Breaking out of the breakfast rut

Between the college guy who orders the same egg-bacon-cheese biscuit sandwich every morning and the fussy mom who never deviates from the proportion of yogurt, fruit and granola in her breakfast bowl, some diners rarely divert from their a.m. eating habits. But many eaters are demanding more variety from breakfast, according to Technomic’s Generational Consumer Trend Report, with millennials especially likely to try new flavors at morning meals. These three operators are taking breakfast out of the comfort zone, adding variety and tapping into trends while maximizing efficiencies. 

When the student advisory board at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, put in a request for more vegetables at breakfast, Mary Kennedy, executive director of dining and campus services, admittedly was a bit surprised. But her team at the 1,800-student college responded by setting up a mini salad bar that’s proven very popular. 

“We put out bigger bowls [than for cereal] and students fill these with a breakfast salad,” Kennedy says. Some ingredients are sourced from Bowdoin’s student garden, while others are commodities such as tomatoes, carrots and peppers. Also available on the salad bar are hummus, yogurt and fruit. 

For students who want a heartier morning meal, scrambled eggs and omelets can be ordered with broccoli, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, peppers and other vegetable additions, “giving students much more breakfast flexibility,” she says. A Maine grains station offers locally sourced cereal and grain salads. The space in Bowdoin’s dining halls is limited, and staff has to move to lunch right immediately the 7:30-10:30 a.m. breakfast service, but cereal, yogurt, juice and fresh fruit are available all day. 

By default, vegetables also came to play a bigger breakfast role at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, says Carolyn Brown, executive chef/assistant foodservice director for the 230-patient facility. “The avian flu outbreak forced us to rethink breakfast,” Brown says. “What could we do without eggs? That’s when the hash bar concept was born at our retail cafe.” 

Starting with a base of O’Brien-style potatoes (cubes of potato sauteed with onions and bell peppers), diners were able to build their own breakfast plates, adding spinach, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes and other vegetables. “Once we had access to eggs again, guests asked that the concept remain, so now they can add eggs any style and customize with veggies, turkey sausage, bacon and avocado,” Brown says. A wider selection of potato bases, including tater tots and sliced, cooked potatoes, is also available at what is now called the skillet bar.

Morrison Healthcare—the contract company that runs foodservice at Lurie—is trying to grow breakfast to meet customer demand, Brown says, but it’s challenging in a hospital setting since the sole grill changes over to burgers and chicken at lunch. To increase options without adding equipment, Brown set up a bagel bar with different cream cheeses and bagels toasted in the pizza oven. And she recently introduced a customizable smoothie bowl station with toppings including granola, fresh berries and chia seeds—a no-cook solution. “We try to be as health-conscious as possible while mixing comfort with innovation,” she says.

Packing more protein into the morning meal is the goal of Matthew Poling, executive chef at Weld County School District 6 in Greeley, Colo. “About half of our sites are on a regular breakfast program, and half are getting breakfast in the classroom,” Poling says. 

Scratch-made breakfast burritos are a favorite in the cafeteria line, but it’s difficult to find shelf-stable, individually wrapped proteins that fit the breakfast-in-the-classroom criteria. He experimented by introducing nuts to that menu earlier this year in the form of walnut muffins, breakfast bars and single-serve packages of walnuts.

The portable, plant-based protein items were popular with students and staff, Poling reports. As a bonus, the walnuts easily transitioned to lunch in the salad bars and as snacks.