So more and more national brands are trying to find a way of appealing to new crowds. Kraft foods for example has been busy upgrading their cream cheese recipes to appeal to younger people, Chex mix has gotten an update and even Velveeta cheese has seen an uptick in the number of recipes that can be made with the stuff (Velveeta fudge anyone).
Which brings up to our current topic of discussion, one we’ve talked about before – that is, finding new ways to use older ingredients so that our menus stay fresh and are enjoyable to new generations of diners.
Something Restaurateurs Have Done For Years
Now if this sounds like old news, it definitely is. Chefs have been experimenting with new ways of combining old ingredients for years and there is nothing new about that. However, what is somewhat new is the interesting mix of comfort foods that have been proposed by some companies.
Betty Crocker, for example, recently tried to upgrade their sales of pancake mix by offering up the “Mancake”. A stack of pancakes made even better by layering it with bacon and topping it with beer—unhealthier to be certain, but still tasty and appealing to men.
Combining the Best of Comfort Food and New Age Idealism
Comfort food is great and obviously works really well for those running fast food joints such as burger joints and pizza parlors; however, we’d like to suggest that more upscale restaurants may benefit from this trend as well.
Try combinations that appeal both to the New-Age types who want something healthy while at the same time trying to find ways to incorporate more traditional comfort foods, which the New Age diner may remember from his or her childhood.
In other words, our suggestion is to take the best ideas from the old world and combine them with the new. Now that’s a recipe for success.
Jim Balis' Blog 