Our roundup of ideas includes a speedy way to serve barista-style lattes, an easy design fix to boost interactivity and a chicken-cooking technique to spice up vegetables.
1. Lattes on tap
If you want to introduce more coffee drinks at your operation but don’t have the staff to pull espressos and steam lattes, you may want to consider a tap system. At Liquiteria, a smoothie and juice bar in New York City, customers can get hot and cold lattes on draft—just like beer and soft drinks.
2. Pasta TV
Like many contemporary restaurants and dining halls, Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio in Chicago sports an open kitchen design. Diners can see the cooks at work, but to bring their signature fresh pasta making front and center, chef-owner Sarah Grueneberg installed a mirror above the prep area closest to seated customers—mimicking a chef demo you might see at a cooking class or on television. “Customers call it ‘pasta TV,’” she said, “and it encourages them to take photos and post them on Instagram.” Installing mirrors above a stir-fry station or taco bar in a noncommercial facility may promote similar Instagrammable moments.
3. Vegetables get the Nashville vibe
Nashville hot chicken—crispy fried chicken spiced with a fiery sauce—is a regional dish that’s spawned several fast-casual concepts in other parts of the country. It also is a recent menu addition at KFC. In a workshop on plant-based eating at MenuDirections 2016, FoodService Director’s annual conference, the presenter recommended giving vegetables the “hot-chicken treatment"—drizzling roasted cauliflower or root vegetables with a cayenne, paprika and garlic-oil mixture.