Chefs can refresh their restaurant menus with these latest launches
Every chef wants to ensure they deliver high-quality food that embodies their cooking passion, and adding new and exciting ingredients into dishes ensures menus remain appealing and customers keep coming back for more.
This round-up of the latest savoury ingredients to hit the market contains some ideal solutions to refresh your menu, from ravioli with authentic Italian lemons to chef-developed chimichurri sauces.
Find new ideas and inspirations for your restaurant menus below.
Diego Cardoso, ex-head chef of Murano, and his wife, Sofia, have developed Chimmy’s chimichurri sauces, made from a blend of dried herbs and spices combined with red pepper, tomato and paprika. Less oil is used than is usual for chimichurri, so Chimmy’s contains less fat and fewer calories. The three sauces comprise classic chimichurri, with a rich herbal flavour; smoky BBQ chimichurri, which is smoky and rich with a little bit of remaining sweetness; and spicy chimichurri, with an extra kick of heat and bold flavours.
Price 5kg tube, £55
Tofu brand the Tofoo Co is growing its range of plant-based proteins by launching a foodservice seitan product in collaboration with London-based vegan restaurant chain the Temple of Seitan. Original Seitan, a chicken-flavoured seitan served in Temple of Seitan restaurants, is available for hospitality customers to order in 1kg chub packs. Seitan is a plant-based protein made from wheat gluten and is already used as an ingredient in many plant-based products in the market, and until now had not been available as a standalone foodservice ingredient.
Trade price From £11 per kg
Nantwich-based cheesemaker Joseph Heler has launched a new trade offering called Tex-Mex Cheese Co. The 12-strong range includes every format required by professional kitchens and food manufacturers, from 20g slices, grated and deli-blocks to pizza cheese, flavoured cheese and a specially developed cost-savers variety. The US and Mexico-inspired brand offers a variety of cheeses, including mozzarella, Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby and chilli cheese, as well as a rope format for stuffed-crust pizzas.
Trade price Pack of Tex-Mex chilli cheese slices, £1.19
Gold Standard Nutrition (GSN) has added Panko Chicken to its Chicken Bites offer. The new flavour will sit alongside 1kg bags of Salt & Pepper Chicken Bites, Spicy Fajita and Smokey Hickory BBQ. GSN developed the latest chicken bite variety to be sold individually following its starring role in the brand’s chicken katsu curry pot. The chicken is high in protein and low in sugar and salt, and the 1kg packs are available in cases of six, with 420 units to a pallet.
Trade price 1kg bag, £9.50
Restaurants serving Italian cuisine can make use of Casa Buratti’s latest fresh ravioli with buffalo ricotta and lemon peel. The Italian dumplings from the country’s southwestern Campania region are filled with creamy buffalo ricotta and the fresh pasta is enriched with the aroma of Sorrento IGP lemon peels. The IGP or Indicazione Geografica Protetta denomination means that the lemon is grown, harvested and processed to exacting standards that are independently verified. The minimum order quantity from Casa Buratti is one pallet.
Trade price 750g pack, £4.03