What’s more versatile than pasta? Treat it as a critical resource in your toolbox at a time when you need to make every item in your inventory count. It can be a tasty side dish when combined with fresh vegetables and a vinaigrette, offered as a craveable appetizer when baked with cheese or elevated to an entrée when paired with seafood. Serve it hot or cold, make it health-conscious or indulgent, and swap in different shapes to instantly kick up the interest of a recipe.

The pandemic has taught restaurants the value of generating new income streams, and virtual brands – which have been on the rise since the pandemic started and are presumed to continue their climb in the future – are an appealing way to do that for many operators. But as restaurants work to capacity to meet demand from their dining rooms and virtual brands amid supply shortages, how can they best keep everything running? At the Restaurant Leadership Conference in December, Wow Bao CEO Geoff Alexander said menu simplification could help. He suggested that while many restaurants slashed their menus early in the pandemic to ease the burden on staff, that approach could now help restaurants free up critical capacity by absorbing the work and production know-how that the discontinued items once required. If you’re looking to create or sustain a virtual brand, take a closer look at your existing menu and look for opportunities to trim and simplify what you offer.

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Creating a new menu favorite doesn’t have to be about incorporating the very latest flavor trends. It could be about taking existing menu items and presentations that your guests already find appealing, then translating them into something new. Consider formats like sliders, egg rolls, spring rolls, tacos or burritos – comforting, craveable hand-held foods that can be eaten on the go – and try filling them with new ingredients that surprise.

​Covid has changed consumers’ relationship with foods, their ideas about health and their perceptions about what ingredients mean. According to Health & Wellness 2021: Reimagining Well-being Amid COVID-19, a new report from the Hartman Group, health and wellness have become more top-of-mind considerations for a broader set of consumers in the past two years as they have seen first-hand how infectious diseases, immunity, vaccine effectiveness and safety and mental health all play critical roles in their lives. They are now applying that experience to the foods they consume and are approaching menus more mindfully as a result. So what does that mean for restaurant operators? After the greater amount of time consumers have spent cooking meals at home in recent years, expect more scrutiny of ingredients, as well as the pursuit of less-processed, naturally plant-based foods. For example, the report indicates that more indulgent brands that are making wellness claims will need to be able to back them up more precisely – and that more natural presentations of plant-based proteins are likely to emerge as preferred options by health-conscious consumers. If you have a brand that is built around wellness, or if you simply make wellness claims around specific menu items, aim for simpler, unprocessed ingredients and be ready to answer questions about what’s on (and in) the menu.

At a time when staffing shortages require operators to do more work with less people, ready-made and speed-scratch ingredients can be lifesavers. If you have resisted using as many of these prepared items as could benefit your business, consider getting more creative with them. Can you invent a unique appetizer, entrée or dessert by combining the best parts of different prepared items you have on hand?

​Cold weather is meant for cozy gatherings – and whether you’re serving guests at a dinner or cocktail party in-house or packing takeout food for a home-based gathering with friends around the television, your selection of dips and spreads can elevate your appetizer menu. In your restaurant, dips served with breads or other starches can encourage accompanying drink orders, boosting your check totals. They can also provide you with an opportunity to test new flavor combinations in a low-risk format. Consider offering a range of tastes, textures and nutritional profiles, from cheesy to hearty to plant-forward.

How strong is your bowl game? In addition to being a big win with guests looking for customizability, bowls are built for the current environment. It’s easy to swap new proteins, produce and grains in and out based on what you have available or don’t. In fact, the fluctuating supply may even make your bowl options feel fresh instead of lacking. Your dressings can also help you to shift gears quickly and reinvent bowls with global flavors.

Restaurant operators need to do as much as they can with key supplies right now, so ingredients have to work overtime. As you stock your pantry, consider ingredients that can be stored without spoiling, will adapt to a wide range of flavors and textures, can mix seamlessly into soups, salads and entrées, and provide benefits for the health- and allergen-conscious as well.

At a time when restaurants need to find every opportunity they can to carve out a profit, your dessert menu needs to earn its keep. That can be difficult when desserts are often shared by guests, there is a limit to how expensively they can be priced, and they increase the time it takes to turn a table in-house. To help, consider adding some lighter and more savory items to the menu to balance any heavier, sweeter items that many guests feel they must try to resist. Reduce portion sizes where possible so ordering an individual portion of dessert doesn’t feel like such a splurge. Finally, suggest some alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to complement your dessert offerings.

The winter months are meant for noshing. The cozy nights in, weekends watching sports on TV, and casual gatherings with friends all call for tempting comfort foods across the menu. As the weather cools, how can your menu persuade people to place an order instead of cook? Think tempting appetizers that can be shared, family-style entrées for social gatherings, and multi-course meal bundles that can be ordered for easy weeknight dinners.