Managing Ingredients, Dishes & Meals
Reference guide for day-to-day management of ingredients, dishes, and meals — the building blocks of your meal calendar.
Ingredients, dishes, and meals form the three content layers of Menu Management. Ingredients are combined into Dishes, dishes are grouped into Meals, and meals are assigned to your calendar. This article covers how to manage each one after initial setup.
Ingredients
Navigate to Menus and click Ingredients in the Meals section.
Browsing Ingredients
The ingredient list shows all active ingredients with search and pagination. Use the search bar to quickly find ingredients by name.
Adding an Ingredient
Click + Add ingredient.
Enter the ingredient name and select the default unit of measurement.
Click Save.
If you order from a specific supplier (e.g., Sysco, US Foods), consider adding the supplier's product number to the ingredient name for easy reference on shopping lists.
Editing & Deleting Ingredients
- Click an ingredient to open its detail view, then click Edit to update the name or unit.
- To delete, click Delete on the detail view. You cannot delete an ingredient that is currently used in a dish.
Ingredient Detail View
The detail view shows the ingredient's name, unit of measurement, and a list of all dishes that use this ingredient.
Dishes
Navigate to Menus and click Dishes in the Meals section.
Browsing Dishes
The dish list shows all active dishes with search and pagination.
Adding a Dish
Click + Add dish.
Enter the dish name and optionally a description.
Set the Recipe portions — this is the base serving count used for ingredient scaling.
Click Save.
Adding Ingredients to a Dish
On the dish detail page, add ingredients with a quantity and unit of measurement per serving. These amounts are automatically scaled on reports based on client counts.
Adding Dietary Substitutions to a Dish
On the dish detail page, you can link dietary needs to substitution actions:
- Omit Item — Flags the dietary need on delivery reports so kitchen staff can adjust the client's meal manually.
- Substitute Meal — Swaps the client's product for the day to the designated substitution meal for that product category.
Editing & Deleting Dishes
- Click a dish to open its detail view, then click Edit to update.
- To delete, click Delete. You cannot delete a dish that is currently used in a meal.
Dish Detail View
The detail page has tabs showing:
- Ingredients — quantities and measurements per serving
- Dietary Substitutions — configured substitution rules
- Meals — all meals that include this dish
Meals
Navigate to Menus and click Meals in the Meals section.
Browsing Meals
The meal list shows all active meals with search and pagination.
Adding a Meal
Click + Add meal.
Enter the meal name and optionally a description.
Add dishes to the meal (e.g., an entrée + side + dessert for a product).
Click Save.
Editing & Deleting Meals
- Click a meal to open its detail view, then click Edit to update.
- To delete, click Delete. You cannot delete a meal that is currently assigned to the calendar.
Meal Detail View
The detail view shows all dishes included in the meal.
Deleting an ingredient, dish, or meal is a soft delete — the record is hidden from lists and searches, not permanently removed from the database. You cannot delete items that are still in use elsewhere (e.g., an ingredient used in a dish, a dish used in a meal, or a meal assigned to the calendar).