A: The phrase prix fixe is French for "fixed price". When a restaurant offers a prix fixe selection, this means that they are offering a set number of meals at a fixed price.
The most common versions of selections we transcribe today are a la carte;
A la carte means that the restaurant is providing individual dishes listed with separate prices.
Additionally, the words prix fixe are associated with a multi-course selection:
The menu may include as few as 2, or as many as 10 item selections.
Most courses are easy to identify as items that exist within other menu categories that we transcribe for the restaurant.
Meal selections:
Sometimes there are no meal choices necessary–you’re told what the courses will be and that’s that.
Other times, however, there will be choices within each category–for instance, you’ll choose from a small list of salad options, appetizer options, and entree options to build your meal.
Types of prix fixes:
Prix Fixe menus include any section of menu that has a fixed price;
This could include: catering, combination meals, specials, party deals, party menus, etc.
If it has one price for several courses, then its a prix fixe menu and should follow our prix fixe transcription structure.
Transcription Structure
The actual prix fixe deal should be transcribed as an item within its own a Prix Fixe root category (i.e. If the prix fixe is $39.00, make it the first item in the Prix Fixe root category -- instead of adding "$39.00 prix fixe" to the Prix Fixe root category description).
The categories within a prix fixe menu will likely be the categories that also exist in a restaurant’s typical (a la carte) menu (appetizers, pastas, mains, desserts, etc.).
All the meal choices for the prix fixe will also be transcribed as items within their respective category (appetizers, pastas, mains, desserts, etc.) with a static price of $0.00 -- because the price of the prix fixe was already recorded as the first item in the category.
The only time the meal choices in the prix fixe category should not be $0.00, is if there are price upgrades associated with the item.
To see this visually laid out, please reference the "How to transcribe a prix fixe menu" article here.
The categories that may exist in a Prix Fixe menu will likely be the categories that exist in the restaurant’s typical (a la carte) menu.
The Appetizers, Pasta, Mains, Desserts should be transcribed as Root Categories with their own items as displayed in the image, with a $0 item price.
This is the regular/typical part of our transcription today, and it’s critical that you remember that we’ve already transcribed the price of the Prix Fixe selection elsewhere.
Part of becoming a stellar Woflow transcriber is understanding all of the dining options that may be available to a diner. This is part of why so many categories can exist within a menu on Woflow today, and why adhering to this style guide is critical.
FAQs
Why are we sticking to this process?
This configuration is helpful to the client so they can see all the different items as items, instead of only being able to review these items as extras in an item selection.
How does this impact the Style Guide and category order?
Great question, and we’ve listed the Prix Fixe category in our Style Guide - we’ve updated the article here!