions next time. This encourages repeat visits, fostering customer loyalty, which, in turn, positively impacts long-term revenue.
Now that we’ve clearly defined the financial benefits of offering a café gourmand for your guests, let’s see how to maximize profitability.
Yes, we need to be strategic here.
How to Maximize Profitability
While the café gourmand is already a great way to boost revenue, there are additional steps you can take to maximize profits.
First, consider the pricing of this offering. Every establishment is unique, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all price. However, keep in mind the purpose of this dish—providing value for your guests while ensuring profitability.
Remember that it can justifiably be priced higher than a single dessert since it includes several small portions and a coffee. However, it should also feel like a good deal to your guests.
Think about the type of experience you want to create. Answering this will help you determine the best price point.
Lastly, portion control is crucial. While crafting your café gourmand, you want to provide an excellent experience without over-serving, which could lead to extra food waste and reduced profit margins.
Now that you should be convinced that the café gourmand is a brilliant idea, let’s discuss how to build your offer and start implementing it in your establishment.
How to Implement a Café Gourmand
Implementing the café gourmand in your establishment is simple—just start!
Begin by organizing a meeting with your team to explain the new concept, gather their feedback, and collaborate on ideas. It’s important that they understand the concept thoroughly to sell it effectively. A presentation of the final product you envision is a great idea.
Once your team has all the information, encourage them to start selling this new dessert today! There’s no need to overhaul your entire menu or complicate the process. Introduce it as a new or special offer of the day and have the servers present it verbally to guests.
This approach allows you to gauge guest reception to the concept before making permanent menu changes or adjustments.
Example Café Gourmand Ideas
As mentioned earlier, a café gourmand can simply be smaller portions of your existing desserts. However, to offer an exceptional guest experience, you shouldn’t just rely on leftovers when creating the plate.
Consider balancing flavors.
Think about how the different dessert options complement each other to create a cohesive experience. For example, you wouldn’t want to serve three chocolate-based options; variety is key to offering a well-rounded view of your dessert menu.
Think about seasonality.
Consider colors, textures, and visual appeal. Balance is essential for a satisfying experience.
Example Café Gourmand Ideas
As mentioned earlier, a café gourmand can simply be smaller portions of your existing desserts. However, to offer an exceptional guest experience, you shouldn’t just rely on leftovers when creating the plate.
Consider balancing flavors.
Think about how the different dessert options complement each other to create a cohesive experience. For example, you wouldn’t want to serve three chocolate-based options; variety is key to offering a well-rounded view of your dessert menu.
Think about seasonality.
Consider colors, textures, and visual appeal. Balance is essential for a satisfying experience.
If you’re looking to build a unique café gourmand offer, here are some suggestions that perfectly align with the concept:
- Choose French Classics: A rich chocolate mousse or a crème brûlée can easily be adapted into smaller portions and are always a hit with customers.
- Think Small Cakes: Options like madeleines, financiers, cookies, shortbread, or macarons can also double as breakfast items or welcome gifts in guests’ rooms.
- Opt for Versatile Recipes: Choose recipes that are easy to preserve and don’t require much extra work for your team.
- Offer Customization: Present a list of mini desserts available for the day (based on what you have) and let guests choose 3 to 5 options. You add even more value by allowing them to customize their experience.
- Consider a Shareable Version: Many people love sharing and enjoying experiences together. Offer a Café Gourmand for Two that includes two coffees and slightly larger portions of desserts.
Anything is possible—just tap into creativity and brainstorm ideas with your team and customers to perfect this new dessert offering.
Why Your Guests Will Love It
If you still have doubts: yes, your guests will love it!
You’re offering them a unique experience they’ll be excited to discover—bringing a touch of French elegance to their dining experience while they travel through one of the best culinary traditions in the world.
It’s a double win for them!
Guests will also appreciate the beautiful visual aspect of the café gourmand, making it highly shareable on social media—a perfect opportunity for you to gain more visibility through their networks!
Finally, this experience is the perfect way to end a meal, combining the satisfaction of dessert (in small portions) with the pick-me-up of coffee.
Why choose when you can have it all?
I hope you enjoyed discovering the French Café Gourmand and its benefits for your establishment and your guests’ experience.
I would love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment or contact me to discuss. And, as always, I remain available if you have any questions.
