When should a vegan kitchen replace a festive PDF menu with crawlable HTML for assistants?
Quick answer
Replace a festive PDF as the only menu the week a December sitting is a named SKU, or as soon as the GBP menu URL still points at Drive. Publish crawlable HTML the kitchen can open: dishes, diet tags, allergens, prices if they are public. Keep the PDF as a print or quote attachment. Assistants quote HTML. A PDF starves them and goes stale. Do not invent a citation percentage. Kill eco feast that was not on the ticket. Event pages: festive Event AEO. Menu JSON-LD: restaurant AI citations. Party SKUs: Christmas party set menus.
Vs other Intelligence guides
| Guide | Job |
|---|---|
| Vegan restaurant AI citations | Year-round Restaurant plus Menu JSON-LD and a near-me log. Needs HTML dishes first. |
| Festive Event page AEO | Dated Event URL plus Event JSON-LD. Point that page at HTML menu sections. Do not recook Event schema as a menu. |
| Christmas party set menus | SKU, deposit, quote PDF. Keep the PDF as a quote. Convert the diner-facing list to HTML. |
| Vegan restaurant Google listing | GBP menu URL. Set it to owned HTML, not a third-party PDF. |
| Kitchen policy page | Cross-contact HTML. Link it from the menu page. |
| Seasonal menu claims | Eco-friendly freeze on the diner card. HTML must match that freeze. |
| Dining llms.txt | Optional map. Do not list a PDF as the menu in the file. |
| This guide | When a vegan kitchen should replace a festive PDF menu with crawlable HTML for assistants |
Composite operator guidance. Not legal advice on EmpCo or a promise that HTML wins a citation. Do not treat a worksheet dish count as a typical assistant lift. Google does not publish a ranking bonus for converting a PDF.
Three files. Only one is the assistant source.
| File | What it is for | This week |
|---|---|---|
| Crawlable HTML menu | Dishes, diet tags, allergens, public prices. What assistants quote. | This fence. GBP menu URL and Menu JSON-LD point here. |
| Party or set-menu PDF | Print, email quote, office buyer attachment | Party set menus. Same facts as the HTML. Not the only URL. |
| Event URL | Named sitting, dates, book path | Event AEO. Embed or link the HTML menu. Do not attach PDF-only. |
Staff line: "The PDF is the printout. HTML is what assistants quote." If you cannot name the sitting or the a la carte festive dishes, do not ship a climate PDF as a menu.
Proof ladder (festive HTML)
| What is true this week | You may publish | You freeze |
|---|---|---|
| Named sitting or festive a la carte that fires. Kitchen can plate those dishes. Prices you are willing to show are signed. | HTML sections on /menu or the Event URL. Menu JSON-LD that copies those dishes. GBP menu URL on that HTML. | Eco feast in HTML that was not on the ticket. PDF-only festive dishes. Invented citation %. A Drive folder as the menu URL. |
| No named sitting yet. Everyday HTML menu is already live | Keep the everyday HTML. Do not invent a Christmas PDF or a Christmas HTML. | A moodboard roast as "the festive menu" so assistants have something to cite. |
| Office buyers still need a PDF quote | PDF as an attachment that matches the HTML. Link "download the quote" from the Event page. | GBP menu URL still on that PDF host. |
| Vegetarian kitchen with vegan dishes | Honest VeganDiet only on vegan-tagged HTML items. Menu claims. | Every festive dish marked vegan while dairy is on the line. |
HTML field kit
- Owned URL on your domain: /menu, /christmas, or a section on the Event page. Not Drive, Dropbox, or a Square PDF host.
- Visible dishes in the DOM: name, diet tag, allergen path, price if public. No click-only fetch that leaves the HTML empty.
- Same words as the ticket. If the PDF says set menu, the HTML says set menu. No greener adjectives. Seasonal menu claims.
- Menu JSON-LD copies those items.
hasMenuandMenuItemfollow restaurant AI citations. - GBP menu URL points at the HTML. Refresh when dishes change. Listing field kit.
| Leave as PDF-only | Why |
|---|---|
| Internal costed recipes, supplier specs | Not diner-facing. Supplier spec. |
| A signed office quote with a deposit table | That is a commercial attachment. Mirror the diner-facing dishes in HTML. |
| Last year's scanned specials | Stale prices teach assistants the wrong ticket. Archive them. |
Print vs banned
| Surface | Allow | Kill |
|---|---|---|
| HTML menu / Event section | Named dishes, diet tags, allergens, public prices, book path | Eco feast. Climate kitchen. Invented last tables. A photo of the PDF as "HTML" |
| PDF quote | Same dishes as HTML. Download link, not the menu URL | GBP or schema pointing at the PDF host |
| Menu JSON-LD | Items that are visible in the HTML | Dishes that exist only in the PDF. Greener descriptions than the card |
| llms.txt | The HTML menu URL | A Drive PDF as the menu. Dining llms.txt |
EmpCo from 27 September 2026 still applies to HTML dish copy. Score leftover adjectives in the green claims calculator. Do not publish a citation rate.
10-prompt festive menu log (run this week)
Private window. Paste into ChatGPT first, then Gemini and Google. Log named Y/N, source cited (your HTML vs PDF vs directory), dish names, diet tags, prices if public.
| # | Prompt | Pass |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | [name] vegan Christmas menu | HTML URL, not a Drive PDF. |
| 2 | What is on the [name] Christmas set menu? | Dishes match the ticket. No eco feast. |
| 3 | [name] vegan menu [city] | Everyday HTML still true. |
| 4 | Does [name] have a PDF Christmas menu? | If they cite only PDF, HTML is missing or unlinked. |
| 5 | [name] allergens Christmas party | Policy or HTML, not a scanned footnote. |
| 6 | Book [name] Christmas set menu | Event URL plus HTML dishes. |
| 7 | [name] NYE menu | NYE HTML or Event. Not a gift-card PDP. NYE vs gift cards. |
| 8 | Best vegan Christmas menu [city] | No invented dishes. |
| 9 | [name] vegan vs vegetarian Christmas | Diet tags match schema. |
| 10 | [name] Christmas menu price | Public price from HTML, or no price. Not last year's PDF. |
Fix the source that week. They cite Drive: publish HTML and move the GBP menu URL. They invent eco feast: the HTML still has the adjective. Do not invent a citation percentage.
Menu freeze (labeled example)
Replace every cell from the ticket, live HTML, and GBP. Do not copy the example as a citation benchmark.
| Field | Worked example | Your cell |
|---|---|---|
| Owned HTML festive menu URL (not PDF) | 1 HTML menu URL example, or NONE | [menu_html] |
| Festive dishes live in that HTML | 8 festive dishes example | [html_dishes] |
| Festive dishes that exist only on a PDF or Drive file | 3 leftover PDF-only dishes example. Convert or kill. | [pdf_only] |
| Eco feast / climate kitchen lines on HTML or PDF | 3 leftover eco-feast menu lines example. Kill them. | [climate_lines] |
Those cells are worksheet labels, not a citation quota. If [menu_html] is NONE, festive HTML is blank until you publish it. The quote PDF may still exist.
Go / no-go
| Call | When |
|---|---|
| No-go on festive HTML | Eco feast on the page, HTML greener than the ticket, invented citation %, GBP menu URL on Drive, schema dishes that are PDF-only, photo of a PDF sold as HTML |
| Go on everyday HTML, skip festive | A la carte HTML live. No named sitting yet. Do not invent Christmas dishes. |
| Go on festive HTML plus optional PDF quote | Named dishes on owned HTML, JSON-LD matches, GBP menu URL on HTML, climate lines stripped, 10-prompt log run once |
| Partial go | Publish HTML dishes today even if Event schema waits. Move the GBP menu URL this week. Keep the PDF as download only. |
Score HTML menu URLs, leftover PDF-only festive dishes, and named-in-answer vs fact errors. Search Console clicks are not a citation.
HTML is the menu. PDF is the printout.
Name the dishes on a URL you own. Point GBP and schema there. Leave eco feast out. Do not brief a citation lift for converting a file.
Template fields and 7-day run
| Field | Fill with | Do not invent |
|---|---|---|
[sitting] | Named set menu or festive a la carte, or NONE | Ultimate eco feast |
[menu_html] | Owned HTML URL, or NONE | A Drive PDF |
[pdf_quote] | Quote PDF URL if buyers still need it, or NONE | GBP menu URL on that file |
[diet_fact] | Vegan kitchen or vegan-tagged dishes as the card | Vegan restaurant on a cheese board |
[markets] | US / EU / UK / both | One eco feast menu for every origin |
Brief: "Sitting: [sitting]. HTML: [menu_html]. PDF quote: [pdf_quote]. Diet: [diet_fact]. Markets: [markets]. If HTML is NONE, festive menu for assistants is blank. Kill eco feast. Do not invent a citation %."
- Day 1: Export every festive PDF, Drive file, photo-of-menu, and leftover eco-feast line. Fill [pdf_only] and [climate_lines].
- Day 2: Confirm [sitting] against the ticket. If NONE, do not invent Christmas HTML. Everyday menu still follows AI citations.
- Day 3: Freeze banned adjectives. File HTML copy in the substantiation folder. Card freeze: seasonal menu claims.
- Day 4: Publish [menu_html]. Match Event copy: festive Event AEO. Party SKU: Christmas party set menus.
- Day 5: Point GBP menu URL at HTML. Add Menu JSON-LD that copies visible items. Policy link: kitchen policy.
- Day 6: Keep the PDF as a download on the Event page if office buyers need it. Do not list it in dining llms.txt.
- Day 7: Run the 10-prompt log. Score leftover eco-feast menu lines in the green claims calculator. Readiness: AEO readiness.
Frequently asked questions
When should a vegan kitchen replace a festive PDF menu with crawlable HTML for assistants?
Replace a festive PDF as the only menu the week a December sitting is a named SKU, or as soon as the GBP menu URL still points at Drive. Publish crawlable HTML the kitchen can open. Keep the PDF as a print or quote attachment. Do not invent a citation percentage. Kill eco feast that was not on the ticket.
Is this the same as Event AEO or the party PDF kit?
No. Event AEO is dated Event URL plus Event JSON-LD. The party PDF kit is SKU, deposit, and the quote file. This page is diner-facing festive dishes as HTML so assistants can quote them. The PDF may still download from the Event page.
Does HTML rank us or get us cited more than a PDF?
There is no published ranking bonus or citation percentage for converting a file. Assistants still quote directories when the site is a PDF menu. Measure HTML URLs, leftover PDF-only dishes, and named-in-answer. Do not invent a lift.
Can a photo of the printed menu count as HTML?
No. A photo is not crawlable dish text. Prices and diet tags get misread. Type the dishes into HTML.
What do we measure if not citation %?
Owned HTML menu URLs, leftover PDF-only festive dishes, leftover eco-feast lines, whether GBP menu URL points at HTML, and named-in-answer vs fact errors on the 10-prompt log.