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green vegetables.”
One of the best solutions to unwanted
color and texture changes is to cook small batches and replenish the hot or cold bar often. This lends itself to merchandising too, DeSantis is quick to point out. “Just have staff say, ‘fresh food coming through,’ on the way to replenish,” he says.
Moving forward, the lines between food- service and retail produce-centric prepared foods will certainly become more aligned, says
Andrew Marshall, director of foodservice and foundation partnerships for the United Fresh Produce Association, in Washington, DC.
“Because dining-out habits are changing (the split between at-home and away- from-home food purchases is 51 percent versus 49 percent, respectively, according to Datassential), more shoppers expect innova- tive, interesting, chef-inspired preparations,” says Marshall. “This will surely increase the amount and variety of produce that is included in prepared foods at retail.” pb
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teams who design menus, test concepts, then roll them out on a seasonal basis,” she says.
Commodity boards such as the National Watermelon Promotion Board, in Winter Springs, FL, offer resources to retail chefs such as menu trends research. This offers action- able ideas and menu development inspiration around adding watermelon to the menu, says Megan McKenna, director of foodservice and marketing. “Foodservice operators also appre- ciate our cutting, handling and yield informa- tion to maximize their use of watermelon. And to reduce food waste, we provide recipes for pickled watermelon rind, as well as using the rind in plant-based savory dishes like curry over rice and candied watermelon rind.”
5. SEEK OUT PLANT-FORWARD CHEFS. Vegetable/plant-based ingredients are going mainstream, according to the 2019 Hospitality Report by Af&co. Examples include vegan ‘meat’ and ‘seafood’ such as the Impos- sible Burger, created using wheat and potato proteins, and Good Catch’s tuna, made from a proprietary six-legume blend. Blended burgers, a healthful more sustainable mix of chopped mushrooms and beef advocated by The Mushroom Council, have made their way from college dining to a James Beard Founda- tion competition and even a QSR chain.
“It would be beneficial for the produce industry to establish relationships with plant-forward chefs. After all, produce doesn’t sell itself. This type of connection can help to form a bridge between the produce itself and cravable ways it can be prepared and sold,” suggests Steven Petusevsky, chef consultant and president of Steven Petusevsky Enter- prises, in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Petusevsky is also chairman of the Culi- nary Institute of America’s (CIA) Appetites & Innovation Retail Supermarket Initiative and a Menus of Change Advisory Board member at the CIA in Napa, CA. The CIA is an excellent place for produce professionals to seek out plant-forward chefs, says Petusevsky.
“What’s interesting is to see chefs take classic culinary techniques and apply these to vegetables and grains,” says Heinen’s Solganik, who has participated in both of these CIA conferences. “For example, we’ve introduced a roasted cauliflower sandwich and have a grilled portabella Rueben. The idea is that even if someone isn’t vegetarian, they may still want to order these because they are a more interesting and flavorful choice than a plain turkey sand- wich.” pb