Table of Contents I. Introduction | ----------- | Pg. 2 | I.1). Name of Restaurant Chosen | ----------- | Pg. 2 | I.2). The Place we were visited | ----------- | Pg. 2 | I.3). Background of Secret Recipe | ----------- | Pg. 2 | II. Menu format use in the restaurant | ----------- | Pg. 4 | III. Factors affect menu pricing in restaurant and ways to reduce food cost | ----------- | Pg. 5 | IV. Management Component | ----------- | Pg. 6 | V. Conclusion | ----------- | Pg. 8 | VI. Referencing | ----------- | Pg. 10 | Included Originality Report | | | Included Presentation Slides | | |

I Introduction 1) Name of Restaurant Chosen: Secret Recipe Cakes & Café SD Bhd. 2) The Place we were visited: Secret Recipe Song Plaza 3) Background of Secret Recipe a) Secret Recipe had been established for 11 years. Start from 1997 until today, secret recipe had success and expanded about 200 outlets in Malaysia. A Malaysian, Dato Steven Sim, founded secret Recipe at 1997. It is a simple restaurant and is the only one outlet at Malaysia. The founder used the only outlet as the pilot operation to test how Malaysian peoples can accept the restaurant that are more focus on several flavors of cake. In a while, Secret Recipe started to become famous since 2000 and the founder start to franchise it with his friend. At 2001, the franchise model is workable and the franchisor opened the business option for all the franchisees that have potential to run the business. b) The Secret Recipe had been expanded to neighbor countries in a short time. To date, the business is already more than 150 outlets throughout the entire region. The franchisor started to standardize the method of operation, which is the design and the promotions. To make sure all the outlets have a standard product and a fair price among all the business. The franchisor also used the IBM solution which is a software in United State that to help the company or the business to solve problem and the Point of Sales (POS) application to track the sales. Training will be offered to new franchisee and the new employee to make sure they manage to run the business. c) Secret Recipe also had established in prime urban locations and shopping malls in major cities of Cambodia, Thailand, Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines and Pakistan. In Malaysian, Secret Recipe had been rewarded a Halal certification by Department of Islamic Development Malaysia. The sales range of the Secret Recipe was become more bigger and famous because it not only non muslim can go to the restaurant but for muslim they also can go and enjoy the food, many types of delicious cake and ice cream as well. d) Started 2003, Secret Recipe start getting award from many different competition and from another aspect as well. One of it is most competition company award, Malaysian book of records, super brand of Malaysian(2003-2004) and the restaurant continues to achieve more reward and build the reputation a bit by a bit. From the beginning, Secret Recipe only sold the cake, after a day by a day, they started to created many types of cake. Example as cheesecake and fiber cake and so on. Different flavor of cake had attracted so many customer to come and taste it. Then, because of the cake had been like by the people of Malaysian, the Secret Recipe is starting famous in Malaysian. The outlet had became many and many, and then the Secret Recipe restaurant had expanded the outlets all around the state of Malaysian. e) Secret Recipe also started to provide many types of food and beverages. All the food that provide is halal, after that, more and more people is coming to the Secret Recipe. The restaurant had became a food and cake restaurant. Still, the cake is the mainly menu of they. The Secret Recipe start from zero to billion of outlets. It is an amazing and delicious cake restaurant. Secret Recipe restaurant offers personalised and friendly full service for customer in order to let customer have better and comfortable dining experience, and enjoy the good food and precious time with family and friends together.

II Menu format use in the restaurant 4) One of the Menu format used by Secret Recipe are static menu, this is to make the customer easy to choose because this menu separate the food choices in groups, example like Beverages, Starter or side order, Asian Classic, Western, Pasta, Vegetarian, Pizza and Pies, Kid’s club and cakes. This is the common used menu. 5) Second, Secret Recipe is also using Standard Menu. For this menu format, the menu items are fixed. Mostly, standard menu are stay the same. However, this menu format they may also regularly delete the menu item or add a new menu item. 6) Third, Secret Recipe are using A La Carte menu. These menus are based on what the customer order. The main dish and side dish are different price so both are pay separately. 7) Fourth, Prix-fixe menu are also used by Secret Recipe to make promotion. Prix- fixe menu or called as table d'hôte. These menus usually offer some meal set with Ice Lemon Tea and soft drinks with fixed price. Most of this menu items are valuable. It also make easier for customer to choose compare to order different foods and drinks in menu with different price. The price of normal menu item will be more expensive than prix-fixe menu item.

III Factors affect menu pricing in restaurant and ways to reduce food cost 8) The factors that affect the menu pricing are because of the Local competition. There are many same type of restaurant around in this city such as OldTown White Coffee, KFC, McDonalds, and Sugar Bun as Family restaurant; moreover there are coffee shop serve with cakes as like café. Therefore, this restaurant has a lot of compatible restaurant around. 9) Second factor are Guest type. It is presented itself, as a café style of restaurant serves their special cake and coffee at the beginning of business, and it is became family style restaurant now. It has no limitation of age group, and special range of guest. Therefore, it can serves more various kinds of food for customer’s satisfaction. 10) Third factor are Sales mix. It is managed to serve food to customer combining online and restaurant, and offers delivery food to door-to-door by online free in some place. This is more convenient for the customer. 11) Fourth factor are Ambience. It is located in busy commercial business complex with many different shops and restaurants in town. The interior is cozy, clean, comfortable furniture and have distinguished design to match with company identity and display the cake well in the shop. 12) Fifth factor are Portion size. The portion of size is appropriate amount but the price is slightly expensive compared with other restaurant. 13) For the ways of reduce food cost, these branch restaurants are controlled by main outlet for management system and ingredients for food in its menu. Therefore, it is not able to control or reduce food cost easily as individual branch. But still, this restaurant have many kinds of promotion that are cheaper than the usual menu items such as the various menus for family and kids, the weekend menu for family and the promotion menu or circular menu for special period or date, like New Year, Valentine day, Christmas, and Full Moon Festival.

IV Management Component 14) In order to open a Secret Recipe, there are two major steps in their franchising procedures. The first major step will be known as the pre-opening of franchise. The interested franchisee will have to submit their application form, which is, included their complete personal profile, educational history and working experience. Then, the franchisor will check and review for the potential. If the location and market of the selected area like such as in Kuching is not suitable to open, then the application will be declined. If the application is accepted, both parties will have a meeting on the terms and condition and for signing the contract. Lastly will be visiting the on-site location and is the final step for the first major step. 15) The second major step is the opening. The franchisee will have to go through a franchise orientation for preparation of the grand opening. The franchisee will be teach and inform on the operation method and procedures and will be inform on what responsibilities that the franchisee has in the outlet. After orientation is complete, they will proceed on the next step, which is the renovation, and design on the outlet. In the meantime hiring for new staffs will also be taken place. While the renovation of the new outlet begins, the hired staffs will undergo training off-site by the franchisor HR. Once the outlet and hired staffs are ready, tool and machine will be brought into the outlet. Finally will be the advertisement on local paper or magazine about the new outlet opening. 16) All outlet of Secret Recipe follows a standardized design. The color red is their theme color and this will make all the outlets feel the same. Most of others outlet will have a slight different design to make sure that the space utilized correctly. Dining space and kitchen will have 40% of space occupied and the rest will be the food and payment counter. 17) To make sure that the quality and taste of their core product, which is their cake, especially for their special cake like mango and durian cake, are always up to standard. The cakes are mainly produce at a main outlet or a factory and then it is distributed to all outlets to ensure that the quality and taste of the cake product are the same. 18) On the other hand, the staffs that are recruited are needed to undergo training off-site and mostly only 10 staff per batch for training. These staff will be trained on what they should do on a daily basic while working at the outlet. 19) Secret Recipe main motive is to sell good product, provide good service and to have a reasonable price for the things that they have to offer. The product that are sold are always under standard procedure to maintain the standard quality to all the outlet and staffs that trained off-site have to teach other staffs on how to handle customer. Customers are not force to buy the whole cake and they are able to buy single slice of cake, which make it flexible for them and for the amount of price.

V Conclusion 20) Even though Secret Recipe is famous for the cakes and services, it is no doubt that they will also receive complains from various customer and guest. There are three or more Secret Recipe outlet at Sarawak and two or more outlet of Secret Recipe at Sabah. Most of the West Malaysia customer complain that the cakes that they buy at West Malaysia and the cakes that they had tried at East Malaysia does not taste the same. This is because due to their franchise method of having factories base supplies to their entire outlet. Because the Sarawak and Sabah are receiving their cakes from Johor Bahru factory, which is at West Malaysia. So, the Sarawak and Sabah’s Secret Recipe cakes had been kept in the chiller or freezer for much more longer time, which make the taste and quality of the cakes to be slightly different from the fresh one that other Secret Recipe outlet receive at West Malaysia. Thus, making customer complain about the quality of their products. 21) It is true that the product that is produce by factory base supplies method will have the same quality that is kept constant. However, it will be hard and complicated for the outlets, which are at far places like Sarawak and Sabah because they cannot always rely on Johor Bahru to produce the cakes for them because the quality might slightly drop during deliveries. To reduce the risk of drop in quality or delay in delivering, franchisor have to open up a few new factories at far places to surpass this problem. Yet this will be a not direct disadvantage to their market and profit because the more factory that they have to open, the more investment will be pour into it and more profit will be lost due to it. Thus, limit the investment on the other importance such as other department that should be invest more like development and research. 22) Secret Recipe’s staff are usually trained during an opening of a new outlet. However, if a staff have to leave this organization in any other outlet, the franchisor will normally rush to hired new staff and give them simple training. Thus, the new staff will have more error on doing their job because of lack of experience and there in no constant work that can be found in their services. This is also because that Secret Recipe does not have any training course to provide a constant training which lead to all those inconsistent staff training. 23) Although Secret Recipe has many of their cons and pros, it is confirm that it has established good enough in their special market. Their operation that has been conducted had already bear and consistent promise in profit and growth. Secret Recipe invest mostly on their development and research and their product so that they can localized more of their product to the local standards when they are trying to expend it globally. Therefore, normally there will a market research made before opening a new outlet and this will help them to prevent any unwanted mistake when expending their business. In addition, Secret Recipe will not open their outlet near each other because they do not wish for other outlet to compete with another outlet. Because of their success planning, Secret Recipe had been growing well enough in their business in both globally and locally. Thus, making their outlet to expend until globally with over 150 outlets.

VI Referencing 24) Secret Recipe Menu, By Secret Recipe. [Online] Available at: < http://www.secretrecipe.com.my/menu-selection/page-1651.html>
[Accessed at 3 November 2015] 25) Secret Recipe (Restaurant). [Online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Recipe_(restaurant)>
[Accessed at 31 October 2015] 26) Different types of menu planning, by Mary Kate. [Online] Available at <http://www.answers.com/Q/Different_types_of_menu_planning>
[Accessed at 4 November 2015]