Weekly Tiffin Menu: How to Plan and Share One

A weekly tiffin menu is a short list of what your kitchen plans to serve on each day of the week, shared with customers before the week starts. To plan one, pick a set of dishes you can cook reliably, spread them so the same item does not land on back-to-back days, mark the days you are closed, and publish it in one place that customers already check. This guide shows how to do that step by step, with an example you can copy and a note on where the MyTiffin app fits.

It is written for people who cook and deliver tiffins from a home kitchen or a small tiffin service in India. It is about planning and communicating a menu, not about recipes or nutrition.

Why publish a weekly tiffin menu at all?

Customers who know what is coming ask fewer questions, and you answer the same question once instead of forty times. A written menu also helps you: you decide the week's shopping in one sitting, and you can see at a glance if three heavy dishes fall in a row. None of this guarantees more customers or fewer complaints. It simply removes a daily guessing game for both sides.

How do you build a weekly tiffin menu, step by step?

Use this routine once a week, at a fixed time, for example Saturday evening for the following Monday to Sunday.

1. List what you cook well. Write down the dishes you can make on time, at your usual quantity, without stress. A short list you can cook consistently beats a long list you cannot.
2. Group them by type. For example: a dry sabzi day, a gravy day, a dal-rice day, a rice-based day. Types are easier to spread out than individual dishes.
3. Fill the days. Put one type per day and avoid placing the same type on consecutive days. Keep one or two "anchor" days that rarely change, so regular customers can rely on them.
4. Mark your closed days first. If you do not cook on Sundays or on a festival, write "Closed" before anything else, so you do not plan food for a day you will not deliver.
5. Check shopping and shelf life. Look at the week as a whole. Perishable items should be cooked early in the week, and things that keep well can go later.
6. Publish it, then stick to it. A menu only helps if you follow it. If something has to change, tell customers the same morning, not at the door.

What does a simple example menu look like?

This is an example only. Your dishes, meals and days will differ.

Notice that Tuesday and Friday are both gravy days, but they are not next to each other. That is the whole idea of a rotation: the same type returns, but not on consecutive days.

How do you handle Normal and Deluxe plans in one menu?

If you sell two plans, such as Normal and Deluxe, decide what is the same and what differs. A common approach is to keep the base meal identical and add something extra to Deluxe, such as an additional sabzi or a sweet. Write the extra on the menu line so a Deluxe customer can see what they are paying for. For ideas on how to explain and price two tiers, see Normal vs Deluxe tiffin: two clear options.

The menu also feeds your daily count. If Deluxe has an extra item, your shopping splits by plan, which is the same split described in how many tiffins to cook each day.

What should you do about closed days, festivals and leave?

Closed days are yours: you decide when you do not cook, and the menu should say so plainly. Customer leave is theirs: it follows the cut-off rule you set. Keep the two separate in your head. A closed day affects everyone, while leave affects one customer. If you have not written a leave rule yet, stop cooking for empty doorsteps explains a short, clear one.

Where should you share the weekly menu?

Pick one place and say so. Many small kitchens use a WhatsApp group message or a line on a printed card, which works fine for a handful of customers. The weak point is that messages scroll away and a customer who asks "what is today?" has to search for it.

MyTiffin has a built-in weekly menu for providers. According to the live help guide, you open Weekly menu from the account menu and either write each day in its own box, or switch to Whole week at once and type lines such as "Monday: Dal, rice" (or "Wed lunch: ..." if you serve more than one meal). You then press Save menu. Customers see today's and tomorrow's menu on their own page, and the whole week on the Weekly menu page. Days you have marked as closed show "Closed" whatever you wrote. We checked these steps against the help page on the date of writing, and the help page wins if it later changes.

How far ahead should you plan, and when should you change the menu?

There is no single correct answer, and we have no data that proves one length is best. A week is a practical unit because it matches how most people think about meals and how you shop. If you are new, start with a one-week plan, repeat it for two or three weeks, and note which days draw questions or leftovers. Then change only the slots that were a problem.

If an ingredient is not available on the day, keep a fallback you can cook at short notice, tell customers early, and update the menu so the written version matches what was delivered.

What does this guide not cover?

It does not give recipes, portion sizes, prices, nutrition or food-safety advice, and the example menu is not a recommendation of what to serve. Food business rules in India, including licensing, are set by the food regulator, so check the official source for your own situation. The MyTiffin steps above describe features listed on its help page at the time of writing.

FAQ

How many different dishes do I need for a weekly tiffin menu?

There is no required number. Start with what you can cook consistently, group it by type, and repeat the pattern. A small set done well is easier to run than a large set done unevenly.

Should the weekly tiffin menu be the same every week?

It can be. Many kitchens use a fixed weekly pattern for a few weeks and then swap a few items. A steady pattern helps regular customers know what to expect, and a small change keeps it from feeling repetitive.

Can customers see the menu without asking me?

Yes, if you publish it somewhere they check. In MyTiffin, customers see today's and tomorrow's menu on their page, and the full week on the Weekly menu page, once you have saved it.

What if I serve breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Write each meal on its own line, for example "Wed lunch: ..." and "Wed dinner: ...". The MyTiffin help page describes this format for providers who serve meals.

Is a weekly menu enough to attract new customers?

A menu is one part of a listing, not a promise of orders. Clear photos, prices and an honest service area matter as well, and results depend on your area and your food.

Where to go from here

Draft next week's menu on paper using the steps above, then decide where you will share it. If you would like to try the weekly menu page and the daily count together, the provider help guide walks through setup, and you can start at MyTiffin sign up.