Tag: Casual Dining Restaurant

Comfort Foods Add Nostalgic Flavors, Operational Benefits

Operators tap into consumer demand for classic recipes with a modern spin

Customers have a soft spot in their hearts for comfort foods on restaurant menus. Classics like mac and cheese, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, roast meats, and home-baked goods recall happy memories and cast an aura of warmth and connection over the dining experience.

“People are turning to the food that conjures up the emotions of sitting around the dinner table with family,” says Curtis Hawk, Boar’s Head Brand culinary development chef. “Comfort foods are at the top of the list of trends on restaurant menus today.”

That’s why a growing number of chefs are riffing on nostalgic recipes by adding global flavors and ingredients. As Hawk puts it, “Modern spins on classic dishes are very high in demand right now.”

Crafting comfort foods

Operators elevating comfort food on restaurant menus will benefit from the versatility, appeal, and operational advantages of Boar’s Head® premium delicatessen products. Established in 1905, the iconic Boar’s Head Brand offers the highest quality delicatessen meats, cheeses, charcuterie, hummus, spreads, and condiments for crafting comfort food specialties that engage and excite customers and boost sales.

For example, take the Boar’s Head Bold® line of premium delicatessen meats, cheeses and condiments, which features authentic flavors from cultures around the world. Operators can use these products to explore comfort foods on restaurant menus in new ways that are exciting yet also familiar for guests.

“One of my favorite ways to create an international dish is to make a chicken salad using Boar’s Head Bold® Madrasala® Curry Chicken Breast,” says Hawk. “Another is using Boar’s Head Bold® Ichiban Teriyaki® Style Chicken Breast in a stir fry or shredded into a broth with ramen and fresh vegetables. These are great ways to add flavor to a dish while offering the convenience of a ready-to-eat item.”

In addition, Hawk suggests using Boar’s Head Bold® Chipotle Chicken Breast as a signature taco filling and mixing Boar’s Head Bold® PitCraft® Slow Smoked Turkey Breast into mac and cheese.

Offering lively, varied global flavors like Boar’s Head® delicatessen meats, cheeses and condiments is a must for engaging today’s food-savvy customers, particularly Gen Z patrons who have grown up with a greater exposure to ethnic cuisines than preceding generations.

To put the vibrant flavors of Boar’s Head® premium cheeses into play, top a French dip sandwich with Boar’s Head Bold® Horseradish Cheddar Cheese or serve a bowl of hot chili with shredded Boar’s Head Bold® 3 Pepper Colby Jack® Cheese. “These items share all of the emotions of comfort food while creating a whole new experience for guests,” Hawk says.

Another way to combine novelty and comfort is to highlight Boar’s Head® Hummus as a protein option, mayonnaise substitute on sandwiches, or novel dessert ingredient. An example of the latter is Pumpkin Pie Dessert Hummus Cookie Tarts, which feature the rich taste of Boar’s Head FallSpice® Pumpkin Pie Dessert Hummus. “It’s a great way to increase protein while indulging at the same time,” says Hawk.

Lessening labor

Boar’s Head® delicatessen meats, cheeses and condiments are labor savers, critical at a time when rising costs are squeezing restaurant margins. Building the menu with Boar’s Head Bold® meats, all of which are fully cooked and ready to use, lessens the high labor outlays and consistency issues of cooking proteins from scratch. Whole-muscle meats can be sliced, diced, cubed, chopped, pulled, shredded, or cut into medallions to fit virtually any recipe.

This versatility inspires innovative takes on time-honored recipes. “For example, we are taking our whole-muscle proteins and shredding them for use in pasta, tacos, pizzas, mac and cheese, and many more comfort foods,” says Hawk. “We have even tested using a box grater on pastrami to create new textures.”

“Comfort foods tend to be easier to execute, making labor challenges a little easier when it comes to finding highly technical cooks,” says Hawk. “Ingredients typically are much more straightforward, which impacts inventory management in a positive way.”

The business case

Still another selling point for comfort foods on restaurant menus is the way they fit shorter menus and simpler recipes, which help operators cope with the ongoing labor shortage and supply chain disruptions.

“There is less room for risk on a limited menu, so you need items that are consumer favorites,” says Hawk. “This screams comfort food and the trend of smaller menus absolutely plays right into this trend.”

The ultimate payoff for operators is in dollars and cents. “By putting their own spin on comfort foods, chefs can create vintage dishes that are good for margins,” says Hawk.

At a time of economic challenges and stiff competition, the appeal of comfort foods on restaurant menus is a powerful tool for menu makers. For more ideas about creating signature comfort food recipes with flavorful Boar’s Head® products, visit https://www.boarsheadfoodservice.com.

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Capitalizing on New Menu Opportunities

Operators are driving sales by tapping into new dining possibilities with ready-to-use foods.

In today’s fiercely competitive restaurant industry, operators need any edge they can get. Hence the case for expanding into new dayparts and eating occasions to engage more customers, drive incremental sales and stand out in the marketplace.

“It is extremely important to capitalize on all possible areas of opportunity,” says Curtis Hawk, culinary development chef at Boar’s Head Brand.

Exploring new avenues

In recent years, dayparts have been blurring together and consumer expectations have been evolving. In this changing landscape, menu makers are finding new business avenues to explore.

For example, an operator may start serving weekend or weekday brunch, set up a mid-afternoon cocktail hour or late-night snack selection or introduce a small-plates menu for patrons who enjoy sampling global flavors. “Increasing sales during non-peak hours can have a big impact in the long run,” says Hawk.

Fortunately, operators can get a head start on developing new menus by using high-quality, convenient, cost-efficient, and pre-prepared foods for their restaurants that are ready to plug into recipes. “Now, more than ever, chefs are looking to reduce labor and streamline operations to make up for rising costs,” says Hawk. “Fully cooked, ready-to-use proteins can not only save labor but also increase consistency.”

More operators are switching to convenience formats for products, including fully pre-prepared food for their restaurant menus. In fact, 32% of operators stated that fully prepared products are more appealing, according to the Datassential 2022 One Table Report.

The Boar’s Head® line of premium delicatessen meats includes products that are made with whole-muscle cuts of turkey, chicken, ham and beef that are trimmed by hand, seasoned with spices from around the world and oven-roasted in some cases. Whole-muscle meats such as Boar’s Head Bold® Madrasala® Curry Chicken Breast and Bold Peppenero® Garlic Ham are ready to be sliced, diced, cubed, pulled, shredded or otherwise fashioned to fit virtually any recipe. All of these wholesale cooked meat options for menus can inspire culinary creativity and simplify menu development while easing labor concerns for kitchens that are busy and often understaffed.

“We have developed ways to shred Boar’s Head whole-muscle meats so chefs can produce high-quality ingredients for recipes in a fraction of the time,” says Hawk, citing examples such as spring rolls and street tacos.

That is far more cost-efficient than preparing meat and poultry from scratch—assuming you can find qualified individuals to do so. Hawk notes that although it is getting “slightly easier” to hire kitchen staff, “there has been a sharp decline of talent and skill. The lead line cook position, which can be the backbone of the restaurant, has become a tough position to fill.”

Banking on breakfast and brunch

“Breakfast has the highest profit margins of all the meal periods, and brunch is an opportunity to clear out some inventory with creative features,” says Hawk. He suggests the versatile Boar’s Head® All Natural* Chicken Sausage line, which includes flavors such as Honeycrisp Apple and Robust Italian, to elevate an omelet bar or a creative flatbread.

A prime way to make brunch stand out is to set up a Bloody Mary Bar with skewers of Boar’s Head® meats and cheeses—Naturally Smoked Bacon, Genoa Salami, Prosciutto di Parma, Traditional Pepperoni, Picante Provolone Cheese and Vermont Cheddar Cheese—as tasty, colorful garnishes.

“Weekend brunch is morphing into a seven-day affair,” says the 2022 Food and Beverage Report by Baum + Whiteman, a Brooklyn, New York-based restaurant consultancy. The consultants see breakfast and brunch popping up in novel ways, such as “an Irish bar pivots to breakfast” and “upscale brunch food is grafted onto dinner menus.”

With many people enjoying breakfast items made with foods associated with lunch and dinner, the door is wide open to use Boar’s Head® premium, menu-ready wholesale cooked meats, charcuterie and artisanal cheeses in creative menu applications.

Reaching out to snackers

Millions of consumers snack whenever the mood strikes—before, between and in lieu of meals. Snacking plays a variety of roles: a quick refueling stop, a moment of indulgence, a pleasant interlude in a busy day. Pre-prepared foods on a restaurant’s menu can make snack options easy to make at any hour.

“Consumers are looking to have flavor in all aspects of their day,” says Hawk. “They want items that taste good, make them feel like they are making healthy decisions and are reasonably priced.”

A distinctive snacking selection can be centered on a charcuterie board with slices of Boar’s Head® Italian Style Uncured Dry Sausage, Uncured Italian Salami and Chorizo Serrano. Or serve a platter of Bold PitCraft® Party Nachos, a melty medley featuring Bold PitCraft® Slow Smoked Turkey Breast combined with Bold® 3 Pepper Colby Jack® Cheese and zesty garnishes.

“And there is also a line of Boar’s Head® Dessert Hummus to take snacking to the next level of indulgence,” Hawk says, with flavors such Dark Chocolate and Apple Pie.

In a challenging economy, developing new lines of business can be crucial to success. Pre-prepared foods for restaurant menus can open new doors for reducing costs and meeting consumer needs. For more ideas about capitalizing on new menu opportunities with flavorful Boar’s Head® products, visit https://www.boarsheadfoodservice.com.

*No artificial ingredients, minimally processed.

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Optimizing A Labor-Lean Kitchen

Operators turn to high-quality prepared foods to address labor challenges

Give credit to the restaurant operators who took all the pandemic’s punches and stayed on their feet. However, reaching full recovery requires managing persistent challenges, none more pressing than the labor shortage.

Roughly 50% of operators in the full-service, quick-service and fast-casual segments say recruiting and retaining employees will be their top challenge this year, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry Report.

Now that dining rooms are abuzz with patrons again, hiring staff is more critical than ever. “Consumer demand for restaurant services has come back very rapidly,” says Caleb Taylor, culinary development chef at Boar’s Head. “And these consumers are returning with high expectations for menu innovation and unique presentation.”

Raising labor efficiency

Fortunately, there are proven ways for operators to get more for their labor dollars with menu design ideas for restaurant worker shortages. One is by increasing the use of versatile, convenient, high-quality prepared foods rather than spending time and effort on scratch cooking. Boar’s Head Brand offers a broad line of premium delicatessen meats, cheeses, charcuterie, hummus, spreads and condiments that can serve as labor-efficient springboards for culinary creativity.

All Boar’s Head® pre-cooked foods for restaurants are made with craftsmanship and ingredients of the highest quality. The Boar’s Head® premium deli meats line includes products that are made with whole-muscle cuts of turkey, chicken, ham and beef that are trimmed by hand, seasoned with top-caliber spices from around the world, and in some cases, oven roasted. Pre-cooked foods for restaurants are a huge step ahead of the laborious and time-consuming routine of cutting, seasoning and cooking meat and poultry in the kitchen.

Another menu design idea for restaurant worker shortages and a way to cut labor is to reduce the number of items on the menu and make recipes simpler to prepare. “In the past, a restaurant might have had two cooks preparing the meat portion of a dish,” says Taylor. “But now there are fewer steps in the process.” 

“Reducing our menus the way we did has made it a lot easier to run a restaurant,” says Rick Cardenas, president and chief operating officer of Darden Restaurants, in a Nation’s Restaurant News article about the labor crisis. “The managers spend a little less time on individual items and teaching people on these items that we didn’t produce very often.”

The Boar’s Head® advantage 

When he hosts visiting chefs at the company’s culinary lab, Taylor demonstrates the versatility and labor efficiency of Boar’s Head® premium whole-muscle deli meats, which are ready to be pulled, chopped, sliced, diced, shredded or otherwise fabricated to fit any recipe application.

For instance, take Boar’s Head Bold® Chipotle Chicken Breast, part of the Boar’s Head Bold® line of premium deli meats and cheeses with global flavor profiles. “You could get essentially the same results if you wanted to braise and pull chicken breasts on your own in the kitchen,” says Taylor. “But by using Boar’s Head®, look at the time and work I save and the flavor and consistency I get.”

There are innumerable ways to accelerate and enhance menu development with minimal labor outlay, using Boar’s Head pre-cooked foods for restaurants. Think of the multifaceted culinary explorations possible with Boar’s Head Bold® Peppenero® Garlic Ham. Crafted with a hand-coated spice blend of habanero chili peppers, garlic, ginger and green onion, it combines the robust flavors of Asia and Mexico in one ready-to-use product.

“Back when I was a hotel chef, if I had known the neat things you can do with Boar’s Head® meats, I would have used them when I had labor struggles,” says Taylor.

Innovative menu statements

Boar’s Head® Hummus features the same craftsmanship as the rest of the brand portfolio. It is made from chickpeas, steamed until fork tender, blended with premium ingredients ranging from roasted red peppers to kalamata olive tapenade to apples, and flavored with sea salt, olive oil, tahini and spices.

Serving Boar’s Head® Hummus as a dip is just the beginning of its versatility. It also shines as a sandwich spread, pasta sauce and pizza topping. What’s more, a sweet hummus variation such as Boar’s Head® Apple Pie Dessert Hummus can serve as a ready-made feature ingredient in treats like Apple Pie Hummus Cheesecake Bites.

Furthermore, hummus is an ideal platform for developing plant-based menu items, a growing trend among healthy eaters. “One of the most fun things we’ve done is mix our Boar’s Head® Hummus, which is made with very clean, high-quality premium ingredients, with simple additions like grains and vegetables to make patties for sliders,” says Taylor.

For more ideas about pre-cooked foods for restaurants, winning customers, and saving labor with flavorful Boar’s Head® products, visit https://boarsheadfoodservice.com. 

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The Power of Joining Forces with an Iconic Brand

Partnerships with quality brands like Boar’s Head offer benefits to food distributors and restaurants, creating great menu options.

Featuring premium-brand ingredients on a restaurant menu is a proven way to attract customers who seek higher quality and are willing to pay more for it. Such ingredients are instrumental in creating the memorable experiences that boost customer satisfaction and frequency.

Now, with traffic rebounding and competition increasing, restaurant operators who believe in quality would be wise to reach out to like-minded consumers by promoting strong, respected brands on their menus.

Boar’s Head Brand has achieved iconic status among food brands by engaging generations of consumers with its devotion to quality in premium deli meats, cheeses, dips and many other products, and by helping restaurant operators get the most out of their labor, culinary talent and merchandising efforts.

Reinforcing quality

Founded in 1905, Boar’s Head® has endured as a premium brand through the Great Depression, two world wars, sundry oil crises and economic recessions—events that might have shaken the foundation of other brands.    

“Historically, Boar’s Head® is a brand that has never compromised by cutting corners or cheapening itself,” says Lucien Ducrey, Managing Director, Food Solutions and International Business, Boar’s Head Brand. “The brand has always reinforced the importance of quality and making authentic products we are proud to serve to the next generation.”

To this day, many of the family-owned company’s premium products are made with whole-muscle proteins that are hand trimmed, seasoned with spices from around the world and oven roasted. That’s why joining forces with Boar’s Head Brand makes sense for restaurant and food distributor operators who wish to distinguish themselves.

An example is Woody’s Famous Salads in Tampa, Fla. Family-owned since 1972, Woody’s has promoted Boar’s Head® ingredients on its menu for decades.

“This brand is backed by quality,” says Adam Ward, Woody’s manager and grandson of founder Woody Gilbert. “All of our sandwiches are Boar’s Head, our Chef’s Salad has Boar’s Head deli meats, and we also use Boar’s Head® Blue Cheese and Deli Mustard.”

Teaming Up with Boar’s Head®

Joining forces with Boar’s Head Brand at your restaurant or food distribution company opens the door to premium deli meats and much more: outstanding cheeses, charcuterie, hummus, dips, spreads, condiments, dressings and pickles.

This selection satisfies many tastes and preferences. For instance, the growing number of people who crave authentic global flavors are drawn to the Boar’s Head Bold® line of deli meats. There are low-sodium offerings for those who seek them. In addition, Boar’s Head® brand products on restaurant menus contain no gluten, artificial flavors and colors, added MSG, fillers, byproducts and trans-fat from partially hydrogenated oils.

“This is a portfolio for operators who pride themselves on making recipes that are healthier without compromising flavor,” Ducrey says.

Culinary intelligence

In addition, those who join forces with the Boar’s Head® brand benefit from creative restaurant menu ideas by the company’s expert culinary team. An example is Bold Madrasala® Curry Chicken Pot Pie, which leverages the versatility and flavor of Boar’s Head Bold Madrasala® Curry Chicken Breast, a whole-muscle, fully cooked product seasoned with an aromatic blend of turmeric, garlic and red chili peppers.

“This is a favorite dish we make by combining the chicken breast with coconut milk, cilantro and flavors that play off curry spices,” says Caleb Taylor, Culinary Development Chef at Boar’s Head Brand.

Of course, an operator could cut, season and cook chicken from scratch to make chicken curry pot pies. But lacking the operational advantages of Boar’s Head Bold Madrasala® Curry Chicken Breast, it would require much more labor and skill and run the risk of inconsistent results, Taylor notes.

It is important to point out that featuring an iconic ingredient in a signature dish like the above adds excitement and justifies a premium menu price, while preserving the operator’s profit margin.

Telling the story

In the long, rich history of Boar’s Head®, there is much color and character to share. “The independent Boar’s Head® Brand Local Purveyors not only bring superior products to operators, they also make sure to tell them where they originate, how they are manufactured and how to use them in multiple ways,” says Ducrey. “Every single product in the portfolio has a story behind it. When an operator brings a story onto the menu, it adds value and enriches the consumer experience.”

Indeed, today’s consumers expect a lot more than just nourishment when they choose a restaurant. They delight in exploring authentic ingredients and discovering new flavors and dishes. These vivid experiences make a lasting impression and are a great reason for a distributor or restaurant to partner with the Boar’s Head brand for menu items.

“We know consumers are willing to pay for something that is memorable,” says Ducrey. “They’re willing to drive more miles to get a unique dish or sandwich made with the quality they want.”

For more information about attracting consumers to restaurants with the iconic Boar’s Head Brand partnership, visit https://boarshead.com/about/foodservice.

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