Specialty ingredients are a big driver of menu innovation at restaurants of all stripes in 2020, according to research by Gordon Food Service.
“The growth of specialty products and global ingredients that are making their way on mainstream menus really continues to be the number one trend,” Gerry Ludwig, corporate consulting chef at Gordon Food Service, told customers at the company’s show in Rosemont, Ill., which took place February 26.
That’s especially prominent in sandwiches, he said during his Menu Trends 2020 presentation.
“Our minds were blown by the sandwiches we saw this year,” said Ludwig, who was part of a research and development team that sampled new dishes at just-opened restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. “We saw some really authentic versions of traditional sandwiches which were enhanced or heightened through the use of higher quality and more authentic ingredients.”
They included global mashups, he said, such as Vietnamese banh mis or Cuban fritas with new ingredients for different takes on the regional favorites.
For example, the frita, a burger unfamiliar to many Americans and traditionally made with a meat patty topped with a tomato element such as tomato paste or spicy ketchup; onion and crispy shoestring potatoes, is now appearing on one Chicago menu with a burnt garlic aioli replacing the tomato flavoring, and on another Chicago restaurant menu with a panko-breaded and deep-fried disc of macaroni and cheese topped with a spicy barbecue sauce and melted monterey jack cheese.
“Layers and layers of unique flavors are really what establishes a great dish or sandwich,” Ludwig said, describing the Hangover sandwich at Smor in New York, made with house-roasted beef and housemade braised red cabbage, egg remoulade, and bread and butter pickles.
“One of the things diners value most is things they’re not going to make for themselves at home,” he said.
Chefs also are using root vegetables instead of meat. Beets and thinly-sliced oven-roasted rutabaga replace corned beef for veggie-centric versions of reubens.
Ludwig said diners can expect to see more open-face sandwiches, a trend in the U.S. following the popularity of avocado toast.
A variation of a sloppy joe, made with beef strawberry bolognese, and a trio of chicken liver mousse, caramelized onion, and Manischewitz jam atop Texas toast are served at Birdie G’s in Los Angeles.
On the entrees front, Ludwig sees unique applications for pork, steak, and duck; and anchovies and oxtails are among the items that have exploded on menus.
“Chefs are now discovering how wonderful oxtails are because they've got this totally unique combination of bone, bone marrow, and meat that can be used in a variety of ways.” he said.
Related: Restaurant Industry to Reach Over $1 Trillion in Sales; Technomic Names 2020 Foodservice Trends.
from Menu Trends https://ift.tt/32SNhFn
No comments: