It’s salad season. As the weather warms and your choice of fresh produce expands, your salad menu is likely to become all the more craveable as people seek out healthy eating options. Your dressings have the power to elevate those dishes with smooth, creamy textures and savory, sweet or spicy flavors. They can also make your salad more special than something a guest would prepare at home. It’s a bonus if your dressings can contribute to the health of the overall dish – raising protein content, boosting immunity or promoting heart health, for example, without overloading it with empty calories.
As much as people are eager to gather again and celebrate with food and drink, the transition back to bustling restaurant dining rooms packed with patrons could take some more time. This could be an especially creative time for operators and chefs, who can make their menu more of a spectacle than before – something that is best appreciated in a restaurant dining room and is impossible to replicate in a take-away bag. As you welcome guests back, consider assembling, cooking or adding finishing touches to dishes tableside to create fresh, exciting dining room experiences that will entice people to come back with friends.
Could you create a new eating experience for your guests just by thinking about your menu presentation in a new way? Consider how the founders of Sushirrito created a sensation by making sushi portable. Now that communities are reopening again, more people will be looking to enjoy the experience of sitting in a restaurant dining room again or getting food on the way to an activity. How can your existing menu flex to meet the moment, and in the process, generate some new interest?
From grain bowls to smoothie bowls to avocado toast, there are a number of once-trendy dishes that have become so popular that they have carved out long-term spots on many restaurant menus. But keeping a menu item static for too long can make your menu feel stale – and also provide less new fodder for you to promote to guests. To keep your classics-in-the-making fresh, try changing them up with global seasonings or some surprising ingredients every so often – or even combining elements of two complementary dishes.
As soon as the weather warms, people start to crave the flavor of the grill. This summer, think beyond the traditional grilled proteins and offer grilled items that keep guests intrigued. Your grill can add a smoky new dimension to everything from guacamole to angel food cake. As you update your salads, sides, entrées and desserts for the season, try adding grilled fruits, vegetables and sweeter end-of-meal options to the menu.
Plant-based foods continue to make their mark on both the restaurant menu and the corporate boardroom. This has been especially evident at the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant brands that have best weathered the challenges of the pandemic – and will likely have an amplified presence in the industry as we emerge from it. Burger King recently pledged that half of its menu would be plant-based within nine years, a number of national brands have begun offering new plant-based breakfast sandwiches, and at brands including Chipotle, executive compensation is now tied to success in achieving companywide environmental sustainability goals, among other social responsibility measures. In the months and years ahead, customers will come to expect more plant-forward menu options and environment-forward company policies. Is your operation on course to provide those things? If there is room for improvement, start by fine-tuning your environmental policy so it includes specific, measurable and achievable environmental goals related to your team, customers, suppliers and the public overall. It should include details about how you monitor and reduce waste and emissions related to your food supply, how you plan to comply with environmental legislation and train staff to support it, and how you will manage, improve and hold people accountable for your ongoing environmental performance. Bringing more plant-forward options onto the menu naturally feeds into these goals. Look beyond salads and identify creative ways to enhance your entrée menu with filling plant-based or plant-forward burgers, pasta dishes and sandwiches you can offer right alongside your meatier options.
Go with the grain
As consumers take more steps to protect their health, they’re likely incorporating more whole grains into their diets. The protein, fiber, B vitamins and other nutrients in whole grains can promote weight loss and reduce the risk of diseases. Whole grains also make for a more satisfying dish. In your menu options, skew towards including whole grain ingredients such as brown rice, bulgur and whole grain pasta in your salads, soups and entrées – or at least offering them as a substitute for refined starches. For food lovers, warming weather means outdoor food festivals, street fairs and more opportunities to consume a wide variety of street food from around the world. Even if these occasions are put on hold yet again this year, you can still offer comforting, craveable, street food-inspired options to go. From enchiladas to samosas, and pierogis to paella, there are hundreds of possibilities that can showcase your creativity – and can be made vegetarian and vegan too.
At a time when restaurant operators are trying to simplify their menus, every ingredient in a restaurant kitchen’s inventory needs to work hard. Chicken is one such workhorse because it enhances options in just about every section of your menu. At the same time, the experience of eating chicken in different dishes is just about as varied as it gets, thanks to the wide range of ways it can be prepared and served. It’s a children’s menu staple that is just as foundational to your salad menu. Fry it and serve it with dipping sauces as a comforting appetizer, shred it into hearty soups or sandwiches, or roast it and serve it with steamed seasonal vegetables as a lighter option.
You can help your customers eat healthfully this year – without skimping on taste – by making small tweaks to key ingredients. Incorporating more whole grains into your menu can elevate the content of fiber, B vitamins and other key nutrients in your entrées and sides. Consider offering a whole grain bread as an alternative to sourdough on your sandwiches, or whole grain pasta in place of the traditional variety you use in hot pasta dishes and cold salads.
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