Food

Food trends and recipes to keep menus fresh

Reshaping pizza dough

By Patricia Cobe on Dec. 08, 2014

Nate Weir, director of culinary operations at Denver-based Modmarket, was on a mission: to create a better pizza—not just better than the growing number of customizable fast-casual concepts, he says, but better than the Neapolitan pies tossed at high-end pizzerias.

Food

3 emerging trends worth watching

By Sara Rush Wirth on Dec. 15, 2014

A scan of the restaurant industry as it mobilizes for the busy holiday season reveals three ripples that could surge into full-fledged trends.

Food

Food costs shaping hottest culinary trends for 2015, NRA finds

By Patricia Cobe on Dec. 03, 2014

Restaurant menus will be shaped to a marked degree next year by kitchens’ efforts to control food costs, influencing but not supplanting culinary trends.

Food

Operators drive profits by spotlighting side dishes

By Patricia Cobe on Dec. 15, 2014

Side dishes are getting more play from menu developers. Potatoes, vegetables and other sides not only moderate food costs, they can help upsell an entree.

Food

Raising the cheesesteak

By Patricia Cobe on Jan. 07, 2014

Steak performs well for Cousins Subs, because core customers see it as a point of differentiation for a sandwich QSR, says Justin McCoy, VP of marketing at the 122-unit chain based in Menamonee Falls, Wis. So in the last quarter of 2014, R&D developed a cheesesteak that layers a more generous portion of steak with premium ingredients.

Food