FSR August 2023

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The Spread How a versatile group of spreadable cheeses is igniting innovation. BY CHARLIE POGACAR DINERS ARE CUTTING BACK on spending. That’s led to fewer restau rant sales and less foot traffic. Black Box Intelligence reported that year over-year traffic growth slowed by 3 percent in April 2023. In some ways, this is a familiar challenge for chefs, who often gravi tate toward the profession because they enjoy creating something nota ble and delicious that will get diners through the door. Innovation contin ues to be at the heart of what they do; it just comes with a new set of considerations. “With menu development, the attrition of talent is a very real obstacle,” says Jennifer OBrien, director of restaurants and bars at Marriott Luxury brands. “Innova tion comes by the way of: ‘How do we upscale people more fluently and quickly without losing quality and innovation on the menu?’” Nate Weir, vice president of Mod ern Restaurant Concepts, agrees that staffing remains the biggest ongoing challenge when designing new menu items. He says that’s one of the many reasons that chefs are rethinking ingredient selection—and how each ingredient fits into their operation. “You can get around the shortage of kitchen staff by simplifying pro cesses and finding layup ingredients that work really well without a lot of manual input,” Weir says. “Versa tile ingredients that work in multiple places and give us more velocity in

the kitchen are a really key piece to consider when innovating right now.” This is where spreadable cheeses come into play. They are ingredients that can be used across a wide vari ety of dishes and dayparts. Prod ucts like Boursin, Price*s Pimiento Cheese Spread, and Merkts Cheese Spread are helping chefs unlock cre ative recipes that will drive foot traf fic because they can go far beyond just spredable applications like sand wiches and burgers. “Versatility is the perfect word for spreadable cheeses,” Weir says. “They are incredibly flavorful ingredi ents that are versatile by their very nature: They can be stirred into a recipe, spread easily, or even be a standalone ingredient on a cheese board.”

Weir points to Price*s Pimiento Cheese Spread as an example of the above: It can be spread on bread, stirred into grits, put on a burger, or folded into mac ‘n cheese. Pimiento also happens to be a hallmark of Southern cuisine, which has become trendy all across the country in the past decade. “I feel like especially in the spring, around the time of the Masters [golf] tournament, you start seeing a lot of Pimiento,” Weir says. “But Southern food has had a big moment and we’re seeing that continue with Southern influence all over menus. Pimiento can be a great component in captur ing that trend.” A chef favorite, Boursin is another study in versatility—to exhibit this, Weir cites ways he has used Bour

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AUGUST 2023