SheeFood

Mac & Cheese: the Poster Child Comfort Food

As temperatures dip, it’s clear that we’ve transitioned into mac and cheese weather. This dish, a staple since our earliest memories (and one of my favorite topics to write about), offers more than just a simple meal. It might reign as the ultimate comfort food—a menu genre that has emerged as the fourth most significant trend in the culinary world, according to the National Restaurant Association’s What’s Hot Culinary Forecast for 2023.

If you watch limited time offers like I do, you may have seen some recent luxurious iterations.

• Through December, Outback Steakhouse is offering Steakhouse Mac & Cheese Bites described as eight breaded and fried bites of macaroni with Asiago, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, served with ranch dressing.
• How about Mac ‘N Cheese Pizza offered at Hungry Howie’s through December. The pizza is topped with macaroni and cheese, melted mozzarella and panko breadcrumbs.
• Smashburger is offering a Mac & Cheese Burger. Available in normal and “Scorchin’ Hot” versions, it’s a beef patty topped with American cheese and mac and cheese on a toasted bun.
• KFC has gotten into it too with its Mac & Cheese Wrap. Within a warm flour tortilla, you’ll find an extra crispy fried chicken tender topped with cheddar mac & cheese and a three-cheese blend.

I think those examples currently on cold-weather menus sound delicious but are maybe a little like reheating last year’s leftovers. Kind of expected. What if you could create something reminiscent of mac and cheese that doesn’t have those words in the title? Perhaps stir the pot a little. Think about these:

• Through January, Erbert and Gerbert’s offers Chicken Alredo Tortellini Soup. It’s described as a creamy soup with chicken and cheese-stuffed tortellini.
• La Madeleine is serving up Four Cheese Baked Pasta. That is Penne pasta topped with four-cheese sauce, baked and served with a baguette.

OK, now that we get it, let’s do a little R&D ideation session.

• Cheesy Pasta Skillet: Create a hearty skillet dish with sauteed vegetables, a protein like chicken or sausage and a creamy cheese sauce tossed with pasta.
• Parmesan-crusted Pasta Cutlets: Bread and pan-fry pasta cutlets coated in Parmesan and serve with a side of marinara dipping sauce.
• Cheesy Gnocchi Bake: Layer tender gnocchi with a creamy cheese sauce, spinach and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs for a steamy baked dish.
• Baked Cheese and Pasta Stuffed Peppers: Fill hollowed out bell peppers with a mixture of pasta, cheese and vegetables. Bake until the peppers are tender and the filling is gooey and delicious.

For further consideration, think about the pasta types that help capture thick cheesy sauces like Conchiglie (shell pasta), Orecchiette, Trottole and Cavatappi. There are so many pasta types to explore, the sky is the limit.

But also, when it comes to cheese, don’t forget about cream cheese! Let me give some dish titles to get the cream cheese flowing: Cavatappi with Cream Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce; Gnocchi with Cream Cheese and Spinach Alfredo; Conchiglie Stuffed with Cream Cheese and Mushroom; Orecchiette in Creamy Cheese and Pesto Sauce; and Trottole with Cream Cheese, Smoked Salmon and Dill.

I think we’re in for a long winter. There’s till time to figure it out and make it good with mac and cheese.

Jody

Post Pumpkin

Look at it and weep that you didn’t think of this first. It’s the Jack-O’-Lantern Pizza at Peter Piper Pizza. Look at that pumpkin-shaped crust with the pepperoni arranged into a face. I was going to say that I’ve seen pumpkin everything except pizza!

So here we are again this year. There’s hardly an October latte LTO that doesn’t scream PUMPKIN. Donuts are right behind it.

For the sake of operators, I’m going to try to justify this, but I’m holding my nose. I’m among the 30% of consumers who either don’t like or hate pumpkin pie. That tells you where I'm at with the gross gourd. I'm a pumpkin Scrooge. But we will get through this.

BTW, I wonder how many people going out for fast casual fare at Dallas-based Bellagreen would gravitate to its Seared Salmon with Pumpkin Puree, Pumpkin Hummus or Pumpkin Beef Chili. Not many, I’m sure! Those options are stuck on the menu through mid-November.

OK, I’ll moderate myself. Pumpkin is one of those ingredients that seems to work with sweet or savory. It’s also colorful. Fall colorful. (But so are sweet potatoes.)

I’m not sure how smart it is to put pumpkin everything on the menu just because you like to be seasonal, and it’s fall. But maybe it’s smart if your aim is to be Instagramably buzzworthy. But if you need to be profitable, perhaps you might want to scope out other more pleasant fall ingredients (please!).

Those pumpkin lattes… let’s move on to salted caramel cold brew. Dunkin has done it. So has Starbucks. 

Beyond Juice + Eatery has some seriously respectable fall LTOs that take us in the right direction. Check these out: Honeycrisp Bliss Smoothie, Caramel Apple Acai Bowl, Rustic Maple Bacon Salad and Maple Bacon BBQ Wrap.

This year, Bob Evans is embracing fall with a caramel apple breakfast menu. It includes, Caramel Apple Hotcakes, Caramel Apple French Toast and Caramel Apple Farmer’s Choice, which is pictured so you can see what that includes.

But I have to say, for every 10 pumpkin-flavored fall LTOs, I only find one caramel flavored. Then there is Dutch Bros Coffee that offers Caramel Pumpkin Coffee. People. Keep the pumpkin away from the caramel!

There’s an obvious lack of fall flavor/ingredient exploration. Let me toss out some ideas. Save this for next year if you can’t turn on a dime at this point:

• Pecans. Change a salad name to include pecans simply by sprinkling in candied pecans. Or work in pecan-crusted dishes.
• Sweet potatoes. How about mashed sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries or sweet potato gnocchi?
• Butternut squash. Folks would be into soup, ravioli or simply a side of roasted butternut squash. I promise.
• Maple. Work it into meat glazes or as the choice sweetener.
• Figs. Go a little highbrow with figs in salads, as pizza toppings or in dessert tarts.
• Chestnuts. Be a little exotic and make chestnut puree, or use them in stuffings, soups or desserts.

It’s not too early to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Resolve to give pumpkins a rest next year and try your hand at something consumers would actually like. Don’t be a me-too operation. Be a leader. Let Starbucks and Dunkin’ own the pumpkin.

Jody

Helping Hawaii

One thing is for sure, when a natural disaster happens, foodservice folks are the quickest and most generous responders. I looked into that for a community service article I wrote for the Sept./Oct. 2023 issue of The National Culinary Review magazine. Amy Sins, chef/owner of Langlois in New Orleans, jumped to fill immediate needs after several hurricanes in 2020 and 2021. She founded the nonprofit Fill the Needs in which she phone coordinates foodservice help in disaster areas immediately after the tragic events. Her most poignant statement about chef involvement was, “We make confident, split-second decisions in the moment. We know how to live in chaos. It's what we do every day.”

So here I am in Hawaii nearly two months after the tragic and unimaginable Maui Lahaina fire, and I am amazed to see how the foodservice industry has jumped in—and not just Maui operators.

• Every Sunday through Oct. 1, the Signia by Hilton in San Jose offered a Hawaiian-themed brunch menu in one of its restaurants with proceeds going to a charity to support industry members displaced by the fire.
• Also in San Jose, Tony & Alba’s Pizza & Pasta donated $15 for each small Hawaiian pizza purchased through Sept. 10.
• Virtual concept Dog Haus quickly came up with a trio of Hawaiian-themed menu items in which $1 from each purchase was donated to the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund through September.

That one is worth some comment. Whoever at Hog Daus came up with the items knows something about Hawaiian words, flavors and ingredients. The first 2 items use most of the same ingredients, which in my opinion is perfectly acceptable for quickly developed LTOs. The items were:

1. Ohana Chicken Sando (Ohana is Hawaiian for family): Fried chicken tender topped with chile crisp, spicy mayonnaise, teriyaki aioli, slaw and pepper on a King’s Hawaiian bun.
2. Mighty Moa Wings (Moa is Hawaiian for chicken): Chicken wings tossed in teriyaki aioli and topped with spicy mayonnaise, chile crisp and scallions.
3. Aloha Spirit (A total play on the iconic Hawaiian phrase. The Aloah Spirit is a real thing and point of pride to Hawaiians): Rum, Aperol, orange Curacao, lime and pineapple.

The needs in Lahaina are as desperate as the day of the fire. It is still making news. For operators who want to participate in the need, beverages might be the quickest and super seasonal LTO opportunity with proceeds going to displaced residents. 

September through November is when the highest number of non-alcoholic beverage LTOs run. Think pumpkin, spice, lattes and shakes. To get your Hawaiian beverages on, look at some fall LTOs from the Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii chain:

• Island Pumpkin Pie Latte: Coffee and dairy with flavors of macadamia nut and pumpkin pie topped with cinnamon, available hot or iced
• Iced Pumpkin Lava Latte: Island Pumpkin Pie Latte topped with pumpkin cold foam and cinnamon
• Caramel Apple Mana: A sour apple energy drink with a caramel swirl, available iced or whipped with ice. In Hawaii, mana is a sacred term referring to spiritual energy of power and strength.

Whip up a few beverage ideas of your own with a Hawaiian twist by incorporating Hawaiian words and judicious use of appropriate syrups and flavored cream. Where coffee is included, use Kona or Kauai coffee. Think about these 3 ideas:

• Kona (or Kauai) Caramel Chai using Kona (or Kauai) coffee, chai tea concentrate, caramel syrup, steamed milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
• Hawaiian Harvest Smoothie utilizing frozen pineapple and mango chunks along with spinach, Greek or coconut yogurt and honey or agave nectar.
• Paradise Pecan Punch with pineapple juice, coconut milk (or cream), pecan syrup and a pinch of ground clove and cinnamon.

You can add a touch of Hawaii to any menu section. First, make sure your ingredients authentically support the island theme. Then call upon such Hawaiian words as hula (there’s a restaurant in Kauai that famously serves Hula Pie, which is an ice cream pie); kai (it means sea); ono (it’s the common word in Hawaii to describe something as delicious—and not to be confused with ono fish); lanai (a porch or veranda); hale (the Hawaiian word for house or home)

Then do good and promote it. Give a percentage of proceeds to Maui relief efforts. Consumers want to get behind what matters. Maui still matters.

Tell me what you think.

Jody Shee

The Future of Kitchen Robots

When I first wrote about robots in restaurant kitchens four years ago, the prevailing concern wasn't about technological advancements, but the palpable fear of robots taking jobs away from people. And like a good journalist, I asked my restaurant sources who were using robotics their thoughts about that. These early adopters were quick to point out that robots weren’t replacing staff, but rather liberating them to focus more on customer service and free them to hone their creative skills.

That boiler plate narrative is pretty much out the window. According to a recent operator survey (Datassential’s Labor Deep-Dive: Operator Check-In), rising labor costs are near the top of the list of restaurants’ operational challenges at 36%, as is recruiting and hiring hourly staff (31%) and retaining hourly staff (29%). In four years, finding workers has surpassed the concern of replacing them. Bring on the robots!

And that’s what happened at the National Restaurant Association annual show in May. Within the wide spectrum of automation, robots proved a distinctive niche. It’s interesting to see the blurred line between standard automation and these robotic marvels. Two processes that have seen significant automation advancements include the preparation of French fries and other deep-fat fried delicacies, as well as burger grilling. A few new robotic equipment launches along these lines were among the show’s prestigious Kitchen Innovation Award winners.

Coffee automation/robots seem to be the “it” category at the moment. Specifically, coffee with barista-style precision. Remember when Coca Cola came out with its freestyle machine in 2009 that delivers over 100 soft drink flavors and combinations? Now the company offers Costa Smart Café—a machine that makes up to 200 coffee ingredient combinations, cold and hot, prepared by the machine in 90 seconds or less. That won a Kitchen Innovation Award at the NRA show this year.

Robojo was another automated coffee wonder and award winner. Specifically, an espresso machine, it also prepares hot or cold designer coffee. This one takes the coffee craft a bit further with a latte art printer. So, imagine the personalized designs. Really, these machines could put baristas out of business. The Robojo also comes with a credit card terminal, so the cashier is also unnecessary.

What this automated or robotic espresso/latte machine category really does is give any type of business a run at Starbucks. I’m thinking of c-stores, hospitals, sports arenas, office buildings, high-end apartment buildings, airports, etc. How about a coffee robot at the post office? Those institutions really need help! I would worry about Starbucks, except they have an alliance with Nestle in a “We Proudly Serve Starbucks® Coffee Programme.” But that dates back to 2018. The world is a different place. If you look at their website, “personal connection” seems to be Starbucks’ operating ethos. With the advent of robots/automation that can do more than Starbucks and faster, I’m going to guess they are going to need to pull up that “personal connection” boat anchor. Or at least launch another boat.

Salad bars are the other category that find their perfect application in robotics/automation. In 2017, Chowbotics created the popular Sally, the salad-making robot. In 2021, DoorDash acquired the company, and then thought better of it, and last August stopped the Sally salad making business. The gap that left in salad robots was filled at the NRA show this year with the debut of yet another Kitchen Innovation Award winner. It’s called SerVue, Touchless Refrigerated Slide-In. It’s a salad/food bar with canisters housed in a refrigerated chamber that can dispense and portion control ingredients with the touch of a button. Pretty much what Sally the salad maker did.

The point is, an army of robots is coming to foodservice, and you know the future is AI-smart function and automatic payment, just because the technology has evolved. The labor is a non-issue. The technology simply opens the door to a new foodservice segment fit for locations that previously had nothing to do with food and beverages. The labor will be simply in servicing machines.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

The Lay of the Sriracha Land

Can you believe that sriracha is still hot? I was writing about its global-flavor trendiness back in 2017. And here we are with the vibrant sauce still ruling the roost six years later. Particularly the iconic Huy Fong Foods brand with the rooster on the bottle.

In spite of spotty sriracha availability and high prices due to the ongoing chili pepper shortage, chefs who participated in the NRA’s 2023 What’s Hot Culinary Trends Forecast survey ranked sriracha variations in the top 10 culinary trends. So, we can safely say that the versatile spicy sauce is not just a fad. It has transitioned from niche player to “hipster ketchup.”

It seems fitting that the fiery condiment originated in Thailand, from the coastal city of Si Racha. But that’s not the rendition familiar to the American palate. The Thai version has more tang, is runnier and is mainly used as a seafood dipping sauce. The Huy Fong Foods brand familiar to us comes from David Tran, a Vietnamese refugee. He eventually ended up in California where he continued preparing the sauce he had been making in Vietnam when he was so abruptly uprooted.

You can take the versatility of sriracha from a couple angles. Interestingly, sriracha is a generic term. The name was never trademarked. Folks are free to come up with their own version and call it sriracha. But also, it can and is used across the menu from breakfast to the bar.

But it’s the blank spicy canvas aspect of sriracha that has chefs excited. What if you add lime for a refreshing kick? Or maybe a smoky twist with smoked paprika for a signature BBQ sauce? Maybe sweeten it up with honey or maple syrup and make a glaze for grilled meat, or even a zesty addition to a cheese platter.

Consider adding it to your ingredient mix to introduce a delightful surprise to your usual dishes. Saxby’s serves up Siracha and Chive Avo Toast. Bowls provide an excellent platform for combining flavors, creating the perfect home for sriracha, like Wildflower Bread Co.’s Sweet Potato and Greens Breakfast Bowl. That features sunny eggs over organic baby kale, spinach, roasted red onions, roasted red bell pepper, sriracha, goat cheese and pepitas. For a crazy Korean burger twist, the BGR Burgers Grilled Right chain did an LTO burger, which it billed as “Our legendary burger topped with Kimchi, cilantro, sriracha sauce and Korean BBQ.” TGI Friday’s also went with a Korean theme for its current Korean Fried Chicken Sliders on the appetizer menu. That is three sriracha marinated fried chicken sliders topped with sweet and salty sesame-honey soy sauce, guacamole and coleslaw.

If the perception of sriracha as “spicy ketchup” holds true, then a new realm of opportunities emerges on the horizon. With a dash or drizzle of creativity, you can create menu offerings that will intrigue and delight your customers. There’s still plenty of menu revolution to be had. (Sriracha grits anyone?)

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Fill Your Plate in Hawaii

It’s hard to put my finger on what it is about Hawaii that makes every trip down the highway headed toward point B like a vacation. But I’ve lived on Kauai for six years now, and I never take my surroundings for granted. I still pinch myself that I get to live here. Even the locals who have lived here all their lives feel the same way.

I first fell in love with these islands, and especially Kauai (aptly called the Garden Island) on my honeymoon 26 years ago. I blush to say that I cried when it was time to check out of the hotel and fly away. Every single view on this island presents jagged mountains, colorful flowers year-round, blue ocean—or any combination of the three.

Since moving here, I’ve learned a thing or two about the distinct delicious food along with its lore. I recently interviewed several renowned chefs who shared with me the characteristics of the cuisine of Hawaii for the article you can read by clicking here. It’s the main feature in the May/June 2023 issue of The National Culinary Review magazine.

But there wasn’t room in the article to share all of the fun food facts of paradise. Below are some things I’ve picked up that you may not read in magazines.

• The popular tropical ice treat is called shave ice, not shaved ice. And good ones have ice cream in the middle. If it’s cold enough to give you goose bumps, don’t admit it out loud. They don’t have goose bumps in Hawaii. They have chicken skin.
• SPAM is so popular, you’ll find large quantities on the endcaps at grocery stores, including Costco. You’ll also find it on the breakfast menu at McDonald’s. And you’ll find cases of it at 7-Eleven made up into musubi, the most ubiquitous SPAM snack in Hawaii.
• Looking for passionfruit? Call it that and locals will know you’re a tourist. It’s lilikoi.
• You ordered salmon on the menu? Sorry, that wasn’t local. It was flown in. Salmon does not swim around Hawaii.
• Pupus (pronounced poo poos) are little finger foods that you know as appetizers. Expect to find them at catered social events.
• Mayonnaise makes everything good. Macaroni salad and poke may be the two most popular dishes in Hawaii of which mayo is a prime ingredient.
• A baby’s first birthday is on par with weddings and graduations for elaborate partying among family and friends far and wide. Parents of one-year-olds put on a lavish baby luau, complete with pupus and a luau buffet, Hawaiian music band, decorations, party favors and games.

If you ever have a chance to visit Hawaii and wonder which island to see, my husband and I renamed the 4 main islands on our honeymoon, and we stand by those summaries 26 years later.

• Oahu is New York City with a beach. Crazyville. The traffic jams are outrageous. But what great shopping and eating.
• Maui is California. It’s the hipster place that Millennials with their kids want to be. Go there in the winter to see whales.
• The Big Island of Hawaii is the moon. I have not figured out why anyone would want to live there. But if you want to see volcanos and Serengeti-size lava fields, go to the Big Island.
• Kauai is the Arkansas of Hawaii. It’s rural and unpretentious. Most locals drive a pickup truck. (Tourists drive the Jeeps.) No need to unpack the high heels in Kauai. There’s no place to wear them.

Jody

Poutine is No Match to Loaded Fries Here

There may not be a physical boundary between the U.S. and Canada, but you could consider Canadians’ love affair with poutine a clear food divide.

After Canada’s French fry/cheese curd/gravy dish launched in Quebec in the 1950s, it gradually blended into the culture as the culinary symbol of comfort and national pride. The dish that many Americans have never heard of is so iconic in Canada that food lovers travel the country to its myriad of poutine festivals. Next up is the Ottawa PoutineFest April 27-30, 2023.

Perhaps someday we Americans will “get it,” but to my senses, gravy on French fries is a perfectly spectacular way to ruin a good plate of fries.

I suppose American foodservice operators feel much like I do, because there is only a smattering of gravy doused French fries on menus across this country. Suffice it to say, poutine is not trending here.

BUT, French fries certainly present a tasty foundation for other smotherings that are delicious to Americans. Here are five recent potato-load LTOs I’ve run across:

1. Rutter’s, the York, Pa.-based c-store chain, offers Pulled Pork Fries: Fries topped with Austin Blues pulled pork, shredded cheese, barbecue sauce and ranch dressing.
2. Dallas-based Bonchon has gone global with its Loaded Bulgogi Fries: Thinly sliced marinated steak over seasoned fries, topped with mozzarella cheese, spicy mayonnaise and chopped scallions.
3. Arby’s new Loaded Fries are also packed with protein, described as curly fries topped with sweet and spicy sauce, warm cheddar cheese sauce, diced fried chicken nuggets, and chopped bacon.

We can’t talk about loaded fries without delving into other potato offshoots.

4. Domino’s made a splash with its Philly Cheese Steak Loaded Tots. That is potato tots topped with sliced steak, Alfredo sauce, onions, green peppers and mozzarella-cheddar cheese blend.
5. Smokey Bones has gone and rethought loaded mashed potatoes with its Brisket Sundae. That is Smoked Texas-style brisket over mashed potatoes and roasted corn topped with red wine sauce, fried onions and scallions.

Heat is what’s hot with fries currently. Bolder-flavored loaded fries (as in ghost pepper fries and hot honey fries) are among the top three snack trends, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2023 What’s Hot Culinary Forecast. Loaded potatoes of any kind certainly tickle the tastebuds and present an opportunity to add gourmet value, something fast-food operators crave.

You can even leverage the popularity of loaded fries to encourage a specific behavior. Eureka! based in Hawthorne, Calif., offers free Truffle Cheese Fries to those who link their credit card to their loyalty program membership. Divulging a credit card number must be a fair exchange for a free order of the upscale fries topped with truffle salt, white truffle cheese sauce, Parmesan cheese and chives.

Loaded fries could present other marketing plays. For any operator making loaded fries a signature dish, perhaps encourage an art contest to design a loaded fries serving dish or container. Also on the contest theme, how about a recipe contest to engage fans by allowing suggestions for loading ingredients. Consider an Instagram fry photo contest.

The U.S. might not match the pageantry of poutine festivals, but we can certainly keep cravable loading options fresh and alive.

Jody

With These Breakfast Items, “Just Because You Can,” You Should!

I think the inner kid in all of us comes out at breakfast. The morning daypart is a whimsical food playground for both research chefs and the patrons who simply can’t turn away from what they see. Culinary dreams are made of cereal, waffles, donuts and pancakes.

It is certainly common to take the breakfast imagination to other day parts like Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes has done with its current Froot Loops Shake LTO. But operators are waking up to the idea of bringing the sensibilities of other menu sections and dayparts over to first meal.

Wrap your mind around Caramel Frappe Pancakes. Snooze, an A.M. Eatery just ended that LTO that featured pancakes made with espresso sugar and topped with espresso cream, almond streusel, whipped cream and caramel sauce. What about delivering cornbread via French toast? Turning Point, based in Newark, Delaware, did it, albeit masking the savory flavor with strawberries, blackberries, pineapple, banana, toasted coconut and sweet bourbon sauce.

I’m definitely not the only one who sees this play on dayparts. The 500-plus professionals who took part in the National Restaurant Association’s 2023 What’s Hot Culinary survey ranked “unique handhelds” as the second leading breakfast trend. Operators who put that lens on are finding that it’s worth waking up and going to work in the R&D kitchen. Look at these five current or recent unique breakfast handhelds for inspiration.

1. Grilled Chee Donut. It truly is a grilled cheese sandwich made with a donut. The name is a play on the restaurant name, Cincinnati-based Tom & Chee with 12 locations in seven states. They list the sandwich on the menu under the “Sweet Cheets” category.
2. Pigs in a Blanket are usually party fare. But for an unspecified limited time at Perkins, the dish is three grilled pork sausage links each wrapped in a pancake. There’s syrup for dipping. They are accompanied by two eggs and choice of potato.
3. Montecristo Waffle made it to the breakfast menu at San Francisco’s The New Spot on Polk restaurant. The handheld waffle is topped with fried chicken strips on a bed of homemade jam and topped with melted Swiss cheese.
4. Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Pancake Tacos are now permanent on the menu at Pancake Kitchen by Cracker Barrel. That is, two buttermilk pancakes each folded and filled with bacon, fried egg and shredded Colby cheese. Of course the taco sauce is maple syrup on the side.
5. Donut Glazed Biscuits with or without chicken are available for a limited time at Krystal. For breakfast only, guests can order the Donut-Glazed Spicy Chick Biscuit, or a non-spicy version or just a donut-glazed biscuit on its own.

Each of these easily generates an Instagrammable breakfast buzz while leveraging the popular portability theme, though they all seem a little too sloppy to eat in the car on the way to work. They also present a fun, playful “new” form for ingredients already inhouse with the potential to cross daypart boundaries as all-day offerings.

Tell me what you think!

Jody

Pulled Pork Across the Menu

Right now, foodservice operators are knocking themselves out to beat everyone else with chicken. Quit the chicken beating already! Pull yourself together and imagine other opportunities—like pulled pork. It can be economical. You don’t need the best cuts. You don’t have to lose any more sleep contemplating the best way to perfect, execute (and gasp, deliver!) crispy outcomes. Liberate yourself. Put away the fryer and pull out the wares to sous vide, steam, smoke, braise or roast.

As we speak, only a few specific foodservice segments have mastered pulled pork. BBQ restaurants as well as Southwest/Mexican eateries have already perfected the protein. But there’s plenty more to imagine, not only for them, but for all segments.

Let me lead you through an ideation session, and you take it from there. And here’s a worthy goal: Oct. 12, 2023 is National Pulled Pork Day. Set your sites on a pulled pork LTO for that day, week or month.

• Yes to pulled pork/carnitas quesadillas, tacos, burritos and such. But how about a little tasteful global fusion? Experiment with pulled pork lumpia, bao buns, spring rolls or any other traditional encasement.
• Sandwiches are the obvious. OK. Expand on that, like a pulled pork panini; Bahn mi; grilled cheese with pulled pork; Switch out the B for a PPLT; French baguette.
• Cottage Inn Gourmet Pizza offers the Smokehouse BBQ pizza with a base of Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce topped with pulled pork, cheese blend, onions and bacon.
• As long as you’re slow-cooking that pork, by all means, find a breakfast application. Add some eggs and make a carnitas breakfast burrito. Hash is an under-menued breakfast/brunch dish. Go simple with a pulled pork hash that combines shredded potato, onion and melted cheese. Or, look at Greenleaf Kitchen & Cocktails. The carnitas hash on the brunch menu features braised carnitas, eggs, butternut squash, sweet potato, carrot, bell pepper and red and green onions with hollandaise sauce.
• Go Hawaiian. Kalua pig is smoked pulled pork. Anyone who has visited the Aloha State and attended a luau has had kalua pork, and it was likely memorable, because part of the pageantry of luaus is the pig cooking method and the story that goes with it. Lau lau is an authentic Hawaiian application of kalua pork. It’s a leaf-wrapped package that is worth looking into.
• Pair pulled pork with comfort. Mac and cheese gets a gourmet lift with a dab of pulled pork mixed in. Shareable comfort goes on the bar menu. Cover some French fries with pulled pork and cheese. Or, call upon Canada’s favorite poutine and top it with pulled pork and appropriate gravy.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Chipotle Leads the New Year

To start off 2023, I think I’ll hand a golden lettuce leaf to Chipotle. It’s gone way beyond the typical BFY New Year’s menu LTO.

But first, let me say that when Brian Niccol took the Chipotle CEO reins from Steve Ells nearly five years ago, I didn’t think he had to do much to improve the menu or the marketing.

Back in the not-so-distant past, Chipotle and Panera Bread pioneered the fast casual foodservice segment. Everyone wanted to “be them” for the buzz they created for assembling fresh food in front of guests who could customize their dish on the spot. It was probably that feat alone that kept Chipotle as popular as it was for so long. The novelty wore off—or diffused as more operators went to that model.

Then the chain became stale, introducing a new item about once a year at best, and it was inconsequential. For marketing, its message only swirled around sustainability issues. In that regard, it pioneered wokeness before that was even a term. But I don’t think you can call wokeness a restaurant marketing virtue. I actually found it to be sanctimonious.

Fast forward to this month as Chipotle’s New Year’s fireworks burst of a combination of innovation, health-focus and technology. Look at the headline on the chain’s New Year’s press release: “Chipotle inspires fans to maintain New Year’s resolutions with new augmented reality experience on Snapchat and Lifestyle Bowls.”

The new menu items (there are 7) demonstrate smart marketing by virtue of the names of the bowls. Actually, the chain has had lifestyle bowls for awhile. Previously it attached role models to the bowl names. Now the chain incorporates BFY buzzwords that GenZ and Millennials would appreciate. They don’t hide this generational grab. The first bullet point in the press release says Chipotle kicks off 2023 with new Lifestyle Bowl menu inspired by GenZ and Millennial wellness trends. Get a load of these names:

• Balanced Macros Bowl
• Veggie Full Bowl
• Wholesome Bowl
• Grain Freedom Bowl
• High Protein Bowl
• Plant-Powered Bowl
• Go Half Veggie Bowl

Naming dishes according to consumer values goes a long way marketing wise. Of course, the dish must be craveable. But I like what I’m seeing on menus that moves away from naming dishes according to the diet of the day (Keto, Whole30, etc.)

Moving past Chipotle, here are some other recent dish names worth a nod:

• Skinny Biscuit from Biscuitville Fresh Southern. It’s around 180 calories because about 1/3 of the middle is removed, making it thinner.
• Longevity Bowl from Tender Greens. It features slow-cooked black lentils with fennel, dried pears, roasted purple and yellow cauliflower, baby kale salad, and choice of roasted maitake mushrooms or grilled trout.
• Detox Bowl from Vitality Bowls. It is made up of a blend of açai, strawberries, banana, kale, spirulina, flax seed, and almond milk topped with banana, blueberries, almonds, goji berries, and honey
• Praeger’s Veggie Bowl at Flat Top Grill. It touts Dr. Praeger’s plant-based “chick’n,” garlic, water chestnuts, red and green bell peppers, baby corn, signature Flat Top Grill spice blend, and barbecue sauce over steamed white rice.

Mindful menu development benefits from mindful dish names. It makes promotional elements much easier, paving the way to a turnkey marketing campaign. It’s the stuff that the food media loves.

Jody