SheeFood

Breakfast Cereal Has Legs

It’s refreshing to see that not all menu innovation is centered around functional food. Some of it is just fun. That was my thought when I read a blurb earlier this month about Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s latest LTO—Froot Loops Mini Donuts. That is, mini donuts in the colors of Froot Loops, so they look like the cereal… in red, blue, green, purple and yellow. I bet they even use artificial coloring!

The company press release offers nostalgia as the thought behind the sugary-cereal-like donuts. It could just as easily have been a matter of indulgence, creative snacking or expanding the breakfast daypart.

Cereal itself is expanding across the menu—a breakfast dish-turned-ingredient—thinking outside the cereal box with still more life to give breakfast and brunch. And I’m not talking about granola, which is almost classified as a superfood. No. I mean all the other stuff lining the cereal aisle.

I noticed on the menu at Scratch Kitchen and Meatery in Honolulu Milk N Cereal Pancakes with a side of milk syrup. The pancake stack was topped with banana and strawberry slices, corn flakes and powdered sugar. A great way to get some crunch in there.

Anything that has to be batter-dipped for breakfast or brunch may as well be dredged in cereal. How about Cap’n Crunch-crusted French toast with a side of cereal milk custard and fresh strawberries. It’s on the menu at Culinary Dropout. On the brunch menu, chicken and waffles get a tweak with Rice Krispie-crusted chicken on a Belgian waffle with maple-bacon syrup as seen on the menu at Chicago’s Heaven on Seven.

Cereal breading goes right on through the menu for lunch and dinner, making for a great menu story and perhaps some social media traction. The Fried Avocado Wrap at Picasso on Paseo in Oklahoma City is possible because the avocado is corn flake crusted. The Chicken Sliders at BurGR are also corn flake crusted. Corn flakes are generic enough to take on the other chicken slider flavors of five spice, Sriracha mayo, pickled scallions and arugula.  

Desserts are where operators can go crazy with cereal. That’s because a successful dessert will be craveable and Instagramable. Even here, the crusted theme works for a dessert that is going to wow the guest as a fried version of its best self. Consider the Rolo’s Fried Ice Cream at Mugshots Grill & Bar, Tupelo, Miss. The vanilla ice cream scoops are rolled in Frosted Flakes, deep fried, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Famed food star Guy Fieri just opened his new Chicken Guy restaurant in Walt Disney World Resort with Cinnamon Apple on the dessert menu described as hand-spun vanilla soft-serve, crunchy cinnamon cereal and cinnamon-apple cereal with fresh whipped cream. (He’s using Apple Jacks.)

For a cupcake topping, how about Lucky Charms sprinkled on top of light green vanilla bean buttercream frosting? It’s the Lucky Charms Cupcake at Yummy Cupcakes.

Cereal-topped milkshakes are certainly photogenic, providing a wealth of LTOs for Steak ‘n Shake. The chain has come out with a Cinnamon Crunch Milkshake, Cocoa Krispies Milkshake, Froot Loops Milkshake and Frosted Flakes Milkshake.

Where can cereal go that it hasn’t been before? I was going to say ball park hotdogs. But at Progressive Field, the Cleveland Indians already thought of that and offered hot dogs loaded with mac n' cheese, bacon and Froot Loops.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

How Soon Before We See Loaded Coffee?

Given the now-recognized phenomenon that snacks are meals to a lot of folks, and I’d say that those operating coffee operations are in a sweet spot right now. That’s because today’s coffee is an addiction for some and a snack for others. Maybe an addictive snack.  

I’ve watched what has happened with coffee limited-time offers in the past year, and it is apparent that operators are investing R&D in candy-like coffee. Take McDonald’s McCafé coffee LTOs for instance. In March, it came out with Turtle Macchiato (chocolate, caramel and hazelnut flavors blended with milk and espresso, topped with a chocolate drizzle) and Iced Turtle Coffee (Iced coffee with chocolate, caramel and hazelnut flavors and a touch of cream). Pure snack, and pure sweet coffee, with the turtle moniker so no one misses the candy connection.

In my opinion… what took so long? My first job as a high schooler was at a donut shop. In the back, if the chocolate we used to ice the chocolate donuts was too thick, we poured hot coffee into it and stirred to revive. Coffee and chocolate are so similar that there is no off-putting flavor when combined. Now decades later, coffee operators are onto it in a marketable way (what we did in the back at the donut shop decades ago was our little secret).

More examples, in January, Caribou Coffee offered Cabin Bar Mocha—butterscotch melted into steamed milk and combined with espresso and peanut butter flavor, topped with chocolate whipped cream and chocolate chips. In March, Starbucks reached away from chocolate to other confections with its creative Crystal Ball Frappuccino LTO— “a crème-based Frappuccino infused with peach flavor and turquoise sparkles for a marbling effect. The magic happens when the peach-flavored whipped cream is sprinkled with one of three colored candy gems, each color signifying a different fortune in vivid blue, green, and purple.”

Now that the door has opened to combining candy and coffee, I think that in the spirit of loading, “freak coffee” is next. Freak shakes are already a trending thing. The examples above show we are almost there with coffee. Surely someone is taking note of what Checkers is doing with shakes. The chain features a Loaded Milkshake section. Thinking of their innovation, I expect to see coffee operators partnering with candy companies to come up with the next wave of hot and iced coffee snack/dessert LTOs. I’ll finish with Checkers’ recent loaded shake addition and ask… why can’t coffee do this?

Of its Caramel Cheesecake Crunch Made with Twix® Loaded Milkshake, Checkers declares on its menu: “a dialed-up version of our milkshakes made with vanilla milkshake blended with soft serve, rich caramel sauce, and crushed Twix® candy pieces. It’s then topped with Philadelphia® cheesecake filling and more Twix® candy pieces. Then, it’s all topped off with whipped cream and a cherry. Upgrade your Classic Milkshake to the new Caramel Cheesecake Crunch Made with Twix® Loaded Milkshake only at Checkers & Rally’s!”

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Crisps Add Variety Via Crunch

The best thing to happen to a dish is the incorporation of some crunch. I think Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap is a brilliant, marketable title. To the American palate, crunch is tops. Along the same line, so is crisp. In fact, a menu trend is to recast chips as crisps. Crisps sound a little more elevated, and perhaps fresher. After all, we know potato chips come in plastic bags. Crisps don’t carry the same baggage.

We will start seeing more crisps incorporated into dishes for a few reasons. Many of the seasoned chefs I interview for magazine articles explain their goal for a dish to “bang on all cylinders.” That means a dish must include various flavor components (sweet, salty, acidic, etc.) and various textures. Right now, it seems to be a fine-dining goal, but I believe it is spreading. Thus, adding something crispy to the dish makes for a well-rounded intriguing offering any segment can accomplish.

So, what is being crisped these days? An easy one is wonton crisps, and they aren’t relegated to Chinese dishes. Consider Orlando-based Joe’s American Bar and Grill’s Honey Chicken. It’s topped with mesclun greens, sesame noodles, diced tomato, toasted sesame seeds and wonton crisps—topped with honey Dijon dressing. Interesting combo.

Crispy shallots (an elevated version of crispy onions) are showing up as dish finishes. Root vegetables may not be everyone’s favorite, but crisped? Maybe guests think of them in terms of Veggie Straws in which they don’t even resemble their origins. And so I see taro root crisps atop the Coconut Lobster Bisque at The Dining Room in Little Torch Key, Fla. Crisped beets are an appetizer headliner at Narcissa in New York. Its Rotisserie-Crisped Beets also feature bulgur salad, apples and creamed horseradish.

Some are taking the track of bacon—crisped pork, after all. Nothing is better than that. And so, how about crisped pastrami on Smoked Hash? It’s at The General Muir in Atlanta. Cheese, we know, also makes for great crisping. Parmesan crisps have been around for ages.

But if you notice, most of the crisp action is happening at independent fine-dining restaurants where they have the time and labor power, unlike limited-service restaurants. But that segment is where I think we’ll start seeing more of this crispy texture play.

At the recent annual Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Meeting & Food Expo in Chicago, Ardent Mills introduced whole grain crisps. They are available to the foodservice masses as Ancient & Heirloom Grains; Sustagrain Barley; and Quinoa. I imagine we’ll see these at salad chains and fast casual restaurants, probably as options in their customizable manner. It’s a brilliant line of BFY crisps to match the healthy ethos of many of these eateries.

I think we haven’t seen anything yet when it comes to crisps on the menu.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Fries Remastered

To American’s, French fries have always belonged with burgers. Then operators woke up to what Canadian’s were successfully doing with them (adding cheese curds and pouring gravy over the top in poutine fashion), and the American loaded fries menu movement emerged.

But the next generation of fries is being fueled by the snacking “daypart” combined with the realization that American’s would die for crunch. The guaranteed method to deliver it is the tried-and-true fried potato. Taco Bell has its new Nacho Fries; Jack in the Box has three new types of loaded fries; and Arby’s made a loaded line extension of its curly fries. But where is it all going from here?

I’m impressed with Burger King’s latest—Chicken Fries. I heard about it and was in Hawaii this week looking at it on the Burger King menu board, ready to order. They didn’t have them yet. The chain promotes them as white chicken meat coated in a light crispy breading and seasoned with spices and herbs. Who would not want to order that? You know, chicken fingers are all that—but with an outdated name and shape. Could Burger King have just reinvented chicken fingers fry-style?

Let’s take this non-potato twist on fries to its next logical place. Keep in mind, we’re going with the crispy snack sensibility. Let’s add to it a better-for-you element, and wouldn’t you come up with crispy fried vegetables? We may not find this on a fast-food menu to start with. I think bar menus might be the place to take trendy vegetables, coat them, then fry for that crispy crunch everyone craves—and match it with a flavorful sauce.

The fried vegetable is hardly novel. Tempura-fried vegetables are standard on Japanese menus. But creative operators take an idea and make it their own—in this case with what they envision for specific vegetables, coatings and dipping sauces.

If the long, skinny, crunchy French fry feeling is important, then fried zucchini or fried pickles sliced lengthwise might be the choice vegetables. And indeed, zucchini is a pretty typical vegetable to coat and crisp.

If the hot vegetable of the moment is important, then sliced, coated and fried Brussels sprouts or beets will get the treatment next. Prospect restaurant in San Francisco serves fried Brussels sprouts with Caesar dressing and a garlic crouton on its bar menu. Chicago’s NoMi Kitchen found a way to fry kale crispy and serve it with preserved lemon.

The batter might be the stand-out for some operators. I would be curious to examine the Smoked Tomato Corn Cake Fries on the small-bites menu at Kachina Southwest Grill in Westminster, Colo. In Mill Creek, Wash., casual dining eatery Blazing Onion serves breaded artichoke hearts and zucchini that it describes as Parmesan-battered and crispy fried served with housemade ranch dressing.

I think among these upscale restaurants, vegetable fritters could go places on the snack menu. I just heard about artichoke fritters made with tarragon, honey and lemon aioli at Marshall’s Landing in Chicago.

I’m positive that with the freshening up of menus, we will see more blending of the indulgence of fries with the healthfulness of vegetables. Will this spread across all restaurant segments? We shall see.

Tell me what you think.

Jody Shee

How Big of a Deal is Calorie Posting?

The mandatory posting of calorie counts on menus of restaurants with 20+ units is finally upon us. It looks like there will be no more stays of execution, and May 7 will stick.

What’s the effect on the foodservice industry, and how will it impact what consumers order?

That’s not difficult to determine given that the calorie count requirement has hung over the industry since the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and many restaurant chains have been proactive in beating the elusive deadline. But it’s what else they’ve been up to that shows how the rule is affecting the industry. Here are a few observations, and I’ll just tell you, fruits and vegetables come up as saviors.

• Blended ingredients, anyone? Burgers have never had a low-calorie reputation, but with 500+ calories staring consumers in the face, re-evaluation became necessary. There’s the Mushroom Council to thank for pushing like crazy to blend beef with mushrooms and maintain that umami flavor while reducing calories. Sonic was the first fast-food operator to jump into this with its new Signature Slinger of which it says: SONIC Signature Slingers lets you get away with all the flavor of a cheeseburger with none of the guilt starting at $1.99. They are less than 350 calories. Sonic isn’t the first at this. Beef/mushroom blended burgers are showing up in college and university dining via the contract management companies that work hard at being cutting edge.
• How about cauliflower pizza crust? Granted, this is as much about gluten- and carb-sensitivity, but it’s also a path to reduced calories. Earlier this year Pie Five Pizza ran a cauliflower crust LTO, and California Pizza Kitchen came out with its own cauliflower crust option as a permanent addition.
• Try some Zoodles—spiralized zucchini “noodles.” These are just now emerging at national chains. While Olive Garden recently test-dabbled with Spiralized Veggie Pasta, this week Noodles & Co. announced its national permanent launch of zucchini noodles in two dishes, the new Zucchini Romesco and the Zucchini Thai Green Curry with Shrimp. Its press release states, “A regular portion of zucchini noodles has 90 percent fewer calories and carbs than a regular portion of elbow noodles, and all the flavor and taste guests have come to expect from noodles.”

It’s the rest of Noodles & Co.’s statement that shows a fortunate convergence that makes these produce-heavy, lower-calorie options more appealing than they would have been when I was growing up in the tree-hugger generation. “Plus, zoodles are packed with vitamin C and potassium and are gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian. Crisp and fresh zoodles are a perfect guilt-free swap for traditional noodles in any of our dishes.”

Today’s younger, more informed consumers want their food to do something for them. And often, that brings a lower-calorie benefit to the table.

So, what do consumers really think of the posting of calorie and nutrition information? When they eat out vs. making meals at home, aren’t they in more of an indulgent mood?

37% of consumers say they don’t care about the calorie count when ordering dishes, according to research company Mintel’s Restaurant Decision Making Process - US - December 2017 report.

On the other hand, according to the same report, but a year earlier in 2016, consumers were asked what types of menu characteristics appeal to them, and about the same percent (36%) said “offering nutritional information.” So, about one-third really care, and one-third really don’t.

Whatever the case, all operators know that unless they aim to serve a niche market, it’s important to offer indulgence and BFY options. But with the mandatory posting of calorie counts, look for more innovation with lower-calorie outcomes.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Veggie Burgers 2.0

I find it remarkable that White Castle, which pretty much invented the slider years before mini burgers/sandwiches became a trend, may be the one to popularize veggie burgers to a new generation.

This week White Castle made the grand announcement that it was introducing the “Impossible Slider” to 140 of its restaurants in three states. I don’t know if that takes guts, or if that shows they are wise beyond their years.

Impossible Foods’ Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger have been all over the news lately as operators are popping up with their plant-based burger announcements. White Castle's timing is actually perfect.

When I was growing up, veggie burger and Gardein were synonymous distasteful terms. Only flower children ate them. They had a beef with beef. Today’s beef is not so much with cows as with the way they are raised and the impact on the environment. My generation wouldn’t think much about these things, but today’s Millennial is aware and disapproves of the vast amount of water it takes to raise cows vs. produce plants. (Where did everyone collectively learn this?) These youngsters purchase with their environmental conscience.

Smart people (including investors) saw a market for this reasoning. Combine the science behind Impossible Foods’ development of plant-based patties made from wheat, coconut oil, potatoes and “heme,” etc., with its targeted marketing message, “Compared to cows, the Impossible Burger uses 95% less land, 74% less water, and creates 87% less greenhouse gas emissions,” and you have a business for the textbooks.

I don’t want to give all the glory to Impossible Foods. Beyond Meat has its own version of this success story with impressive investors to back it up—Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Gates and McDonald’s former CEO Don Thompson. The Beyond Burger, which boasts of being cholesterol-, gluten- and soy-free and containing pea protein, has already made it into Applebee’s, TGI Fridays and Epic Burger. Watch for more Beyond Burger announcements among restaurants (until it becomes old news), considering that it’s on the Sysco order form now.

To the credit of both of these companies, apparently they achieved one of their highest goals. That was to create a burger that looks, smells, sizzles and tastes like a regular burger. Though I’ve never tried one, I talked to one independent restaurant operator who brought in the Beyond Burger, and within the first month, at least six customers sent the burger back because they thought they were accidently served a real beef burger.

He’s the one to whom I addressed my pressing question. Wouldn’t vegetarians push back on the idea of eating something that mimics real meat? But that question just shows my limited scope. Those who would order these meat-like plant-based burgers are not doing so because they are vegetarians. Today’s generation is completely open to plant-based foods while they are cutting back on beef—a well-researched and established fact.

And so I’m back to White Castle. They are wise to enter the Impossible Burger arena while everyone is still so curious and before the subject is worn-out, non-reported news. It was a great way for them to make a splash as the first fast food burger chain to carry the Impossible Burger. 

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Who is Going to Win This Race?

A fast food race is fully under way… A race to the bottom. Who can come the closest to practically giving the food away? The victor will come out smiling, while everyone else huffs and puffs for second place. Meanwhile, the economy is good, unemployment is down, tax breaks for businesses and people are encouraging. Why are we racing to the bottom?

I just read that Jack in the Box is switching from gourmet LTOs to value offerings. In just a few short months, it has gone from the Ribeye Burger to promoting several low-price bundles… something it plans to continue throughout 2018.

Is that a response to McDonald’s earlier hype over its $1, $2 and $3 menu items? Or Wendy’s “4 for $4” combo meals? Or Taco Bell’s $1 Cravings Menu? Or Subway’s Footlongs for $4.99? You see, if one starts racing, all others feel like they have no choice but to put on their track shoes.

This paltry pricing was common during the Great Recession. Operators must have poor memories. We all saw the glaring problem with cheap pricing. You almost can’t get out of the race to the bottom. It’s a customer-expectation free-fall that will end in a crash when the cheaps are over.  

Maybe operators are using their tax breaks to afford the cheap menus, hoping to draw value-seeking customers. But I think a better use of those tax break dollars would be to invest in employees, a great loyalty program, a new or better mobile ordering app, delivery vehicles and/or menu innovation. Read some surveys of what customers really want, besides low prices. You’ll find that it’s freshness, quality, innovation, and sustainability in all of its forms.

Ask another hard question: Do customers want cheap, or do they want flavor?

You’ll tell me not to be so naïve. Price is pretty much everything. OK, let’s talk price. When you offer these $1 and $2 meals, you’re setting the value of the food. But guess what, your customers would set a higher value than that. Do you know that studies show that men are willing to pay more for their food than women? Those studies also show that iGens and Millennials are also willing to pay more than the other generations for their food. If the food has perceivably premium ingredients, many will be willing to pay even more. 

I’m asking, what was wrong with the menu innovation strategy we were just in? Was it not working?

I do wonder what the economics are when an operator offers some bottom-dollar meals and some premium menu items. I can almost guess. They promote the cheap food (to the exclusion of the better stuff)—and that brings in the gold diggers who wouldn’t even look at a premium item.

Let’s aim higher. We were in that race. Don’t stop now!

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Top 5 Menu Trends for 2018

As I look forward to 2018, I see a lot of game-changing blurring ahead. It’s already happening and is opening the door for innovation beyond traditional bounds. It’s an exciting time for operators looking for ways to differentiate. It’s a troubling time for those who want to keep doing what they’ve always done.

1. Breakfast Inspires. Traditional breakfast items will appear elsewhere on the menu, and other meal staples will appear on the breakfast menu. We have all-day breakfast lessons to thank for this. I’m talking about things like Carl’s Jr.’s Breakfast Burger—a cheeseburger topped with bacon, egg, and a hashbrown and Bob Evans with its namesake burger on a potato bun stacked with a fried egg, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and Sriracha-avocado mayo and available all day. The chicken-and-waffles craze going on now is another example of sandwiching breakfast and lunch together.
   
2. Appetizers Get a New Name. While fast food, fast casual and casual dining compete for the most recently identified snacking occasion, chef-driven operators watch and question traditional menu-section names. They are jettisoning the pigeon-holed appetizer title. I can name three restaurants that opened in 2017 with menus that replaced the word appetizer for that menu section. Café Du Pays in Boston and Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. in Charleston, S.C., call the section snacks, while Kemuri Tatsu-ya in Austin names the section munchies. Others are changing the menu similarly. It’s possible that culinary development of the bar menu partially necessitated the need to rethink the catch-all appetizer theme. Small plates hasn’t been entirely appropriate either. Start watching what happens with the naming of this menu section.
3. Dessert Borrows from Lunch and Dinner. Indulgence isn’t limited to cake, ice cream, cookies and brownies. Proprietary signature desserts will reach into other menus and dayparts for vehicles to deliver sweet. Consider Dairy Queen’s Treatzza Pizza (fudge cookie crust layered with vanilla soft serve, candy pieces and a chocolate drizzle). The Original Dinerant in Portland, Ore., offers Ice Cream Nachos combining cinnamon sugar chips with mango salsa and ice cream. Coor’s Field in Denver serves Apple Pie Nachos. Boston’s Area Four serves Hong Kong waffles (egg-shaped protrusions vs. traditional indentations) like they do in Hong Kong as a dessert with ice cream and a fruit sauce.
4. International Flavors and Ingredients Become American. The fame of hot Sriracha and fermented kimchee clued in operators that Americans will accept foreign flavors on their American food. So watch as the industry goes tip-toeing through foreign fields in search of the next cool ingredient, flavor and preparation technique. And so we see pickled hijiki seaweed and fermented tomato water at Denver’s Mister Tuna. Zoës Kitchen’s new expanded menu includes several new sauces, including  Moroccan harissa described as a red pepper sauce with tomatoes and spices, including cardamom, cumin, and caraway. North Africa is the “it” place right now, but it could be anywhere on any American plate next year.
5. Traditional Restaurants Become Obsolete. OK, that won’t happen in 2018, but the notion has been set in motion. Combine what’s happening with mobile ordering apps, delivery and new competing venues, and restaurants should start adjusting into new models to avoid self-destruction. It’s marketing 101. Food trucks, food halls, grocery store and c-store prepared foods and prep-only kitchens/off premises preparation locales may just be the beginning of imaginative ways consumers will have available to get food. Something as simple as Instagram will be the field leveler. Right now we think consumers want the experience of going out to eat, but will they always? Watch the upcoming generations.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

Breastraunts are Skating on Thin Ice

Aren’t we all amazed with the national spotlight right now on sexual harassment? It’s been going on for millennia, but for some reason, right now is the time men are going down in flames daily, and chefs are not exempt. New Orleans chef John Besh is not the only food guy to act inappropriately. I predict we will hear of more, and Lord have mercy on any who are capitally villainized—because if everyone who has sexually harassed someone were to be identified, there would be no time or space for any other news.

For the casual dining industry, I have a word of—wonder. Hooters, Tilted Kilt and Twin Peaks—to name a few—listen up. What you thought was playful when you founded your business now sits on the edge of inappropriateness in the current climate. Your playful, sex-object positioning of women servers may soon come back to bite you. If I was in your shoes, I’d be afraid of an uprising, because it's bound to come.

If you have a PR agency, it’s time to develop a crisis management protocol for when a claim surfaces. It’s also time to put together some mandatory sexual harassment training. Other companies and industries are already on it, according to a Wall Street Journal article today. “This is a moment where people will not turn their heads when something is wrong,” according to the article. Don’t wait for a claim or lawsuit before you decide it might be time to adjust the culture.

How to adjust it, I’m not sure. When the brand name, logo and required attire legitimize ogling (at a minimum), a change in any of those areas will likely detract from the brand. And so, what about rebranding? It may be appropriate to call in some experts on such things.

If nothing else, make sure you have plenty of liability insurance. I’m just saying, danger is in the wind, and I won’t be surprised to soon read of one of these brands in the light of sexual harassment.

Tell me what you think.

Jody

You Know it's Fall When...

Before a single leaf changes colors and lets loose, long before the first football kick off and yet while white shoes, skirts and pants are still within social/seasonal boundaries, fall menus appear filled with pumpkin everything.

The usual orange suspects are now plentifully available… pumpkin donuts, lattes, milkshakes, pancakes, muffins… Do people even like the flavor of pumpkin? That’s beside the point.

As I looked over this year’s fall LTOs, I searched for interesting, inventive and unusual offerings. Let’s not bore customers. Let’s take these pumpkin specials where they don’t usually go.

• It only lasted one day, but Morristown, N.J.-based Villa Italian Kitchen offered a Pumpkin Spice Pizza. The dough was loaded with pumpkin pie filling, including nutmeg, clove and cinnamon, and was topped with mozzarella and baked. I’d give that the prize for most buzz worthy. (I’m sure it tasted awful, so a one-day-only special was perfect for that.)
• Au Bon Pain wins the prize for most widespread use of pumpkin. The shotgun approach includes a sandwich (turkey, ham, Swiss and maple pumpkin butter piled high on a warm croissant); soup (butternut squash, pumpkin and apple purees simmered in a vegetarian velouté with sweet cream, maple syrup and rosemary); a pumpkin pie latte; a pumpkin pie tart; a pumpkin croissant; and just in case, a maple pumpkin butter & lite cream cheese spread to apply to everything else on the menu.
• Cracker Barrel developed a less-expected pumpkin dessert: Pumpkin Custard N’ Gingersnaps that plays on the flavors typically associated with pumpkin desserts. It simply layers pumpkin custard, gingersnap crumble and whipped cream, all topped with a fresh-baked gingersnap cookie. It wins the “I think I’ll try that” award.
• If pumpkin cookies, donuts and muffins work, why couldn’t pumpkin pretzels? Both Auntie Anne’s and Wetzel’s Pretzels went with it, but of the two, Wentzel’s wins the “alluring award” because it includes a condiment. Auntie Anne’s simply calls its fall offering Pumpkin Spice Pretzel Nuggets. Wetzel’s is called Pumpkin Spice Bitz, which are pretzel bites tossed in a sugar-spice blend and paired with a pumpkin caramel dip.
• The craveable presentation award goes to Slim Chickens for its Pumpkin Cheesecake Dessert in a jar. The mason jar idea (customers get to keep the jar) caught the attention of Fox news, which featured a segment on it and described the jarred, layered pumpkin pie dessert as repeating layers of cheesecake, pumpkin pie and whipped cream that are easily ordered to-go, shareable and possible to eat over an extended period of time after putting the lid back on and returning it to the fridge after a few bites.

What could be next for pumpkin? It’s probably too late for this year, but maybe R&D chefs could start now experimenting with pumpkin bowls, fermented pumpkin, sous vide, and how about a little African spice? Can it live without sugar? Could it be shaved and served raw on a salad? How would pumpkin fries taste? I think there’s still plenty of opportunity for the fall favorite.

Tell me what you think.

Jody