The Majestic vs. McDonalds: The Gap in Menus

     For those who do not know, The Majestic Yosemite Hotel is Yosemite National Park's most prestigious lodging institution. It ranks as a AAA four-Diamond hotel and boasts an award-winning restaurant, as well as a beautiful view of the park. The dining experience at The Majestic is in stark contrast to the experience at a common chain restaurant such as McDonald's. The difference is found not only in the price and the setting, but it is inherent in the menus themselves.





     The Majestic's menu (for dinner) is simple. It is just one page and very little information is given. The McDonald's menu, however, is extensive and almost an information overload. A detailed picture accompanies each item, as well as an equally detailed description.



     The description uses sensory and participial adjectives like 'crisp,' 'ribbon-cut,' and 'smoked.' For the most part, the Majestic's menu just lists the main ingredients that go into the dishes and does very little in the way of description. The ingredients used at the Majestic are assumed to be high-quality while McDonald's tries to pull it's customers in with vague promises. Take, for example, the "Bacon Ranch Salad with Buttermilk Crispy Chicken" pictured above. It is described as 'full of fresh flavors,' but what does that mean exactly?

     Another difference between the two menus is the focus on choice. At McDonald's the focus is on the diner's choice. It is all about the customer. They can customize their meal anyway they choose. At the Majestic, customers pay for the chef to make the choice for them. Each meal is unique in it's own way and a work of art.

Note: This is an assignment from my Language and Food class at school.

Potato Chips and Chocolate

     In 2011 Joshua Freedman, an undergraduate student at Stanford University, did a study on the connections between potato chip packaging and the audience to which it was being marketed to - upper or lower class individuals. Freedman wrote that more expensive bags of chips had more text on the back advertising the product. They also advertised how the chips were 'healthy' for you (ie. no trans fat etc) and declared that only the best ingredients were used in their product. On the other hand, less expensive chips valued tradition and taste. They also had used simpler words than their more expensive counterparts.

     In the spirit of that study, I would like to present some findings of my own. Today I went to the supermarket to see if Freedman's findings applied to a different food product - chocolate.
There were four different brands that I looked at:

• Hershey's
• Ferrero Rocher
• Cadbury
• Lindt

     Among each of these brands were several different kinds of chocolates. I tried my best to stay true to a similar kind, but some variation was necessary. Also, for price comparison I used the price per ounce, instead of the unit pricing for the whole package.

Unsurprisingly, the least expensive brand was Hershey's, at 33.3 cents per ounce, which had no words at all on the back of the packaging. So far Freedman's theory was staying true.



     The next expensive chocolates were the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Carmello (50 cents per ounce).



     The packaging gives history for the company and uses words like 'tradition,' 'passion,' and 'exquisite.' An empasis is place on tradition, as the Cadbury name has been around since 1824. The sentences are also fairly short and simple.

     Next were the Lindt Lindor Truffles (86.1 cents per ounce).



     The packaging declares that these truffles have been made by master Swiss chocolatiers since 1845. So obviously we are dealing with professionals. They also use words like 'smooth,' 'melting,' 'luscious,' and 'delicate.'

     Finally, the most expensive brand was Ferrero Rocher, at 94.2 cents per ounce.



     Ferrero Rocher did not have as much copy on the packaging as the Lindor Truffles, however lots of high quality words like, 'luscious,' and 'delicate' were used. Also, the whole of the copy is comprised of one complex sentence.

     All in all, the body of evidence matches up with Freedman's findings in 2011, even if some allowances are made for the difference in product.

Note: This is an assignment done for my Food and Language class at school.