SheeFood

Getting a "Load" on Pizza

When I was a teenager, I hated pizza. That was back in the 1970s when the pizza pie pretty much came in only two versions: pepperoni and supreme that was heavy on the green peppers. I’m not fond of either, so I was the pizza veto in our family when eating out. Even today, if an operator is only going to menu two pizzas, they are going to be pepperoni and supreme. OK, maybe cheese to please the youngsters.

I don’t know what year or decade it was when pizza dough became a blank canvas for absolutely anything. Now you can gauge current food trends by looking at Pizza Hut’s LTOS. Every R&D chef is looking for ways to incorporate plant-based proteins, gluten-free options, hot honey, global flavors, comfort food, birria, Nashville hot and whatever other trends you’re reading about in your trade publications.

In January, Pizza Hut pepped up pepperoni pizza by incorporating hot honey and renaming it Hot Honey Pizza. It’s topped with marinara sauce, cheese, classic pepperoni and crispy cupped pepperoni, and a sweet sauce made with red habanero peppers and honey. Oh, and how about Pizza Hut’s spicy Pickle Pizza LTO last year? Pickles have had their moment. The chain combined pickles with Nashville hot chicken. It was sauced with buttermilk ranch, and topped with cheese, crispy breaded chicken breast seasoned with a kick of Nashville Hot Seasoning, sliced white onions, and then loaded with spicy dill pickles and finished off with a drizzle of buttermilk ranch.

In the cold Q4 of 2023, Hungry Howie’s went with a comfort food theme for an LTO of Mac ‘N Cheese Pizza that included melted mozzarella and panko breadcrumbs for a crunch.

So, we see that pizza crust is a carrier for all the latest trends in the same way every carrier is taking on food-scene shifts. Think sandwiches, wraps, tacos, omelets and now bowls. They are all foundations for the likes of birria, Nashville hot and the rest of the current “it” ingredients.

I would think that the classic baked potato could go all directions as a carrier of dining evolutions, but it really hasn’t for some reason. I have to hand it to Wendy’s for being the lone champion of the baked potato in fast food. It has five topping options, all of which stay reasonably between the standard white lines. Fries and tots, on the other hand, are the sexier potato carriers for trendy toppings. Wings and Rings totally got that with a few notable LTOs last year. Its Loaded Steak & Queso Fries were topped with seasoned thinly sliced steak, queso, cheddar jack cheese, jalapenos, avocado, roasted corn, tomatoes, scallions and chipotle ranch dressing. (Couldn’t you just as easily see that ingredient list atop a pizza or in a wrap or bowl?)

In the dessert category, Wings and Rings ran a S’Mores Funnel Fries LTO that loaded funnel cake fries with gooey melted marshmallows, chocolate and Cinnamon Toast Crunch crumbles. 

Coming full circle with the loaded goods, Domino’s Pizza entered the field of loaded potatoes for the first time last year with loaded tots. The three variations simply borrow the ingredients from a few pizzas, so other than the tots, no new ingredients were required. (Philly Cheese Steak Loaded Tots; Cheddar Bacon Loaded Tots; and Melty 3-Cheese Loaded Tots.)

What will become the next blank canvas for trendy ingredient toppings? Watch Papa Murphy’s. It recently added Monkey Bread to the menu. So far it comes in only two flavors: savory garlic and sweet cinnamon. But I see loads of opportunity, how about you?

Jody

What Sustainability Trends Will Restaurants Embrace in 2024?

I see two competing eco-friendly food/foodservice trends going on, and I wonder which one is going to dominate in 2024.

In one corner, you have the plant-based animal-protein look-alikes that the big chains busted their buns to launch, relaunch and over launch. Many restaurant behemoths already squarely have Impossible or Beyond Meat offerings.

These plant-based options have gained prominence as environmentally conscious cuisine recognized for their role in decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes to reducing climate change. Additionally, they are notable for lessening land and water use, among other benefits. However, their highly processed reputation is a rather noticeable elephant in the room.

Meanwhile, the next big planet-focused thing is coming into view. Chefs are looking at regenerative agriculture-minded farms with the realization that traditional farming practices deplete the soil while diminishing the nutrients. Some chefs are partnering with smaller farmers who increasingly focus on soil health, water management, carbon sequestration via cover crops and minimizing tilling and chemical inputs.

From a consumer perspective, individuals are looking at a climatarian diet that focuses on low carbon footprint foods, local and seasonal eating, sustainable farming practices and reducing food waste.

I’ve watched the sustainability movement over the last few decades. It began about 20 years ago with a sudden interest in organic. Traditional growers bit the bullet and went through the three-year process of transitioning to certified organic. But then… the focus switched to local. Consumers and the foodservice industry asked, what’s the use of buying organics if they are shipped across the country. Low carbon footprint became the holy grail. The sustainability goalpost keeps moving!

You see evidence of the switch in thinking by looking at the annual What’s Hot chef surveys that the National Restaurant Association conducts every year. Fifteen years ago (in 2009) chefs ranked locally grown produce as the top trend. Organic produce was No. 3. The next year and ever since, organic produce hasn’t been in the top 10. However, locally grown produce and locally sourced meats and seafood were the top two trends for five years running beginning in 2010.

Then what happened with sustainability? Hyper-local sourcing entered the top five trends in 2016. That is restaurants growing their own gardens. In 2019, zero-waste cooking made its trend appearance, showing up as the No. 3 trend that year. Plant-based proteins entered the race at No. 2 in 2020. By 2022, plant-based sandwiches ranked as the eighth top trend, and since then, plant-based has dropped out of the top 10 trends.

Now is a good time to take a temperature check of these well-funded plant-based meats.  Many restaurant chains only tested them and didn’t roll them out. Others started strong, but discontinued them for lack of customer interest, including Dunkin’ and Hardee’s. Del Taco and Denny’s both gave them the axe more recently in 2023.

Back to regenerative agriculture and the climatarian diet. Chipotle is betting on this form of sustainability that you can read about here. I recently asked the corporate chef of certified regenerative farm The Chef’s Garden in Huron, Ohio, what he thinks is the future of the restaurant industry and regenerative agriculture and the climatarian diet. He gave a fair answer. “It depends on how important it is to the consumer. We are in the service industry. We want to make customers happy to come back. If regenerative agriculture and climatarian-minded foods are important to consumers, that will be critical to what we do.”

I think that as consumers, chefs and farmers jointly prioritize sustainability, a shift away from mere plant-based items is emerging. This eco-friendly focus will shape culinary trends into the future. “Greener is better” is a unifying mantra.

Jody

The Comfort of Stuffing

As we look ahead to 2024 food trends, we aren’t ready to let go of comfort food yet. Yes to mac & cheese in various forms. But there’s another category that has more to give. That is stuffed foods. And not just with cheese and bacon, per the American comfort palate. Think Vietnamese spring rolls, Argentinian empanadas, Polish pierogis, Japanese Gyoza, and Indonesian/Filipino lumpia.

The annual What’s Hot chef survey is out, and the No. 7 chef-predicted trend for 2024 is stuffed vegetables, as in Chiles en Nogada, stuffed peppers and stuffed cabbage rolls. Perhaps some of the least labor-intensive stuffed vegetable opportunities might center on those with natural cavities, like squash and avocados. More labor-intensive, but bound to get rave reviews, would be stuffed Brussels sprouts, outfitted with a mixture of bacon bits, breadcrumbs and Parmesan before roasting.

But back to the comfort of stuffing. Bread and its loose derivatives are a universal comfort category that can go in so many directions. My favorite restaurant here in Kauai (Tidepools in The Grand Hyatt Hotel) offers Malasadas on the dessert menu, which are deliciously fried donut holes coated in sugar. Our server suggested a DIY stuffed rendition where we cut the Malasadas in half ourselves, scoop ice cream into them and spoon a sauce over the top. Of course the flavor is over the top, but it might be the self-stuffing experience that most resonates.

Here's another stuffed standout. Papa Johns just announced the launch of its new Cheesy Calzone Epic Stuffed Crust Pizza. I mean, the crust itself serves as the calzone, stuffed with mozzarella and garlic-herb ricotta.

Comfort, stuffing and street food all go together, and the Asian street food Wow Bao concept is a great posterchild for that. While steamed bao buns are solidly Asian, the culinary jewels in the middle don’t have to be. Draw inspiration from Wow Bao’s bun filling choices: teriyaki chicken, BBQ pork, spicy Mongolian beef, cheeseburger and coconut custard.

Polish Pierogis have inspired numerous restaurant concepts. One is Pierogis House in Morristown, N.J., with at least eight filling themes that are worth calling out, partly because the operator readily strays from Polish fillings: Potato & Farmer’s Cheese; Sauerkraut & Kielbasa; Spinach & Feta; Buffalo Chicken; Lentil & Mushrooms; Philly Cheese Steak; Potato, Bacon & Cheddar; and Jalapeno, Bacon & Cheddar. Guests can order either boiled or pan-fried Pierogis and for an extra charge can choose additional toppings like sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions, bacon bits and apple sauce (!)

Going into 2024, consider ways to feature comfort fare in a stuffed platform as an LTO. If you want to include global flavors, College and University dining might be a good place to begin some R&D.

Jody

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