3 modern takes on breakfast

It’s easy for breakfast menus to get stuck in the eggs-bacon-toast-cereal rut. After all, those foods are tried and true. But operators are evolving breakfast menus, incorporating more veggies, ethnic ingredients, healthy items and savory flavors that are characteristic of other dayparts. And that’s right on target with what a.m. consumers want: 26% would like to eat foods typically associated with lunch or dinner, according to Technomic’s Breakfast Consumer Trend Report, powered by Ignite. Take a look at how operators are spinning the breakfast menu in step with the trends.

Two restaurant-style cafes offer breakfast on the campus of Messiah Lifeways at Messiah Village in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Cafe 100 is a new destination, opened in November 2017, to focus on healthier, seasonal dishes, says Franklin Oiler, general manager of dining services for the senior living operation.

“While the majority of our residents are meat-and-potatoes types, more recent arrivals are world travelers and have higher culinary expectations,” he says. So the “old” cafe still offers breakfast comfort foods, but Cafe 100 goes in a more adventurous, contemporary direction with its menu and Panera-like ambiance. Both are managed by Cura, part of Elior North America.

Executive Chef Lindsey Clinton changes up the Cafe 100 breakfast menu four times a year, rotating in seasonal produce. She set up an in-house juice and smoothie bar and has introduced items such as poached egg on sourdough toast with grilled asparagus, zucchini-cheese toast and a spinach, tomato and egg white frittata on whole-wheat flatbread. An in-house pastry chef bakes muesli rounds that Clinton tops with almond butter, apples and crisp prosciutto.

Cafe 100 is open to staff and drawing customers from the surrounding community too, says Oiler. Residents can use meal plan dollars, and the public pays with cash or credit. “Before, we were trying to please everyone at our old restaurant, but sales have gone up at all our venues because there’s something for everyone,” Oiler says.
 

“I wanted to offer vegans something more than a fruit bowl at our catered breakfast events,” says Janna Traver, executive chef for University of Kansas dining services.

Last fall, she added a vegan breakfast burrito to the menu mix. It’s filled with ancho chili-spiced garbanzo beans, tofu scramble and sauteed bell peppers and onions. The prep is easy on labor; canned chickpeas are drained, tossed with ancho seasoning and roasted in the oven. “I add a pinch of nutritional yeast to the tofu to deepen the color and provide umami,” says Traver.

“Vegan items are tricky at breakfast because I can’t use eggs or cheese like I would for vegetarian dishes,” she says.

Also new at KU Dining are savory breakfast pastries to balance the sweet baked goods that dominate morning menus. Traver liked the idea of breakfast empanadas and tried making them with frozen puff pastry.

“Although I still make them from scratch in a pinch, I decided to go the convenience route and purchase frozen heat-and-eat savory pastries from a supplier,” she says.

The spinach, ham and cheese pastries have proven a popular addition, says Traver. She also is converting the appetizer cheese plate—an option at evening events—into a continental breakfast choice, arranging cheddar, Swiss, local cheese curds, smoked Gouda and fruit on platters as part of the buffet.

On the residential side, the new hot cereal bar is finding fans with an unlikely group: the college football team, says Traver with surprise. On offer are a variety of hot cooked grains, including oatmeal, quinoa, grits and a quinoa-barley blend, with toppings such as dried fruit, nuts and honey. “The athletic department has jumped on it, but it’s not going as well as I would like with our other students,” she says.