Today’s vegetable-centric trend sees a lot of love given to vegetables, both in cooking techniques and flavour combinations. Roasting, charring, blistering, grilling—these all bring out the sweet, caramelized, smoky side of veggies. Flavour boosters—from marinades and glazes to dollops of luscious cheese or bits of crispy pork—help tell a signature story.
This new attention to vegetables speaks to a larger trend in foodservice, in which guests expect fresh food cooked with big flavour.
Technomic’s 2015 Consumer Trend Report tells us that, in the vegetable category, carrots, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts show impressive menu mention growth.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS menu mentions are up 530% over the last four years, according to Datassential Canadian MenuTrends
Cauliflower has grown on menus by 98% from 2011 to 2015, according to Datassential Canadian MenuMonitor.
Carrots have grown on menus by 78% from 2011-2015, according to Datassential.
One challenge with cooking vegetables is the variance in a single type of veggie, depending on the supplier. Starch and sugar levels can change, so make sure you adjust cook time and flavour add-ins depending on what you get.