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Biography

Nancy Kruse

Nancy Kruse is a menu maven and president of The Kruse Company. She is a well known and highly regarded expert on menu trends. Her monthly State of the Plate column provides insight into the trends influencing menu innovation.

Articles by
Nancy Kruse

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Workforce

Call the scrap yard. We have a labor model to be picked up.

Sweet & Sour: The restaurant business has grappled with labor challenges for about 40 years now, but never a situation as trying as the current one. It’s time to rethink the very nature of restaurant work.

Food

Filipino cuisine finally gets its day in the sun

State of the Plate: Filipino cuisine has long been predicted to be the "next big thing." RB's menu trends columnist says it finally may be happening.

Food

Horchata follows churros onto restaurant menus

Nancy Kruse: This month's look at restaurant menu trends examines the popularity of the plant-based beverage, which also shines in more sophisticated items like cakes.

Food

Want to find top cooking talent? Here's one place to look

Nancy Kruse: The CNIC Culinary Competition showcases top cooking talent from the U.S. Navy, which could be a fertile ground for restaurants looking for people experienced in a high-volume, high-pressure environment.

Topics

With the old guidelines this scrambled, what's next for tipping?

Sweet & Sour: The longstanding protocols for who, what and when to tip have been upended. Here’s how the turmoil could shake out.

Food

After a slow burn, churros become a hot restaurant menu item

State of the Plate: Nancy Kruse dishes on the centuries-old item now being used in a variety of items, from hot dogs to beverages.

Operations

Remembering the days when restaurants provided service

Sweet & Sour: Is the pursuit of frictionless interaction just a ruse for getting guests to do more of the work themselves?

Food

Restaurants find that protein packs a healthy punch

State of the Plate: Restaurant menu trends expert Nancy Kruse dishes on "dude food," as consumers' view of healthy shifts toward the meatier side of things.

Food

What even the robots might have missed at this year’s National Restaurant Association Show

Sweet & Sour: From android armies to a different sort of pot pie, here are the surprises we long time show-goers discovered at the industry’s first annual convention in three years.

Food

Breakfast is making a comeback with innovative new options

State of the Plate: The daypart went dark during the pandemic, but customers are returning and chefs are inspired, with everything from Elote Mexican Street Corn Hash at First Watch to Chengdu Chicken and Waffles at Nue.

Food

Texture takes center stage on restaurant menus

State of the Plate: Chefs at all levels are adding more crunch to items to give them contrasting textures, using everything from chia seeds to crispy chicken skin.

Marketing

It's black and white, QR doubters: The codes are here to stay

Sweet & Sour: The tags deliver benefits that will keep them in use long after the pandemic fades.

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