All posts by Dana Williams
The popular saying goes, “You are what you eat.” But it may be more accurate in the food industry to say, “You are what you eat with.” Diners judge restaurants by a lot of different factors – the taste of the food, the quality of the service, the ambiance. One small detail that sometimes gets overlooked, but that can significantly affect customer comfort and satisfaction, is what they are eating with – the flatware and utensils.
There are two types of diners at a restaurant. The first one walks in, knows exactly what they want to order and within minutes has ordered and is patiently waiting to be served. The second pores over the menu for a long time, weighing each and every option. This diner seeks a unique culinary experience and is eager to try new foods.
The Prix Fixe menu is a menu format that offers benefits to both ordering styles. It’s a great option for other reasons as well. It can be used to control costs, promote or test new dishes or streamline holiday / special event dining into quicker and more efficient service.
Functional foods are an extremely popular culinary trend, netting nearly $100 billion in annual revenue in 2021, and projected to reach nearly $140 billion by 2026. But what can those in the food industry do to leverage this trend and serve up food that is both tasty and also “functional.”
In part one, we’ll define functional foods and look at ways to incorporate functional ingredients into dishes and menus.
ChatGPT is everywhere. Advertisers, web designers, coders, businessmen, writers, and artists are incorporating innovative generative AI technology to help them work smarter and more efficiently. Will ChatGPT overtake the food industry as well? I wanted to find out, so I asked the AI itself. The following response is ChatGPT’s unedited answer:
Imagine the weirdest food combination you can, the strangest cake decoration scheme, or the oddest cooking method, and chances are there’s already a restaurant out there profiting from this oddity. Many chefs are naturally creative, and chaos cooking, an exciting, new culinary trend, gives these cooks a chance to express the full spectrum of their imagination.
2022 was a milestone year for mankind. By November 2022 the United Nations estimated the global population had reached an astounding eight billion. With more people on Earth than ever before in history, ensuring equitable global access to resources, food, water, and housing has become more important than ever before.
Every era has its own iconic food that typifies that generation. For example, a decade ago, avocado toast made news headlines as the millennial dish. Today’s younger generation also has its own food favorites, and a unique way of engaging with food. Are you clued into Gen Z food trends? How many of these dishes have you heard of? Give yourself a point for each dish you are familiar with:
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an extra-spicy beef gyro with lettuce and tomato, wrapped in fresh, warm pita bread with hot sauce and a can of Pepsi on the side. And it’s catching a ride from the restaurant to the customer’s home in the basket of a food delivery drone.
These winged waiters are the futuristic delivery method emerging on the horizon. Literally. In some restaurants, drones are taking the place of food couriers. In other places, they are inside the restaurant itself, carefully carrying the food from the kitchen to the dining room. Proponents of drone food delivery hope to redefine the food industry, claiming that drones are more efficient, reliable, and even more affordable than in-person service. Others in the industry are more cautious, and think the trend will take several years to “get off the ground.”
Put your signature mark on every touch point of your business by learning the art and skill of what has been coined “Five Sensory Dining.” Have you heard of the cruise ship that offers its customer a “Journey for the Senses?” No matter where guests are dining, onboard or during onshore excursions, they aim to create sounds, sights, smells, tastes, and touch experiences that entertain all five senses. If you work in the foodservice industry and want to edge out the competition, don’t leave customer experience to chance.
If you work in foodservice and haven’t yet tapped into what is currently one of the biggest business trends of the millennium, it’s time to step up to the plate and sink your teeth into the Grab and Go Market. Also known by the acronym GNG, Grab & Go or Grab-and-Go, refers to ready-to-eat, pre-packaged food items sold in your establishment. Not surprisingly, the largest body of consumers, literally eating up the opportunity, are millennials, the on-the-go Gen Y and the younger Gen Z populations.