Foodservice operators around the country are expanding their use of produce in myriad ways, working with their vendors to navigate supply and execution challenges as they recast their menus to satisfy evolving consumer tastes and preferences.
Joining a host of industry professionals at the 4th Annual Ideation Fresh Foodservice Forum at the New York Produce Show and Conference in December, Keith Brunell, senior director of culinary at Maggiano’s, the Italian casual-dining chain, described the current health-conscious environment as a “perfect storm” for the growth of produce on foodservice menus.
“Our guests are asking for more vegetables, and we have to give it to them,” says Keith Brunell who, along with other culinary experts, shared his expertise and insights at the day-long Ideation Fresh event.
The mixture of chefs, from single-unit operations to large chains, have been strong advocates of putting more produce on their menus, but they say such efforts can pose challenges.
“Costs are keeping me from doing more produce,” says Bob Karisny, vice president for menu strategy and innovation at Taco John’s, a quickservice Mexican chain based in Cheyenne, WY.
Cheesecake Factory, the Calabasas, CA-based casual-dining chain, also faces challenges as it expands its produce offerings, says Bob Okura, vice president of culinary development and corporate executive chef.
The company has retooled and expanded what was already vast menu by adding more items, including several appetizer salads, which are priced at under $10. Salads now rank fourth in menu popularity at The Cheesecake Factory, behind burgers, pastas and entrees, Okura says.
Rich Dachman, vice president of produce at foodservice distributor Sysco, cautions that foodservice operators risk adding costs into their operations by placing demands that force suppliers to change the processes they have established to maximize efficiency.
For example, he cites restaurants that seek delivery five, six or seven times per week.
“The more delivery we do, the more it will cost you,” he says, urging operators to limit deliveries to two to three times per week.
Ken Toong, executive director for auxiliary services at the University of Massachusetts, says he’s seen vegetables take a more prominent position on his school’s menus.
“When I joined U. Mass., we had a chicken stir-fry that was mostly chicken, with a little vegetables, and now it is just the opposite,” he says.
“Fresh” has become the key attribute for young diners, Toong says.
“They want fresh, they want unprocessed food, they care about responsibility, and they care about animal welfare,” he says.
David Groll, director of culinary development and corporate chef of McAlister’s, says his restaurants have doubled the number of salads offered, from four or five to about nine. Salads now account for about 28% of sales at the chain, he says, driven in part by the popularity of McAlister’s “Choose Two” menu offering, which allows customers to pair a cup of soup with a half-portion of a sandwich, salad, appetizer or potato, or to combine two half-portions.
Groll says training is key for restaurant employees, especially with produce, which can often require careful handling and precise cooking skills. The chain offers an online program called McAlister’s University that employees participate in, at a cost of $4 per year per worker for franchisees.
“You have to be prudent about how employees can actually operate in the kitchen,” says Gerry Ludwig, corporate consulting chef at Gordon Food Service, Grand Rapids, MI. “One of the big enemies of creativity is scalability.”
Jesse Gideon, chief operating officer and corporate chef at Alpharetta, GA-based Fresh to Order, a concept that seeks to combine fine-dining cuisine with the speed of a fast-casual operation, says vegetable preparations should be kept basic.
“I think with produce, the simpler you can get, the better,” he says. “If you are trying to have 9,000 restaurants, obviously you can’t have 20 guys hovering over every plate.”
Among those chefs at the vanguard of crafting creative, produce-centric menus is Travis Lett of Gjelina in Venice, CA. Lett was singled out as in a presentation at Ideation Fresh by Ludwig of Gordon Food Service, which supplies restaurant operators.
In addition to Gjelina, Ludwig also highlighted items from several New York establishments, including Restaurant Dimes, Little Park and Chalk Point Kitchen.
When asked what vegetables they believe may be under-used, one group of panelists at Ideation Fresh cited cabbage, king oyster mushrooms, rapini and several root vegetables, including potatoes, radishes and rutabagas.
Ludwig’s presentation focused on some of the creative ways chefs are using what he described as “under-used” vegetables, including okra and beets (“Beets are the other red meat,” Ludwig says.)
Don Odiorne, vice president of foodservice at the Eagle, ID-based Idaho Potato Commission, cited cauliflower as a vegetable that is getting much more attention on menus, especially when paired with aromatic cheeses. He says the trend toward more produce-centric menus can also be seen in the event-catering business.
Odiorne says he sees university campuses at the vanguard of culinary trends more so than fine-dining restaurants.
“When I tell people where the trends are coming from, I usually don’t say upscale restaurants any more,” he says. “I say go out to a college or university.”
Rafi Taherian, executive director at Yale Dining at Yale University, says he thinks diners have become much more accepting of new culinary experiences.
“I think actually today, there is more sophistication toward new flavors, and an appreciation of the bitter flavor,” he says.
Source: PerishableNews.com
