Page 28 - gfs0518_Magazine

MILITARY CULINARY AWARDS

MENU TRENDS
Designing an “ideal” military dining facility that
can be implemented challenges the teams to estab-
lish a design that appeals to the large and diverse
customer base at McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and suc-
cessfully competes with alternatives in the nearby
communities.
Knowing what consumers want to eat is becoming
a more difficult question to answer as popular menu
trends move in the direction of healthier options
driven by new attitudes about nutrition.
Among the top food and beverage trends for
2018, according to 700 American Culinary Federation
(ACF) chefs surveyed by the NRA, are new cuts of
Winning culinary team review of Friday’s seminar lessons beef, house-made condiments, street-food inspired dishes,
members are asked to
design a dining facil- and a group question-and-answer ethnic breakfast items and sustainable seafood.
ity from scratch during session; they then have two hours Chefs are enthusiastic about creating recipes and entrées
a three-day culinary to finalize plans and practice their that feature shoulder tender, oyster steak, Vegas Strip or
training program that
includes instructional presentations. An industry panel Merlot cuts. They consider these cuts to be inexpensive,
seminars and working on hears each presentation and pro- yet flavorful and grill friendly.
the challenge in groups.
vides feedback between 12:30 p.m. Customers come to a restaurant expecting to be ex-
and about 3:30 p.m., when the win- cited by new flavor ideas, or to military dining facilities
ning design is selected and training completion certificates to personalize the taste of foods by adding condiments.
are presented. House-made condiments were the No. 2 response from the
Presentations are organized into five distinct areas. An ACF chef survey and can be simple to make, but as exotic
overall introduction and concept presentation, in which as a culinary team wants. Respondents encourage chefs
each team describes its dining facility, includes informa- to impress customers and display culinary expertise with
tion on the type of establishment, meals served (breakfast, items like sriracha ketchup or malt vinegar aioli.
lunch, dinner, etc.) and hours of operation. Driven by growing interest in convenience and grab
Another requirement is a section on menu design with ’n’ go options, the No. 3 trend identified in the survey
healthy dining options. A seven-day menu developed by is street food-inspired dishes. These are recipe ideas add
each team needs to cover three meal periods plus to-go a sense of adventure to the menu. Popular items include
options. It will contain at least two entrées (one of which tempura, kabobs, dumplings and pupusas.
must be “healthy”), two starches, two vegetables, one soup, Ethnic cuisine continues to be popular, and the chefs
two desserts, beverages and salad. suggest enhancing the breakfast category with some in-
For the section on kitchen and interior design, the ternational flavor. The chefs suggest chorizo scrambled
team draws a basic diagram of the restaurant’s layout from eggs, coconut pancakes or breakfast burritos.
front to back of the house, showing its operation flow and Environmental causes motivated the fifth trend, sustain-
necessary features. able seafood. Chefs and consumers
Teams must describe the target customer within the are making smarter seafood choices The training program
base population and the methods used to draw them in- that not only taste great, but also includes a day visiting
side, as well any alternative locations that compete for protect the environment. selected exhibitors on
the National Restau-
their business. Restaurants are responding to rant Association show
Final presentations must also include organizational growing interest in nutritious items floor.
and scheduling development by listing the employees re-
quired to run a 24-hour operation and an organizational
chart detailing a chain of command and duty positions.
Details are based on a 14-day shift schedule that identifies
all manned positions, as well as employee training plans.
Each team designates a representative to provide the
overall introduction and concept presentation. Each of the
remaining four dining facility plan categories is presented
by a member of the group within each team designated
to work on that area.
Presentations are to be made in no more than 25 min-
utes, allowing five minutes for each component of the plan.
Panel members judging the plans have 10 to 15 minutes
to ask questions of the group.
28 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • MAY 2018