rising menu stars rising menu stars

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VOLUME 30 / NUMBER 6 JUNE 2017

FOODSERVICE OPERATION OF THE MONTH

Greenville County Schools Greenville, S.C. P. 60

TAKING MEALS OUTSIDE— NO GRILL NECESSARY

P. 15

OPENING AN ONSITE FOOD HALL WITHOUT THE MAJOR RENO

P. 25

THESE 15 INGREDIENTS ARE READY TO MAKE A SPLASH ON MENUS

P. 55

RISING MENU STARS

OPERATORS ARE MASHING UP TOP TRENDS FOR SUCCESS. P. 38

By Patricia Cobe Photography by Clint Blowers Food styling by Cindy Melin

RISING MENU STARS

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL NEW DISHES ARE FEEDING THE DEMAND FOR INNOVATION BALANCED WITH TRADITION. Noncommercial chefs are fast-tracking R&D to stay on top of trends and keep menus evolving with new and exciting items. That’s the gist of the comments revealed in FoodService Director’s second annual survey in which we asked chefs and menu developers in every segment to share their most successful menu introductions of the past year. While every operation must continue to offer crowd favorites—those dishes that absolutely can’t be taken off the menu—culinary innovation must be faster and more creative than ever to please today’s demanding customers. Here’s how chefs in every segment are stepping up to the plate.

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June 2017 foodservicedirector.com 39

RISING MENU STARS

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oodService Director surveyed members of our Chefs’ Council, along with a cross section of menu developers from K-12 through senior living, to learn how they bring successful dishes to life and what characteristics these dishes share. Their responses not only provided insight into the ideation process, but they also reflected six major trends in noncommercial foodservice.

Shakshuka is up more than 6% in menu mentions year over year. —Technomic’s MenuMonitor GLOBAL AND REGIONAL VARIATIONS Chefs are digging deeper into global cuisines and exploring emerging areas such as Filipino and Korean gastronomies to create authentic ethnic dishes. But as local sourcing and local flavors continue to influence menu making, there’s a trend toward offering more American regional specialties, too. 40 foodservicedirector.com June 2017

Y Authenticity counts when menuing

ethnic cuisines, and lately we’ve been adapting more street foods at Yale. Chicken jerk skewers with mango drizzle is a take on Jamaican jerk chicken, grilled on roadside carts all over the island. The recipe uses juicier chicken thighs, which are steeped in a spicy marinade, then skewered, grilled in batches and served in a bowl over rice. —Ron DeSantis, Yale Hospitality

Y An Israeli prep is the inspiration

for this shakshuka with roasted Brussels sprouts, an item that can go from breakfast to brunch, lunch and even supper. The traditional recipe features eggs poached in a thick, garlicky tomato-sweet pepper sauce. To boost the proportion of vegetables, we spread caramelized shaved Brussels sprouts on top. —Chris Aquilino, Compass Group USA

CHICKEN RULES THE ROOST

RISING MENU STARS

Of all the proteins called out in this batch of successful dishes, chicken is the overwhelming recipe choice. Cost, versatility, wide appeal, ample supply and a health halo all contribute to its popularity. Additionally, chicken can fit into halal and kosher diets, is a staple in many cultures, and is winging its way into more breakfast and snack items. These operators are pleasing customers by taking the bird in both familiar and unique directions.

Y Some of the veterans in

our facility requested Indian tacos, and the dish quickly became a favorite. In place of tortillas, we use Indian fry bread topped with pinto beans, taco-seasoned meats, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. —Brenda Clinton, Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs

Y We are trying to serve more

Y We gave Korean bibimbap

a plant-forward spin by mixing chopped mushrooms into the meat, an idea we got from the James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project. Customers help themselves to authentic accompaniments such as kimchi, gochujang and egg to build their own rice bowls. —Katie Cowie, Eurest Dining Services

Y North African stews are

traditionally served with couscous, but we varied the classic for Moroccan chicken with creamy polenta. It’s a cuisine not widely exposed, especially in healthcare, but rehabilitation patients liked the combination. —Michael LaMorte, Fairmont Care

Y We took the traditional

seafood chowder from the North and put a Texas twist on it. Texas Seafood Soup is now a core menu item. —Beverly Turek, Brookdale Senior Living

Y Himalaya Indian Comfort

Food is a new concept at Dining at Microsoft, featuring authentic Southern and Northern Indian dishes prepared with house44 foodservicedirector.com June 2017

Y We introduced this gumbo at a Mardi Gras

fundraiser and it was an immediate success. Andouille sausage, the type used in Louisiana gumbo, incorporates authentic Cajun flavors into the dish and is now easy to source in the Midwest. —Scott Kammerer, Parkview Field minor league stadium ground spices. The Saag Paneer is one of the most sought-after items by both meat lovers and vegetarians, with mustard greens, spinach and paneer cheese in a creamy gravy spiced with coriander, cardamom, ginger and garlic. —Craig Tarrant, Microsoft Redmond campus

Y Beef caldereta, a Filipino

braised beef dish, was our most successful new item.

Y Posole is a very popular

dish on campus, so the results have been terrific with a new vegetarian version, roasted carrot and parsnip posole. It’s made with a roasted Anaheim pepper broth, quinoa and hominy, and all the classic garnishes.

restaurant-style food for school lunch and developed these barbecue chicken nachos. They are unique for schools, and best of all, they are a great way to utilize ingredients on hand. —Vince Scimone, Grossmont Union High School District

Y The avocado chicken

—Dusty Cooper, University of California at Santa Barbara   At this stage of life, in assisted living, it is all about the quality of the food. Our grilled lobster roll makes residents feel like they are visiting the coast of Maine in the summertime. —Scott Priest, Home of the Good Shepherd

ciabatta sandwich debuted on the menu last summer, and it became so popular that we couldn’t remove it off-season. The signature is our house special sauce. Another winner this year is lemon-turmeric chicken with cardamom-scented rice pilaf. The dish proved to be a flavorful way to highlight economy chicken cuts by adding grilled lemons and fragrant spices. —Janna Traver McCann, University of Kansas Dining Services

Y I’ve had the opportunity to

Y We created Florentine

Y

do several events with Native American chef Nephi Craig, which have inspired us to look at native foods totally different. Pueblo beef stew is popular because it’s approachable, with beef and a familiar chili flavor. —David Rushing, Washington University at St. Louis

stuffed chicken breast to show that our production staff had the talent and know-how to execute a restaurant-quality dish. It’s an airline chicken breast stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, cremini mushrooms and feta cheese. —Anthony Acs, Sodexo

Y Our elementary school

menu is currently riding the McDonald’s breakfastanytime advertising trend by offering breakfast for lunch on Tuesday. It was a great way for us to introduce chicken and waffles, created to be finger food with mini whole-grain waffles. —Kathleen Kane, Valparaiso Community Schools

Y Residents love pierogis, so the combination of a popular, costeffective protein with a different kind of starch— pierogis instead of noodles— turned our chicken pierogi casserole into a top pick. —Allyn Transue, Quality Life Services

Y Southern fried chicken is

always a crowd-pleaser, but we vary it with seasonally changing sides. A surprise success as a side was Southern fried cabbage; it brings a lot of flavor to an item that is typically boring. —Shawn Williams, Trinity Manor

Y

In October 2016 our foodservice management company introduced its Seasonal Plate program, which features monthly menus that tie into holidays and food trends. Cura has had great success with the Power Spiced Chicken Kabob with super power slaw. —Adam Strauss, Cura Hospitality at NewYorkPresbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital

Y By guest request, we put

chicken croquettes on t he menu and they became our most successful new dish. —Conrad Zerkow, Sodexo

Y One of our residents

suggested we try barbecued turkey wings instead of the usual chicken wings. It turned out to be a smart way to give turkey a new spin. 46 foodservicedirector.com June 2017

RISING MENU STARS

THE FRESH FACE OF HEALTH

Noncommercial chefs are skillfully cranking up the flavor and look of healthier menu items so many better-for-you foods are no longer distinguishable from indulgent choices. These are some items that won over customers with lower calorie or carb counts, cleaner ingredients and other healthful attributes.

Y Wild-caught and sustainable

seafood has such a positive nutrition message now, as does using local farmers to source fresh produce. Residents get excited to know that what they are eating came from that farm down the road. Wild-caught Alaskan cod with forbidden black rice cake, local romanesco and caramelized Meyer lemon breaks out of the old thought process of what food is like in a retirement community.

42%

of consumers overall and 51% of younger consumers say their definition of health has changed in the past two years. To keep up with changing expectations of healthful eating, operators may want to call out items that make consumers feel good, through menu transparency, functional benefits or social responsibility. Source: Technomic’s Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report

Y The most successful

dish we added is actually the reintroduction of an old favorite. Our students had been asking for spaghetti during the colder months. I put together a speedscratch “clean” spaghetti recipe using ingredients initially slated for other applications, and both students and staff loved it.

Y We started using canned

jackfruit at some of our vegetarian

Barbecue carrot tostadas

and vegan stations and our guests have been really thankful for the new sandwiches. They can order Korean barbecue bao buns, barbecue pulled “pork” sliders and a version of tacos al pastor. —Kurt Kwiatkowski, Michigan State University

Wheat-dusted bruschetta chicken with lemon cream sauce and Tuscan potato hash is a top seller. It’s the best of two worlds—diners want to eat light and healthy, and love Italian food. —Ben Staples, The Cuyahoga Group

Y Looking to do a healthier

Ancient grains are the basis for several new bowls that use less lean proteins balanced by plant foods. One of the most popular is the Central Table Harvest Grain Bowl, which includes farro, quinoa, barley, kale, roasted mushrooms, roasted red pepper broth and pumpkin seed pesto. —Morrison Healthcare

Y We’re “flipping the plate” and

doing more plant-forward dishes. Customers don’t miss the meat in barbecue carrot tostadas—the carrots are tossed with a zesty barbecue sauce and roasted in the oven to give them a meaty taste. —Compass USA

We’ve been introducing more grains and legumes. One of the most popular in our salad bar concept has been the Black Forest lentil salad created by Executive Chef Matt Cervay. —Lynne Brown, Geisinger Health System

Y Because of the many health

Y Residents were asking for a

side than the usual fried and sauced vegetables, I came up with roasted Brussels sprout skewers with jalapeno butter and pepita seeds. The presentation and flavors turned the idea into a top menu item. —Darla Mehrkens, Carilion Clinic

benefits of seafood, the USDA recommends an increase in seafood intake to twice a week. Combining seafood with tacos in wahoo fish tacos is a kidfriendly way to help K-12 students meet this recommendation. —Joe Urban, Greenville County Schools

Y

Y

Y

lower-carb dessert that didn’t taste low-carb, so I created a sugarless chocolate mousse using a sugar-free chocolate couverture sweetened with maltitol. Everyone enjoys it— especially diabetic residents. —Mary Teresi, Mather LifeWays

Steel-cut oatmeal with DIY toppings

RISING MENU STARS MAKE IT MY WAY

While customization has been trending for a while, noncommercial dining is taking it up a notch. Buildyour-own stations are going in new directions, encompassing everything from ramen to avocado toast. Here are some DIY ideas that took off at various operations.

Y Hot, quick, customized

breakfasts are most popular among the new generation of diners, so we rolled out grab-and-go stuffed, baked egg souffles with limitless options. Two other successful customization stations are Grilled Cheese by Design and Taj Mahal by Design— a concept that offers a buildyour-own Indian lunch. —Cameron Clegg, Parkhurst Dining

Y

Avocados and guacamole are very popular on campus, so we launched an avocado action station. We offer fruits such as mango, grapefruit and oranges, along with savory options like bacon, spinach, chicken and pumpkin seeds to give our guests the choice of making guacamole, a salad and other customizable items. Plantain chips and tortilla chips are available too. —Craig Mombert, Davidson College

Y Students’ favorite rice dish is

fried rice. When we were looking to expand our wok station, rather than just serve it as a side, we turned fried rice into the central entree selection, offering shrimp, tofu and other proteins. —Aran Essig, University of Northern Colorado 50 foodservicedirector.com June 2017

Millennials, Gen Xers and boomers all value customization, but Gen Z places the highest importance on the ability to customize a meal, including changing portion size. —Technomic’s Generational Consumer Trend Report Y We are doing a new Japanese-

inspired donburi rice bowl station in our dining halls. Students get to choose from teriyaki chicken, pork tonkatsu, yakitori ground beef and seasoned tofu to put over jasmine or brown rice, then add cold and hot toppings, such as gingered carrots, shiitake mushrooms, grilled onions and tonkatsu sauce. —John Gray, University of Maryland

Y We refreshed an old

standby with our new weekly changing salad bar. It features a rotating selection of leafy greens, and we even include in-season wild greens. There are new hot items, too—the couscous stuffed pepper is a big draw. —June Schroenhamer, Ceres Food Group

Y To introduce more whole

grains into breakfast, we implemented a steel-cut oat bar, where our students could create their own savory or sweet oatmeal bowls. Along with the customized options, each dining hall featured a specific oatmeal bowl, such as the Pina Colada Bowl topped with toasted coconut, fresh pineapple and honey. —Lisa Eberhart, North Carolina State University

SHOWCASING SNACKS

Oven-roasted Italian brisket

RISING MENU STARS

Anywhere, anytime dining is on the rise, especially in the B&I, C&U and healthcare segments where erratic schedules can be the norm. So operators are scrambling to add more snacks to the lineup. But consumers now consider more types of foods to be snacks, looking beyond the usual bag of chips, granola bar or yogurt cup.

technique would work well with the cheese and potato in pierogis. The result is applewoodsmoked pierogis with bacon crumble and beer-battered onion rings—a dish that combines comfort with originality.

Y We’re always looking for new

meatless items and snacks. Tofu sliders with pickled onions and pepita sauce have layers of flavor. —Carrie Anderson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Y The demand for all-day

breakfast items inspired the new bacon and egg biscuit sandwich. It’s got a cage-free organic egg, cheddar cheese and blackberry jam. —Tracey MacRae, University of Washington

Y Street tacos are sized for

snacking. Diners get really excited when they see an authentic Mexican taco at an on-site cafeteria. —Iraj Fernando, Southern Foodservice Management

Y Bacon-wrapped pork loin

was a different taste for my elder residents, who appreciate how moist and flavorful it was.

Y Cracker-crust pizza is easy to

Y It sounds simple, but for

execute between meals for a fast, fresh snack. —Dewey McMurrey, Texas Tech University

Y We grow our own pea shoots,

broccoli sprouts and radish sprouts, which make for a crunchy topping for avocado toast. —Deepak Kansara, Can-Indian Food and Hospitality Inc.

Y

We purchased “blender bikes” last year to make cold soups and smoothies, such as the spinachinfused fruit smoothie. The kids get into the process, so the bikes seem to be impacting their healthy snacking decisions. —Brent Trudeau, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

83%

of consumers now snack at least once a day, up from 76% two years ago. Source: Technomic’s Snacking CTR

COMFORT FOOD UPDATES Residents in senior living may seek nostalgia, while college students are asking for homestyle preps that remind them of childhood favorites. Comfort foods never go out of style, but they sometimes benefit from a flavorful tweak or contemporary twist.

Y My residents are meat and

potato people. They like simple, delicious comfort food, like ham and potato casserole. It’s a twist on the best scalloped potato recipe I ever had, learned years ago from a chef in Rhode Island. In an effort to make it a complete meal, I added ham to the recipe. The dish is a standout and was

very well received. —Eric Goeres, The Community at Rockhill

corned beef hash, we boil beef from the raw state, grind it up, mix it with onions and potatoes, and cook it. That’s lots of attention for a breakfast dish, and it’s appreciated. —Bradley East, Darlington Rehab

Y I put a twist on a traditional

Y Customers asked for more

Southern comfort food dish by elevating its flavor and reducing calories. To create sweet tea and lemon brined oven-fried chicken, I brew a local orange pekoe tea and add fresh lemons to brine chicken thighs. The chicken is then coated with seasoned panko crumbs and baked in the oven. The dish was an instant hit with patients and employees. —Jennifer Leamons, Carolinas Healthcare System

Y Smoking is a way to infuse

flavor without adding a lot of extra ingredients. I had never smoked a pasta before, but thought the

“normal” food, so using everyday food items, I created a taco baked potato—a tasteful and eye-appealing dish.

Y The Fast Line is a destination

for students with special dietary needs, but it’s also where healthconscious students can find better-for-you selections. Ovenroasted Italian brisket was adapted for the Fast Line to make the ingredients and prep method more appropriate for healthier, top-eight-allergen-free service. —Robert Mayberry and Lindsay Wilson, University of Texas at Austin June 2017 foodservicedirector.com 53