Now that the busy summer season is over, restaurants are hotbeds of activity as they prepare for the holiday rush. Chefs are introducing new menus, integrating seasonal ingredients into dishes and refining year-end selections. Here are three ideas trending in restaurants now that could make a natural transition to noncommercial foodservice.
1. Family-style service
Restaurants are taking the idea of shared small plates a step further (and bigger), serving food on large, shareable platters. The Sterling-Rice Group, a brand-building firm based in Boulder, Colo. was one of the first to release its 2016 culinary trends forecast, predicting that family-style meals featuring large cuts of meat, whole roasted fish or rotisserie-cooked poultry are the new way to share at the table. But platter presentation is important—this food is plated and sided with chef-inspired touches, not piled on a platter as if it’s headed for the family dinner table. The trend is especially on target for college dining and senior living.
2. The broad use of boards
Presenting charcuterie and cheeses on wooden boards is nothing new, but restaurants in every price range are commandeering boards for other foods. Mendocino Farms, an 11-unit fast casual based in Los Angeles, arranges mini sandwiches on large wooden boards for catering orders. At The Gage, a sophisticated gastropub in Chicago, menu items ranging from steaks to vegetable gratins and desserts are served on wooden boards of varying sizes.
3. Sweet on sour
Sour flavors continue to seep into food and drink menus. On the beverage side, sour beers and drinking vinegars or shrubs are well accepted now, with other vinegar-based products gaining ground. The switchel, a blend of cider vinegar, maple or honey and ginger, is the latest. On the food side, sour citrus ingredients like yuzu are brightening Asian sauces and stir-fries, and aigre-doux, a French sweet-sour preparation, is elevating cooked vegetables and proteins. Consumers seem to be tempering their collective sweet tooth with a bit of sour and the time is right for operators to capitalize on this shift.