FSD Quarterly | Q2 2025

MAY 2025

THE WILD NEW HOMETOWN-PROUD EATS OF MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL P. 30 SODEXO STUDENT INFLUENCER PROMOTES ASL ACCESSIBILITY ON COLLEGE CAMPUS P. 32

THE SAUCE FILES: Finding Your Signature P. 18

TAKE THE MILK P. 15

Aramark's chicken concept, The Coop, takes a big dip into campus life at Boston U.

FIRST YEAR EATS PROVIDES FRESHMEN WITH MONTHLY EVENTS CENTERED AROUND MAKING LASTING, MEMORABLE CONNECTIONS.

https://youtu.be/prEMF19GhDg

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR TARA FITZPATRICK SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR FOODSERVICE DIRECTOR | INFORMA CONNECT

FOODSERVICEDIRECTOR.COM

PHOTO COURTESY OF CIERRA BRECKNER, MICHIGAN DINING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OPERATIONS DELAWARE NORTH CAMPAIGNS TO SAVE THE BEES WITH MARGARITAS By Patricia Cobe

TEXTURE IS TRENDING ON MENUS AS CONSUMERS SEEK MULTI-SENSORY EATING

EXPERIENCES By Patricia Cobe

ENLOE HEALTH DINING TEAM WINS MULTIPLE AWARDS AT LOCAL COOK-OFF By Benita Gingerella

HOMETOWN PRIDE TAKES A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE FOR OVG HOSPITALITY’S LATEST MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL EATS By Tara Fitzpatrick

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE: FUELING PERFORMANCE ON AND OFF THE FIELD By Julianne Pepitone

32 COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES SODEXO STUDENT INFLUENCER PROMOTES ASL ACCESSIBILITY ON COLLEGE CAMPUS By Reyna Estrada

CHERRY CREEK SCHOOL DISTRICT’S EGG AND DAIRY-FREE QUICK BREAD RECIPES OFFER A TASTY WAY TO REACH MORE STUDENTS AND CUT COSTS By Benita Gingerella

34 SENIOR DINING

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON ACTIVE AGING AND RESTAURA PARTNER TO LAUNCH SENIOR LIVING DINING BENCHMARKING SYSTEM By Benita Gingerella CURA BRINGS SALAD BOWL KITCHEN DEMO TO RESIDENTS IN HONOR OF NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH By Benita Gingerella

14 K12

SERVED PODCASTS

TAKE THE MILK By Sherri Shipp

16 COVER STORY

38 EQUIPMENT

THE SAUCE FILES: FINDING YOUR SIGNATURE By Tara Fitzpatrick 24 FOOD & BEVERAGE TRENDS RECIPE REPORT: DRIZZLED DISPATCHES FROM THE SAUCE FILES By Tara Fitzpatrick

THE NUTS AND BOLTS (AND BOBA) OF BEVERAGE AUTOMATION’S BIG MOVE INTO COLLEGE DINING By Nolan Schacter

PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAMARK COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAMARK

OPERATIONS

Delaware North campaigns to save the bees with margaritas Pollinators play a role in tequila production, so the foodservice and hospitality company is partnering with The Bee Cause Project to build awareness by offering the Bee’s Harvest Margarita at 100 locations in the U.S.

F or the third year in a row, foodservice and hospitali- ty provider Delaware North is partnering with The Bee Cause Project to educate and build awareness about the importance of pollinators to our food supply. For its “Bee the Difference” campaign this year, the Buffalo. N.Y.-based compa- ny is getting the message across with a margarita. Pollination is essential to the produc- tion of Weber Blue Agave, a critical in- gredient in Patron tequila. So through- out “Earth Month” in April and until “National Bee Day” on May 20, Dela- ware North is offering the Bee’s Harvest Margarita crafted with Patron Silver Te- quila at 100 of its U.S. locations. The ba- By Patricia Cobe

sic cocktail is made with tequila, agave and a trio of citrus juices. “Delaware North is once again asking our team members and guests to ‘Bee the Difference’ and support pollinator education and preservation through this year’s campaign,” said Debbie Friedel, Delaware North’s corporate senior di- rector of sustainability,” in a statement. “Bees are critical to our environment and agriculture, and Delaware North is proud to place the spotlight on these hard-working creatures across our U.S. operations at stadiums, airports, restau- rants, hotels and gaming locations.” The Bee’s Harvest Margarita runs from $9.99-$29.99, depending on the venue. At the Patina Restaurant Group’s Disney Springs location in Orlando the

cocktail is customized with Patron Re- posado Tequila, lime, orange liqueur, honey simple syrup and bee pollen salt; it sells for $19. To date, Delaware North has donated over $41,500 to The Bee Cause Project from its annual Earth Month campaign. This year, the company has added an augmented reality experience to elevate and reinforce its message with a little gaming. Guests can scan a QR code to play and are then transported to Haci- enda Patron in Jalisco, Mexico, where they learn how bees support tequila production. An animated bee takes par- ticipants through the agave fields col - lecting pollen, then into the production facility. Participants get to try several interactive games along the way.

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PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

SUSTAINABILITY

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OPERATIONS

Enloe Health dining team wins multiple awards at local cook-off

Executive Chef Jason Davis and Retail Manager Jim Graham won the Best Side Dish Award, the Best Decorated Table Award and the Golden Spood Award at a cooking competition hosted by the local Boy & Girls Club.

BY BENITA GINGERELLA

T he dining team at Enloe Health in Chico, California, which is managed by food service provider Thomas Cuisine, brought home some hardware from The Ridge Cookoff, a lo- cal cooking competition. The event is put on by the Boys and Girls Club in Paradise, California to raise money for its programming. Executive Chef Jason Davis and Re- tail Manager Jim Graham won a Best Side Dish award for their Apple and Pecan Brussels Sprout Slaw which fea- tured pink lady apples, candy-coated pecans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, car- rots, pomegranate seeds and a cham- pagne vinaigrette. In addition, they also received a best decorated table award and the Golden Spood Award, the most prestigious award given at the event. This is not the only award Thomas Cui- sine chefs have received recently. This fall, Thomas Cuisine Chef Liz Obatook and Chef Josh Ericksen took home second place in the World Food Championship. Thomas Cuisine staff at the Touro College of Osteopathic Med- icine in Great Falls, Montana have also been busy as of late piloting a farm to clinician teaching program.

QUARTERLY | Q1

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THOMAS CUISINE

NEW! Flame-Seared Pulled Chicken

Crafting Tomorrow’s Menus with a Century of Experience

Crispy Barrel Breaded Breast Tenders

With 100 years under our belts, we’ve discovered the secret recipe for a perfect menu: quality chicken, innovative culinary ideas, and a team of chicken experts from a U.S. family owned & operated company.

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See What a Century of Experience Can Do

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OPERATIONS

A t college campuses around the country, a longtime student dining trend con- tinues to accelerate: Many students are ditching the comfort food and soda in favor of healthy balanced meals (at least most of the time). Yet it can be challenging to build a plate that’s not only “healthy” but also nutritionally balanced—and delicious too. That was the impetus for Perfor- mance Plate, a new entrée station that Providence College in Rhode Island launched this school year. Food Service Director Eli Estevez and his team want- ed to make it as easy as possible for students to choose food that fuels their performance, both on and off the field. “We wanted to create a dedicated

entrée station that makes it really easy to just walk up and get a meal that sup- ports optimal wellness and nutrition,” says Estevez, who is employed by So- dexo as resident district manager. Performance Plate is a highly curated station that serves as a one-stop-shop for a balanced plate. The curated menu changes daily, but the station always of- fers a carefully selected variety of pro- teins, grains and vegetables. And this is no boiled chicken with white rice. The Performance Plate lunch and dinner of- ferings are both flavorful and extensive. One recent dinner menu included chipotle chicken breast with lemon-gar- lic green beans, spicy black-eyed peas, cilantro rice, steamed baby carrots and Southwestern roasted vegetables. For lunch, orange-rosemary glazed turkey breast was served alongside creamy

Providence College: Fueling performance on and off the field The Sodexo dining team at the school recently unveiled its Power Plate concept which aims to offer students a variety of meals to boost their performance.

BY JULIANNE PEPITONE

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PHOTO BY JOE A. MENDOZA/CSU PHOTOGRAPHY

OPERATIONS

Performance Plate. Hebert has been a strong partner of the initiative, Mootz says, by making a point to highlight the station during dining room tours with student-athletes and issuing a constant reminder: Don’t know what to eat? Go grab something from Performance Plate. Mootz highly recommends that operators at C&Us connect with leaders of other divisions, as it sparks new ideas while also building buy-in across campus. However, the most important opinion is that of students, Estevez says. His team meets at least once a month with a network of 10-15 students to solicit feedback and make changes as necessary. One of those new changes is a big upgrade to the hydration station, where students can now enjoy homemade electrolyte drinks made from Mootz’s own recipes. Fruit juices—like lemonade, fruit punch, peach, strawberry, orange, and grape—are combined with salt and other ingredients to boost hydration. The program has been incredibly popular with students so far, and it’s just one of the many ways Providence College’s foodservice team is working to make healthy eating delicious, exciting, and simple. Simple is not always easy to execute. But it’s Mootz’s top tip for other operators looking to inspire their students to eat more healthfully and mindfully. Performance Plate’s all-in-one nature is critical to its success, she says. Other operators may find they already have all the right pieces in their dining rooms— and it’s just a matter of changing the presentation. “Convenience really is key,” Mootz says. “I hate to say it, but people do not like to read [placards] across the dining hall about what’s healthy over here and over there. It’s out of sight, out of mind. So if you can put it all together for them, it’s much simpler for them to say, ‘Wow, this looks great.’ GET TO KNOW PROVIDENCE COLLEGE’S ELI ESTEVEZ See what’s in store for Estevez’s oper-

ation, which was named FSD’s April Foodservice Operation of the Month.

butternut squash risotto, roasted potato wedges, broccoli slaw salad and Asian vegetable stir fry. Vegetarians are welcome here, too, with lunches like eggplant parmesan and sides of sauteed spinach with car- amelized onions, couscous primavera, roasted cauliflower, broccoli Raab and mashed sweet potatoes. “[Students] can customize and make their personal choices, but at the same time, the station’s menu does the work for you because it’s all planned as one balanced meal,” Estevez says. About 30% of students eat from the Performance Plate station during any given lunch or dinner serve, Estevez estimates. It’s become just as popular as the comfort food station, with both ath- letes and other students—but it was the college’s sports program that inspired the initial idea. HELPING ALL STUDENTS STAY AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME The genesis for Performance Plate came out of team brainstorming sessions held last summer for the new school year. That team included Holli Mootz, Prov- idence’s campus dietitian, who is also employed by Sodexo. “One of the first thoughts that sparked the idea was: ‘We are a Division I school, and what can we do to add to that?’” Mootz says. But immediately, the team recognized that they didn’t want to limit the new station’s potential audience only to athletes. A message of inclusivity would be key in developing—and marketing— Performance Plate for campus-wide success. “The question instead became: ‘What can we do for people who want to be top performers?’” Mootz says. “Whether you’re an athlete or one of our STEM students or active in clubs, everyone needs nutrients and vitamins to be at their best.” Mootz introduced herself to Providence’s Sports Dietitian Lynne Hebert via email and asked for a meeting, and the women talked through ideas for

Q: What is it that makes your opera- tion excel? It’s a combination of strong leadership and a committed team. We’re commit- ted to each other and to making the stu- dent experience great. We’re relentless- ly focused on what our students want and how we can do even more to make them happy. We prioritize consistency, quality of service and cleanliness, while staying responsive to the evolving needs of our campus community. We collect data and conduct surveys and use these to drive our decisions, but it’s also really important never to lose sight of the human element: that interaction of actually going up asking them, “How can I help you? How can I make your day better?” Q: What are your goals for the opera- tion in the coming year? Every semester we deeply evaluate our program as a whole, and we assess any areas that that need improvements or evolutions based on current trends. I know we’ll keep growing the Perfor- mance Plate station, and we actually want to add more of those types of op- tions all throughout the dining room. It’s because our students are gravitating more toward healthy eating. We’re seeing how we can bring those concepts into our retail setting too— kind of stepping away from the burgers and fried chicken to the more healthy and balanced plates.

QUARTERLY | Q1

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OPERATIONS

at the district, however, was that every one of the bakery’s products contained eggs and/or dairy, even though there was a high number of students at the district that had a dairy allergy, egg allergy or both. “It was kind of a bummer to be producing these amazing products, but not all of our kids were able to actually have access to them,” she says. So, a couple years ago, the team set out to revamp their quick bread recipes to be both egg and dairy. Today, all students can enjoy the district’s quick breads (which include pumpkin bread, blueberry bread and more) no matter if they have a dairy allergy, egg allergy or both. Along with allowing the nutrition team to reach more students, revamping the recipes has resulted in extra benefits, including lower costs given the high price of eggs. GOING EGG AND DAIRY-FREE When the team first started the testing process they planned to try eggless recipes, dairy-free recipes and recipes that were both eggless and dairy free. “We were like, whichever one we can make taste good and function, we’ll go with,” says Molloy. “And really, removing the eggs and dairy didn’t impact the

product in any way negatively. So, we just went with removing both.” The first quick bread to undergo testing was their cowboy bread which is similar to coffee cake. While there are several different types of quick breads on the district’s menu, they all are built around the same core recipe, so once the team mastered the egg and dairy free cowboy bread recipe it was easier to convert the others. There were a number of ingredients the team was planning to test in place of eggs including flax seed and some manufactured egg substitutes, Molloy says, but ultimately, they landed on apple sauce since it was easy to source and cost effective. Apple sauce was successful right off the bat and the team didn’t have to make many changes other than having to tweak the amount of baking powder in the recipe. In reality, one of the hardest parts of the entire process, Molloy says, was finding the time to sit down to do the actual testing. “We’re feeding almost 40,000 students a day in our district,” she says. “Our bakery is very busy, so to find time to recipe test was probably actually our biggest challenge, because we work in such a routine, driven environment that

Cherry Creek School District’s egg and dairy-free quick bread recipes offer a tasty way to reach more students and cut costs The egg and dairy-free breads “are a win-win” for the nutrition team says Executive Chef Cady Molloy. BY BENITA GINGERELLA T he nutrition team at Cherry Creek School District in Greenwood Village, Colorado is proud of its central bakery which supplies schools in the districts with freshly made sandwich bread, cinnamon rolls and more. One thing that Executive Chef Cady Molloy noticed when she first started

QUARTERLY | Q1

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EUREST

OPERATIONS

to throw in recipe testing every single recipe on the menu in the bakery was a lot of work.” REAPING THE BENEFITS The team introduced students to the revamped recipes by holding taste tests. During the tests, they did not advertise to students that the bread no longer had eggs or dairy in it. Instead, they just let them try the bread and share their honest feedback. Now, as a regular part of the menu rotation, the breads are marked that they do not contain eggs or dairy on the menu, but the team still makes a point to not make a big deal out of it. “We’re not being really loud about it, because we just don’t want [to encourage] the mindset that it’s not going to have any flavor or it’s going to be dry, which is not right,” says Molloy. “Kids have been really receptive, but I don’t think most of them aren’t even aware [that there’s no eggs or dairy],” she says. While the students who don’t have food allergies may not think much of the revamped recipes, for the students who do, going egg-free and dairy free has been a positive change. “They get to eat what their peers are eating,” says Special Diets Supervisor and Registered Dietician Maurene Beamer. Parents of those students are also often “relieved knowing it’s something they don’t have to worry about,” she adds. While the original intent behind going egg and dairy-free was to allow students with allergies more options on the serving line, the switch has also resulted in other benefits, the biggest being reduced costs. “We’re saving almost $25,000 a year from removing egg and dairy, and almost all of that is from the eggs, not the dairy,” says Molloy. “We have saved a significant amount of money and whenever I’m speaking to other school districts, I always try to share that piece, because our food cost budget is so, so tight.” Based on the success of the quick

breads, the team is looking at introducing additional varieties in the coming months. Next on the list are a zucchini bread and carrot bread that will use local zucchini and carrots respectively. Molloy is proud of the work the team has accomplished to make their menus more inclusive. Her recommendation to other K-12 operators looking to incorporate eggless and dairy free menu items is to just try it out and see where it goes. “We went in with the mindset of, we’ll test this out, and if it works, great, and if not, we’ll continue what we’re doing,” she says. “There’s no pressure with recipe testing. You can always fail and keep moving forward.”

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K12

FRESH PODCASTS FROM

WE SPEAK WITH SOME OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL AND INNOVATIVE DISRUPTORS IN THE INDUSTRY. NEW EPISODES WITH NXTGEN NETWORK

BEYOND THE CAFETERIA: E S FOODS’ MISSION TO NOURISH AND INSPIRE In this episode of the Next Up Podcast, Tom Ferris of E S Foods shares his journey from kicking goals on the field to scoring big in the foodservice industry. From early days in hospitality to building a successful career in food brokerage, Tom dives into the experiences and relationships that helped shape his path— ultimately earning him the Industry Member of the Year Award from the School Nutrition Association. But it’s more than just business. This episode brings a powerful conversation on the importance of health, family balance, and how fitness plays into professional success. Tom and host Marlon Gordon explore the evolution of school nutrition, innovation in K-12 food products, and the critical need for better communication with parents about what’s really on the tray.

60 MINUTES

WATCH

TRANSFORMING SCHOOL MEALS AT LA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

In this conversation, Manish Singh, Director of Foodservices at LA Unified School District and Marlon discuss the evolution of food services within the Los Angeles Unified School District. Manish speaks about the transition to a 100% Community Eli- gibility Provision (CEP) district, innovative programs like farm- to-table, and the introduction of food trucks. He emphasizes the importance of creating a joyful work environment, addressing complaints, and changing perceptions about school meals. The conversation also touches on partnerships with culinary institu- tions and the impact of training on food quality, as well as future initiatives to enhance student engagement and meal offerings.

43 MINUTES

WATCH

QUARTERLY | Q2

K12

FRESH K12 CONTENT FROM

Take the Milk BY SHERI SHIPP, RDN, YOUTH WELLNESS MANAGER, AMERICAN DAIRY ASSOCIATION INDIANA M ilk is a required offering in both the NSLP and SBP, how- ever students are not required to take it. Read on for just a few pow- erful reasons why we should encourage students to take the milk. NUTRITION POWERHOUSE Dairy milk, whether flavored, unflavored or lactose free, provides a unique nutri- ent package with 13 essential nutrients , including high-quality protein. Just one 8-ounce serving contains 8 grams of complete protein, which is more than one egg. It delivers three of the four nutrients of public health concern, as identified by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans: calcium, potassium, and vi- tamin D. The added sugar in flavored school milk has been reduced by 57% since 2007. School milk processors are committed to meeting upcoming added sugar guidelines. Check out the Healthy School Milk Commitment for more in- formation. Encourage your students to talk the milk! LOCAL AND SAFE Fresh milk is local, often sourced less than 200 miles away. It typically travels from farm to store, or school, within 48 hours or less, depending upon your loca-

tion. During this short amount of time, it passes through several strict quality and safety controls. For more on the steps that milk takes from farm to your fridge as well as answers to commonly asked questions about the safety and whole- someness of milk, click HERE . Encour- age your students to take the milk! RESPONSIBLE, CARING PRODUC- TION MAKES DAIRY SUSTAIN- ABLE Approximately 95% of U.S. dairy farms are family-owned and operated. These families aren’t just producing milk, they’re caring for the land that has been entrusted to them and that they will pass on to the next generation. Dairy farmers are committed to doing more with less: from 2007 to 2017, dairy farms reduced their carbon footprint by 19%, water use by 30%, and land use by 21%. Many re- use water up to five times and recycle manure as fertilizer or renewable ener- gy using anaerobic digestion . This short video, Dairy’s Tie to Renewable Energy , explains how dairy can be a part of the environmental solution! Cow care is central to life on a dairy farm. Healthy cows produce high-qual-

ity milk! While farm practices vary by region, all dairy farmers prioritize clean water, balanced nutrition (including by- products of other industries that would otherwise end up in a landfill), and com - fortable bedding such as cool dry sand or water beds. Encourage your students to take the milk! WANT A CLOSER LOOK? Visiting a dairy farm is the best way to learn more and to reaffirm confidence in encouraging your students to choose milk. If an in-person tour is too difficult to arrange, dairy checkoff organizations across the country offer Virtual Farm Tours (VFTs). I encourage you to reach out to your local dairy checkoff organiza- tion (find yours here) to find out if VFTs are available in your area. Dairy isn’t just nutritious, it’s local, sustainable, and rooted in responsible farming practices that make it a power- ful partner in school nutrition programs. By encouraging students to take the milk, you’re not just nourishing them, you’re supporting local farm families and rein- forcing your program’s commitment to nutrition and sustainability.

https://youtu.be/6MsfncmV4ks

Ashley Stockwell, this year’s Indianapolis 500 ® Rookie Milk Person, hosted a virtual farm tour (VFT) on the family’s 3rd generation dairy farm, Stockwell Farms in Hudson, IN.

QUARTERLY | Q2

Photo: Midjourney/Nico heins

COVER STORY

The Sauce Files: Finding your signature The culinary climate is experiencing the perfect storm for sauce: Customers’ love of bolder and bolder new flavors, the strong undercurrent of customization and the steady winds of crispy chicken tenders’ enduring appeal. Call it a “sauce-nado” (or not), but don’t wait to dip into the trend with your own signa - ture sauce. B efore the dunk, drizzle or dip, there comes the BY TARA FITZPATRICK

decision. The appeal of a great sauce begins on the printed (or QR-coded) page, enticing diners with the promise of bold flavors meant to be talked about through smacking lips. The Coop, the Aramark-served Boston University’s popular crispy chicken concept, features student-designed art on the menu and sauce-glorifying spins on the menu’s words. It’s just a few sentences, but note how it puts the reader of the menu into the description, highlighting key attributes and flavor notes of each sauce: “At the heart of The Coop’s menu are its one-of-a-kind sauces, each crafted to elevate every bite. The Sambal Maple Aioli delivers a perfect balance of sweet and spicy, while Brew B Sauce brings a rich, tangy depth. For those who love a classic kick, Old School Buffalo never disappoints. The Honey Dijon Aioli adds a smooth, slightly sweet contrast, and the indulgent Truffle Parmesan is a must try for those who love a touch of luxury.” And this portion of the menu closes with a shoutout to the signature sauce: “Of course, no trip to the Coop is complete without its Signature Sauce, a flavorful blend that ties everything together.” The Coop’s menu spotlights each sauce on just-as-tempting handcrafted buttermilk fried chicken sandwiches, such as The O.G. Clucker (iceberg lettuce, tomato, housemade pickles, Signature Sauce); East Meets West (fried egg, kimchi, Sambal Maple Sauce on warm Belgian waffle); The Southern Country Club (pictured, with bacon, Swiss, Honey Dijon Aioli on a hot

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAMARK

COVER STORY

biscuit) and the wittily named Where’s Buffalo Again? (traditional buffalo sauce, blue cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and celery slaw).

THE CREAMY, SPICY AND ‘AWESOME SAUCE’ NEW FLAVORS

This chef isn’t technically clairvoyant, although he does have some experience with ghosts. The seeing-into-the-future part is more of a sense of the foods and flavors that are going to be trending next on TikTok and beyond. American Dining Creations (ADC) Vice President of Culinary Chef Jonathan Pye has been known to catch onto food trends long before most, snapping them up and incorporating them onto menus quickly, often in the form of LTOs. For example, back in 2018, he predicted the s’mores trend. A lot of us haven’t quite heard of jacket potatoes (or at least the fact that they are a trend), but they’ve been on his radar for a while now. (Stay tuned to FSD for more on those later). A few years ago, he foresaw the birria trend, which is still pretty much booming now. It turns out Pye has been working on a new sauce line, and he’s made some delicious discoveries along the way, and has some insights to share about where the trends might be heading next. “We are about to roll out ADC’s first-ever signature sauces,” he says. “These are designed to be dipped in and slathered in — and over — anything and everything.” To be that all-encompassing, the sauce line has a lot of ground to cover, with tastebuds tuned to the current trends: “It seems like the trend is creamy and spicy, outside of the traditional ketchups, mustards and mayos, which are constantly popular. We have a fry sauce which we named Awesome Sauce (ketchup, mayo, pickle brine and spices).” That Awesome Sauce may be able to trace its roots back to a food cart in Salt Lake City, where Fry Sauce was invented in 1940, according to legend and this Eater article by Zee Krstic,

tracing the sauce’s history. “You can dip fries and tenders in [Awesome Sauce], put it on a burger or a sandwich and I am currently creating a salad dressing with it, so it will be everywhere in our food halls,” Pye says. “The best thing is, it will be made fresh in all of our locations.” A flavor station is also in the works for all cafes and food halls, where diners will find hot sauces, local favorite condiments, housemade sauces and dips, along with intriguing new spices in shakers. THE “JANG GANG” AND CURRIED-UP MAYO Pye’s pick for the trendiest sauces right now are what he calls “The Jang Gang,” he says. “The ‘jang’ sauces are influencing a lot currently. Gochujang (red pepper), Eojang (fish), Ganjang (soy), Deonjang (fermented bean) and Cho Ganjang (soy vinegar). They are so flavorful. Korean food is taking over the world it seems, and I am on board!” Indian curries, chutneys and spice blends also offer many possibilities that are trending now, which makes sense to Pye’s British heritage. “In England, we smother everything in Indian influenced sauce,” he says. “Fries (aka ‘chips’), fish and chips, spice bags…I saw a sandwich the other day entirely covered in curry sauce! It’s easy to add curry powders or garam masala to an aioli or a chutney for a sandwich spread. There are so many good chutneys that you can use, such as cilantro, tamarind, lime pickle, mango chutney…the list goes on.” A curry-infused mayo is the star of the famous Coronation Chicken Salad, a chicken salad that was introduced to celebrated Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. The New York Times’ Melissa Clark calls this throwback classic dish with a royal vibe “an easy, pantry-friendly dish, loosely based on a posh, classically

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAMARK

SOLUTIONS THAT MAKE THE MEAL

DUMPLINGS

NOODLES

ROLLS

FRIED RICE

SAUCES

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COVER STORY

French chicken recipe.” The salad is sweet with dried apricots or golden raisins, and adding turmeric gives it an even more

golden appearance — fit for a queen, in fact. BEST FLAVORS OF THE BBQ REGIONS

Chef Byron Sykes, Aramark Chef at Fairfield University in Connecticut, has created a signature barbecue sauce that’s the best of all the classic BBQ regions of the U.S. “As a big fan of barbecue, I wanted a sauce that could embody the many different styles: Memphis, Carolina and Kansas City style. The idea behind my sauce was to combine the flavors from different regions into one,” Sykes says, adding that over the years he’s created a sweet-and-spicy wing sauce, a sweet chili wing sauce and more. His signature Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce has been such a hit, it’s now available in bottles, with a cool label designed by Marketing Manager Amanda Carroll. And great news: Sykes has graciously shared his recipe with FSD readers. LIBERTY U’S BATTLE OF THE CHEFS WINNER MAKES A STANDOUT BRISKET SAUCE A multi-week lunchtime competition at Liberty University’s Reber-Thomas Dining Center, Battle of the Chefs, drew big crowds as the rounds unfolded: There were rounds for pizza, tacos, pasta and then semi-final rounds for hot dogs and dips, all yielding some very cool winning items, such as Chef Bryan Raitter’s Vietnamese-inspired Ba’nh Mi’zza, Chef Tim Johnson’s Bang Bang Chicken Taco and Chef Anthony Gannello’s Buttermilk Chicken Orecchiette. Sodexo Executive Chef Laverne Crawley emerged as the ultimate winner, capping off a series of head-to-head matchups that drew enthusiastic crowds and more than 100 votes per round. She won the Dip Battle with a double-punch of Buffalo Chicken Dip and Cheeseburger Dip. “The Cheeseburger Dip is a go-to dish I make for family gatherings — it’s my specialty,” she says. “I added the Buffalo Chicken Dip to offer a little variety and spice things up.” Crawley went on to defeat Ganello’s Five Cheese Pork Mac with her Four Cheese mac with Dr. Pepper Brisket. “These are two of my favorite comfort foods, and combining them felt natural,” Crawley says. “I actually came up with the brisket and Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce about nine years ago when I was working as a smokehouse cook, experimenting with different flavors.” Students crowned Crawley the winner, and she received a $500 gift card. Gannello, as runner-up, earned $250. District Chef Berry Spence praised the competition’s energy and reach. “Battle of the Chefs was a big success,” Spence says. “It was fun, engaging, and really well-received—not just by the students, but by the chefs and staff as well. The chefs were genuinely excited to compete, showcase their skills, and have the creative freedom to craft some incredible dishes.”

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAMARK

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COVER STORY

restaurant (Editor’s note: We think it may rhyme with ‘Rolive Rarden’). This was far before it was available in grocery stores. I think I wound up pretty close, and the most surprising part was that adding a bit of pectin replicated the mouthfeel—that was the last thing I had struggled to achieve.” Looking into the future, Grilli is keeping an eye on Calabrian chiles, which he’s noticed are having a moment, “so if I was starting from scratch I would be working with them! Also, anything Korean is also trending right now, and those sauces also add umami, which is sadly underappreciated in Western cooking.” To summarize, coming up with a signature sauce can yield results as unique as every chef’s fingerprint, and that’s a very good thing. In trying to replicate a sauce, ADC’s Chef Pye says, “you just can never get it 100% though, and I like that. If it was that easy to rip off someone else’s sauce then they wouldn’t be as craveable and unique.”

pepper flakes each time, and had his helpful co-workers taste and evaluate until hot honey perfection was at hand. The hot honey, Rammy’s Red-Hot Honey, became the new signature hot honey sauce for pizza, named for the Pennsylvania school’s mascot, Rammy the Ram. Students immediately took to it, and now Grilli says although the honey is found at the pizza station only, he’s seen it drizzled on stir fry, French fries, chicken sandwiches “and even burgers,” he says. His advice for creating your own signature sauce: “Write everything down each time you make a batch in both volume and weight. When you are tasting, try to taste each ingredient, and add if you can’t,” he says. “It takes a lot of time (and tasting) to develop a new sauce, and it has to be perfectly replicable. I am obsessive, so I enjoy this process.” Over the years, Grilli has tried to replicate sauces from out in the world. “When I was younger, my wife loved the salad dressing at a popular Italian chain

TREND DÉJÀ VU: HOT HONEY HARKENS BACK TO A CLASSIC FRENCH GASTRIQUE West Chester University Dining Services were hearing requests at the residential dining hall for Mike’s Hot Honey, a pioneering hot honey brand known for its collabs with food and restaurant brands and found on grocery store shelves. At that point, Aramark Executive Chef Justin Grilli saw his chance at sauce fame and grabbed it. “Our client wanted Mike’s Hot Honey for our pizza station, so I saw it as an easy opportunity to develop signature product,” Grilli says. “The ingredients are listed, and as it’s based on a French gastrique, I played with the ratio of honey to apple cider vinegar first until it had the right balance of sweetness to sour.” The best way to think of a gastrique, as Sue Veed writes on Serious Eats, is “a tart, slightly thickened syrup with endless flavor variations—as the simplest version of sweet and sour sauce.” To refine his recipe, Grilli made a few batches, varying the amounts of red

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ARAMARK

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Recipe report: Drizzled dispatches from The Sauce Files Today, customers have one thing on their minds: Sauce, of course! For dipping chicken fingers, slathering over mushroom cap pizzas or stirring into street corn salad, these signature sauce recipes are ready to pour on the inspiration for your spring-into-summer menus.

BY TARA FITZPATRICK

SPICY GRILLED PORTOBELLO PIZZAS Summer griling vibes are just around the corner when you serve a platter of these very fun fungi. Just get the gills out of those hefty portobello caps and you’re ready to rock ‘n roll! This sharable snack recipe from Nando’s PERi-PERi has all the flavors to crave: cheesy, herby and spicy. Also, this is a tried-and-true low-carb “crust” for pizza with no dough. Get the recipe. CHEF BYRON’S SWEET HEAT BBQ SAUCE From cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen in West Haven, Conn., to refining his skills as a Johnson & Wales graduate, Chef Byron Sykes’ passion for cooking spans decades. At Aramark-served Fairfield University, he’s known for bold flavor fusions, blending traditional and unexpected ingredients to introduce guests to exciting new cuisines. Get the recipe. BBQ DENVER LAMB RIBS WITH ALABAMA WHITE SAUCE AND PICKLED RED ONIONS This is fusion at the state level: Alabama and Colorado, together at last, with these BBQ Denver Lamb Ribs with Alabama White Sauce and Pickled Red Onions, a recipe from the American Lamb Board. Get the recipe. SPICY GRILLED CAULIFLOWER WITH HERBY YOGURT SAUCE Mint, parsley and cilantro — or whichever herbs are fresh in your neck of the woods — make the sauce on these cauliflower cutlets taste so fresh, just perfect for spring-into- summer plates. Get the recipe. PERINAISE STREET CORN SALAD When planning summer side dishes, this recipe from Nando’s contains all the elements of street corn (elotes) in salad form. The grilled corn kernels in the kicky, creamy sauce really pop with flavor. Get the recipe.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE TRENDS

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FOOD & BEVERAGE TRENDS

V ideos of TikTokers eating crunchy foods, com- plete with exaggerated sound effects, are blow- ing up on the platform. It all fits with TikTok’s love of ASMR or “autonomous sensory meridian response”—the tingly sensation some people ex- perience when they hear certain sounds. “There’s fun that comes along with listening to crackling or crunching while watching someone eat or cook on social me- dia,” said Shannon O’Shields, VP of marketing for Rubix Foods, a flavor and ingredient innovation company. “Flavor has been explored but texture is novel and ready for more exploration. It can really make a product stand out.” It’s clear that consumers are embracing multi-sensory eat- ing experiences, and texture is playing a larger role in creating craveability. Menu developers are catching on, emphasizing crunch, crispiness, creaminess, chewiness, fizziness and other textural components of food and beverages. “Texture has long been a chef’s secret weapon in creating very craveable dishes,” said Mike Kostyo, vice president of Menu Matters, a food industry consulting firm. “I say ‘secret’ because consumers are often unaware of how important tex- ture is.”

Texture is trending on menus as consumers seek multi-sensory eating experiences Crunch, creaminess and other textural food components are becoming as important as flavor when it comes to menu innovation.

BY PATRICIA COBE

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PHOTO COURTESY OF TACO BELL

FOOD & BEVERAGE TRENDS

Rubix to develop a technology called CrispKeeper. It’s a delivery system that retains the crispness of fried chicken when it’s placed in a sandwich and doused with sauce. Chips and chip flavors are also showing up in menu items. “Eight of the 25 best-loved brands are chip flavors, and it’s low-lift innovation to bring these to the menu,” said O’Shields. Sonic’s BBQ Chip Seasoned Tots, a recent LTO, capitalize on the barbecue flavor, coating the tots’ crispy exterior with the salty, smoky taste of the chips. And Hardee’s tested a BBQ Chip Glazed Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich and Chicken Tenders in select markets last summer. Other concepts are also using texture as a selling point, although a bit more subtly. Cava’s crispy Pita Chips have

a large fan following, and earlier this month, the fast casual introduced a mascot of sorts named “Peter Chip” to play up the item. Guests are encouraged to add the chips to a bowl for extra crunch or purchase them on their own as a snack. Fast casual competitor Sweetgreen offers its own textural elements to add to bowls, including tortilla chips, crispy rice, spicy cashews, roasted almonds and za’atar breadcrumbs. But crunch is really central to the chain’s new air-fried Ripple Fries, and one TikTok influencer provides an audible testament to that. Crunch and crispiness are not the only trending textures. Beverage concepts, particularly, are touting the creaminess of cold foams topping coffees and teas and the chewiness of boba and gel candies added to drinks.

In a Menu Matters survey, consumers were asked which sensory experienc- es were most important to them when choosing a new food to try. Texture came out in fourth place, behind taste, appearance, and aroma. “But when you look at consumer test scores for foods, you see that foods that have descriptors like ‘crunchy’ or ‘crispy’ score much higher,” said Kostyo, “so consumers aren’t always aware of how important texture is.” He adds that crunchy/crispy is Americans’ most-loved texture, fol- lowed by creamy and juicy. Irvine, California-based Taco Bell is on top of the texture craze, often calling out descriptors in the names of menu items, like the Crunchwrap Supreme. “We keep a close eye on food trends, what cravings our fans are sharing on- line and how consumers are reacting to menu innovations that we test across the country,” said a Taco Bell spokes- person. “What we discovered is that to create the full-on experience Taco Bell fans are after, they want that satisfying crunch—the kind that transforms food from just a flavor into something that engages multiple senses. So, we are find - ing new ways to deliver cheesy, crispy crunch the way only Taco Bell can. For example, our recent menu addition, Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupas, fea- ture a crispy cheddar shell paired with fresh onions and premium protein that create a unique sensorial experience from the outside-in.” Crunchy chips and snack foods on the retail side are inspiring menu inno- vation, too. Taco Bell added even more crunch to its lineup by featuring a gi- ant Cheez-It cracker in its limited-time Big Cheez-It Tostada and Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme. And sister Yum Brands’ chain KFC layered crunchy Cheetos on its fried chicken sandwich to make its extra-crispy filet even crispier. According to market research firm Da - tassential, the word “crispy” now shows up on 62% of U.S. restaurant menus. The popularity of fried chicken sandwiches, signature sauces and the passion for crunch prompted

Hardee’s BBQ Chip Glazed Hand-Breaded Chicken Sandwich combines crunch and a popular chip flavor.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF HARDEE’S

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Hometown pride takes a walk on the wild side for OVG Hospitality’s latest

new flavors that will make every trip to the concessions as memorable as the ac- tion on the field.” 1. LOADED FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT SRP PARK IN AUGUSTA, GA. Did you know that green tomatoes ar- en’t a special variety? They’re just un- ripe! Augusta GreenJackets fans can crunch into these golden-fried green tomatoes, taking a page out of nachos’ book and getting layered with melted cheese, smoky bacon and a tangy sauce. 2. Buffalo Chicken Fries at Momen - tum Bank Ballpark in Midland, TX Buffalo sauce’s trail to becoming a fa- vorite flavor nationwide is a spicy one, harkening back to New York State, but made totally Texan here at the home of the Midland Rockhounds. The souvenir helmet-shaped basket (not pictured but available at the ballpark) brims with crispy chicken tossed in the buff sauce and dropped onto a bed of fries, topped with a bleu cheese drizzle. 3. Deep Fried Pizza at Fifth Third Park in Spartanburg, SC When the Hub City Spartanburgers take the field, lucky fans will already be hold - ing a piece of this Deep Fried Heaven, stuffed with gooey mozzarella, pepper- oni and marinara sauce with a dash of parmesan to really cover all the bases. 4. Memphis Dog at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tenn. Memphis barbecue is very much its own thing, known for its dry rubs and thinner tomato-vinegar BBQ sauces, often using hickory smoke. Those famous flavors come together for this bacon-wrapped hot dog, part of OVG Hospitality’s Hot Dog Roundup Menu, topped with sharp cheddar, Memphis BBQ sauce and two kinds of onions — green and white. 5. Tater Tot Flight at Jackson Field in Lansing, Mich. This could be our favorite high-low combination of the season, blending a fancied-up flight presentation with the

Minor League Baseball eats

The Denver-based food and beverage division of Oak View Group, which serves 20% of all Minor League Baseball parks, has come out with a menu that captures that small-town magic with a section dedicated to outrageous local gems, over-the-top sandwiches and special mega-curated hot dog lineups for each unique ballpark loca- tion across the U.S.

BY TARA FITZPATRICK

T he bases are loaded and so are the fried green tomatoes. Mi- nor League Baseball’s small- town charm is rounding the bases at quite a few ballparks served by OVG Hospitality, including the newly opened Fifth Third Park, home of the Hub City Spartanburgers, and Synovus Park, the new home of the Columbus Clingstones. “Our culinary lineup for the 2025 sea- son is all about celebrating the unique flavors of each community,” said Joe Hudson, VP of Food and Beverage for Diamond Baseball Holdings, OVG Hos- pitality’s partner on MiLB accounts. “From Hickory’s Carolina Slaw Dog to Columbus’ Peach Cobbler Custard, these dishes reflect the pride and tastes that

make each ballpark special. Working alongside OVG Hospitality, we’re ex- cited to bring these hometown-inspired creations to life for fans to enjoy while they cheer on their teams.” At a time when experiences are emerging as what consumers want more than anything, the ballpark is a great staging area for summertime memories, with food as the MVP. “Great food is a major part of the live baseball experience, and we’re committed to delivering innovative, high-quality offerings that excite fans at the ballparks we support across North America,” said Ken Gaber, President of OVG Hospitality. “This year, we’re pushing the boundaries further, making the classic even better and introducing

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