FSR magazine April 2018

First Course
larity as the star—not the side—of the
plate,” says Brian Sullivan, senior vice
president of culinary innovation for CPK.
And, surprisingly, that’s what diners
want more of these days: vegetables,
or vegetables disguised or dressed up
in unusual ways.
Pizza crust is just one way restaurants
big and small are integrating the
cruciferous chameleon into their menus.
Hard Rock Cafe used cauliflower in a
burger on its first-ever meatless menu.
Major food vendor US Foods released
spicy battered cauliflower as a product
in late summer of 2017.
But for those watching the industry
and its menus, this change has been a
long time coming. Just ask Liz Vaknin,
cofounder and experiential marketer
at New York–based Our Name Is Farm.
Vaknin and cofounder Shelley Golan
work with local food growers as well as
the consumer markets those farmers
serve to bridge the gap.
“I grew up noticing the versatility of
this relatively cheap, hearty, and gluten-free
vegetable that is very high in
nutritional value if eaten fresh,” Vaknin
says. “My family is of Jewish, Middle
Eastern, and North African background,
so growing up I ate cauliflower in
many different versions: in a beef stew
braised with turmeric, paprika, white
pepper, and garlic; fried or roasted with
tahini or yogurt and sumac; stuffed with
seasoned lamb kefta and braised in a
spiced tomato sauce; in root vegetable
pickles preserved with turmeric and
chilies; the list is never-ending.”
It’s quite a contrast to sneaking it
into pizza crusts or mac and cheese,
but that’s not a bad thing. As Vaknin
puts it, everyone else is just catching
up. Familiar iterations with cauliflower
hidden inside could be the beginning.
“Americans are using cauliflower in
applications that are already familiar
to them, to make the vegetable more
appealing, like in pizza, buffalo style, or
mac and cheese,” Vaknin says. “Once
they feel comfortable with the vegetable
in general … I believe they’ll find
more creative ways to prepare and consume
it, too.”
Waste Not. Earn More.
It’s an issue everyone in the industry is talking (and worrying)
about, including 1,300 chefs who reported that food waste
reduction was a top priority in the National Restaurant
Association’s annual report.
Food costs
represent
up to
35%
of a
restaurant’s
gross
income.
CONSUMERS ARE CONCERNED, TOO
A study by Unilever revealed:
72%
OF U.S.
DINERS
CARE
about how
restaurants
handle
food waste.
$8
COST SAVINGS
COSTS
$16
BILLION
ANNUALLY
72 %
Diners
Care
SOURCE: REFED’S 2018 RESTAURANT FOOD WASTE ACTION GUIDE
52.4
MILLION
tons of food waste
is sent to landfills in the
U.S. each year, and
7.3 MILLION
tons of that comes from
full-service restaurants.
It costs the industry
$16 billion annually.
47 %
would be
willing to
SPEND
MORE
to eat at a
restaurant with a
waste reduction
program.
THINK THE OUTLOOK IS DISMAL?
There’s something you can do.
For every dollar a restaurant
spends on food waste
reduction, it can realize
$8 of cost savings.
In total, restaurants could
achieve an additional
$620 MILLION IN PROFIT
potential per year by adopting
waste prevention strategies.
12 APRIL 2018 FOODNEWSFEED.COM