‘Tis the season for a fire in the fireplace. While preparing foods over a roaring fire is hardly new, the practice is on trend at the moment for the way it brings together basic cooking methods, local ingredients and memorable dining experiences. It can also help you infuse your menu with unexpected flavors. As the owner of the London Log Company told the Telegraph, salmon smoked over firewood has a different flavor depending on the color of the wood. It also allows a chef to constantly monitor a food as it cooks — all while putting on a show for guests. (Use dry woods for a more even burn.) Even if you don’t have the facility for cooking over fire, you can adapt a barbecue by soaking wood chips in water and then sprinkling them over charcoal for similar effect.

Who doesn’t love a burger? There are appealing options for carnivores and vegetarians alike, and while you can’t go wrong with a classic version on your menu, there is ample room for innovation too. If you want to bring some creativity to your burger selection, try some on-trend tweaks. Restaurant Business suggests swapping out the traditional cheddar for options like Gruyere, mozzarella, Muenster or goat cheese, which have all risen in popularity on menus according to Technomic. Liven up your condiments with ethnic sauces like Sriracha, sweet chili or poblano (and take it further by creating burgers themed to a particular global cuisine). Finally, substitute a premium roll like a pretzel bun or brioche for the standard roll — it will help your burger stand out on the menu and also justify a higher price point.

​Consumers want their grab-and-go foods — 80 percent of consumers say they snack at least once a day, according to Technomic’s 2018 Snacking report, up from 76 percent in 2014. What’s more, consumers continue to crave not just sweet or salty snacks but high-quality options that are healthy and fresh. This trend is on display everywhere from hotel lobbies — many of which have been transformed in recent years into mini convenience stores — to hospitals to restaurants. (In fact, in 2016 Team Four launched a program called Charging Station to provide grab-and-go concepts for college athletic programs looking to provide an expanded variety of nutritious meal and snack options to athletes. Soon after, hotels and military organizations got involved too.) The good news for restaurant operators is that the grab-and-go trend is not only good for the all-powerful millennial consumer, but it is also beneficial to the operator trying to carve out a budget for labor at a time when certain states have mandated a $15 hourly wage. Restaurants that provide quality grab-and-go options can often cut back on labor expenditures, particularly on the front end. But even on the back end, grab-and-go options can help operators make use of ingredients that are pre-sliced and pre-cubed, which can shorten preparation processes and don’t require as much highly skilled labor to prepare. If you offer grab-and-go items, offer quality ingredients such as nuts, seeds, produce and lean meats, and make sure these items are packaged well, labeled clearly and require little preparation and cleanup. And just as you would do with your restaurant menu, consider incorporating local items and ethnic ingredients. For more information about how Team Four can help you develop a grab-and-go concept, contact us at admin@teamfourfoods.com.