Hubert Keller wanted to do something different from the expected Champagne brunch, and having a remarkable selection of beers on hand helped. “I started doing events at Fleur where, if we had six or eight wine pairings, I started including a beer,” he says. “The idea really trickled down when I set up the brunch here at Fleur."

As the creative principle for FOODTHINgk, an F&B consulting practice, Marion Edwards has helped brands including Disney and Starbucks maximize profits using a number of tools, including menu engineering. We chatted with Edwards to get the lowdown on this essential but often overlooked strategy.