FSR February 2023

TRENDING ON THE MENU // Side Dishes

MACARONI AND CHEESE IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SIDE DISHES, AND IT’S GROWING ON MENUS.

BLOUNT FINE FOODS

Quintessential Comfort Among side dishes and appetizers, there’s nothing quite like macaroni and cheese. A s restaurant operators streamline their menus due to ongoing pres sures, it’s clear that side dishes What’s Hot Culinary Forecast for 2023— and so are experiences and local commu nities. Consumers are craving nostalgic favorites, and they want to share meals with loved ones away from home.

“Macaroni and cheese is such a crowd pleaser,” says Tom Carr, chief market ing officer of Chicken Salad Chick. “It’s something that crosses a lot of differ ent taste palates as well as age groups.” Datassential recently found that mac aroni and cheese appears on 26.8 percent of U.S. menus—an increase of 19 percent over the last four years. And according to the Grubhub 2021 Year in Food Report, macaroni and cheese was the thirdmost

and appetizers remain a critical part of the equation. eir space on the menu represents a perfect opportunity for res taurants to remind diners of comforting memories and perhaps entice them to share an order or two with their group. “Comfort fare” is one of the National Res taurant Association’s top 10 trends in the

And what’s more comforting than a dish of expertly prepared macaroni and cheese? at’s what elevated fast-casual brand Chicken Salad Chick had in mind when it chose to add gourmet-style mac aroni and cheese to its sides menu.

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