If you work in foodservice and are wondering what the future of the industry will look like, here is what some experts are forecasting. In their crystal ball, a proliferation of new automated services are on the horizon for restaurants, paving the way for a new landscape in the short term and possibly a ‘new normal’ going forward.
Restaurants around the world have taken advantage of the pandemic to open their doors to outdoor dining, maybe permanently, with the permission of state and local laws. The sidewalk, owned by the city, was graciously turned over to restauranteurs during the pandemic so they could try to turn a profit and stay afloat. Over the years, allowing outdoor dining has certainly saved many a restaurant from caving in under the woes of the pandemic. Looking ahead, especially in larger cites such as NYC and LA, restaurant owners are in talks with city officials and neighborhood groups to allow this trend to continue, maybe forever.
If you work in foodservice, you have been impacted, for better or worse, by the coronavirus (COVID-19). Fortunately, some of you have managed to survive the pandemic and are operating or perhaps even thriving despite the restrictions on restaurant operations and social gatherings. However, one constant unites you all: Whether you are offering takeout for the first time, operating out of a pre-existing ghost kitchen, or have transformed your brick-and-mortar eatery into a remote restaurant, the name of the new game in the industry is: Safe food delivery.
Ghost kitchens are popping up around the world, a last-ditch effort by restaurants to stay afloat and serve customers while the coronavirus shuts businesses down. In cities that increasingly look like ghost towns, the all-delivery and take-out-service-only paradigm is gaining an almost natural foothold as the public has been commanded to remain ‘socially distant’ and take extreme measures to avoid close contact with other people.
If you are wondering what the most popular foods are during quarantine and which takeout menu items customers are craving in the wake of the coronavirus, you have come to the right place. In this guide, we will reveal the key ingredients to restaurant menu success during COVID-19 and provide specific tips, strategies, and recipe ideas that will help your food-and-beverage operation not only stay afloat but rise above the competitive pack and even thrive and grow.
As with many other businesses world-wide, the restaurant industry has been deeply impacted by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In a global milieu where work from home, self-quarantine, traffic restrictions, and rampant business closures have become the norm, restaurants have been thrust into an unprecedented limelight.
If you are looking for a way to boost restaurant profits, instead of thinking new foods, think: Tea, Glorious Tea! In addition to the fact that tea is the world’s second-most popular drink (next to water), and that tea represents a $10 billion industry in the U.S. alone and a $38.8 billion industry globally, specialty teas are the new cash bonanza.
From cakes, puddings, and parfaits to salads, entrées, and main courses, mason jar desserts and meals (aka food-in-a-jar) have become some of the hottest-selling items in the restaurant and catering service businesses. Taking the concept of canning jars to new and highly imaginative heights, professional chefs and bakers are jumping aboard the mason jar bandwagon, creating single-serving, portable, convenient, and highly Instagrammable servings of their customers’ favorite recipes.
Oatmeal, anyone?
The battle for breakfast is on, and if you work in foodservice, prepare to update your restaurant and catering service menus with the latest rising star in the food industry: Hot oatmeal. That’s right! Not only have all-day breakfast menus and brunch become a financial boon for eateries that rise to the occasion, but hot cereals, especially oats, are proliferating and claiming the unlikely top spot.
In this guide for foodservice professionals, you will get the full 411 on all things ‘champagne,’ including types of the world’s favorite bubbly, champagne styles, grapes, regions, sweetness levels, temperature, age, how to pour the perfect glass of champagne, the best champagne glassware, and more.
Continue reading about restaurant champagne and wine-pouring etiquette →