Cupid and arrows. Red roses and champagne. Overbooked reservations and stressed-out staff. Those are all hallmarks of Valentine’s Day, at least from a restaurant professional’s perspective. It’s a day when one-quarter of Americans eat out in restaurants, according to research from the National Restaurant Association (NRA). And while that increased February 14^th traffic represents an enormous opportunity to showcase your operation’s delicious food and exemplary service, it also presents significant challenges. The goal for this high-volume holiday is to offer creativity, charm and romance—while still maintaining the sanity of your staff. One sure-fire way to keep everyone happy is to serve up plenty of chocolate.

Rich, romantic history

Valentine’s Day is a chocolate-covered occasion, and most diners will be expecting a chocolate-centric finale to their romantic restaurant dinner. But how did chocolate come to be associated with love? According to Simran Sethi, author of Bread, Wine, Chocolate: The Slow Loss of Foods We Love and host and creator of the chocolate-focused podcast The Slow Melt, chocolate has historically been celebrated for its alluring properties. “It’s long been considered an aphrodisiac,” she says. “Casanova, who called chocolate ‘the elixir of love,’ preferred it to champagne.”

Suggested pairings

Sethi explains the logic behind the traditional pairing of wine and chocolate. “Red wine contains tannins, and there are tannic qualities in chocolate, so they are both drawn out when served together.” She is also interested in less typical pairings. “I like the experience of beer or spirits paired with chocolate. Whiskey pulls out the sugar, and beer offers that yeastiness to round out the mouth feel.” Speaking of…be sure to look out for more on this topic on our blog in a couple weeks!

There are many new ways to pair chocolate with sweet and savory ingredients. While cheese and chocolate might seem to be polar opposites, they can work together well, and have been turning up in surprising new combinations. One trendsetter in this area is Jeff Shepherd, an Oregon-based chocolatier and owner of Lillie Belle Farms, who has developed a blue cheese truffle. The truffle is enrobed in milk chocolate and has blue cheese in the middle. “Trust me, it’s sooooo good,” Sethi says.

Another avenue is to use chocolate in a savory capacity, such as in the moles and sauces of Meso-American cuisine. “Chocolate is great to pair with meat,” Sethi says. “It has an inherent spiciness that can emerge when we allow the bean to speak for itself.”

While a Valentine’s Day restaurant meal is usually an adults-only occasion, Sethi suggests exploring the more childlike aspects of the holiday inspired by chocolate-focused dishes. “This is a food that can help us harken back to a deeply innocent place of love and nurturing,” she says. “Some tastes, like coffee or beer, we acquire as adults, but most of us have grown up loving chocolate.”

 

Resources

The Slow Melt: A podcast on all things chocolate

Lillie Belle Farm’s Smokey Blue Cheese Truffles, made with Rogue Creamery cheese, organic milk chocolate and toasted almonds

Read more

Bread, Wine, Chocolate, named one of Smithsonian’s 2016 “Best Books About Food”

The art and science of food pairing is explored in this Beautiful Now article

Recipes

Chocolate Bourbon Sauce

Chocolate Salty Caramel Milkshake

 

Looking for more recipe ideas and menu inspiration? Make sure to check out our recipe section.

 

Bring us your richest, spiciest, most craveable foods—and keep them coming. That’s consumers’ attitude about the eating they’ll be doing while gathered around the television—and the buffet table—on February 5.

What foods are likely to be most popular this year? Research conducted by fitness tracker MyFitnessPal shows that, compared to an average day, Super Bowl-watching Americans are likely to consume:

• 327% more chicken wings
• 200% more tortilla chips
• 90% more beer
• 72% more potato chips
• 67% more pizza

The sheer quantity of food consumed during the game has traditionally given it the distinction of being the number two food-related holiday in the United States. But it might even be moving up to eclipse Thanksgiving, according to Darren Tristano, president, Technomic, research and consulting firm servicing the food and foodservice industry. “It’s a huge eating occasion for the American consumer,” he says.

Share and share alike

What formats of food are most popular? Tristano says consumers want the bite-by-bite variety offered by samplers and shareables. “Finger-friendly and dippable foods will always be popular on this day,” he says. And while chicken wings are a perennial favorite, their less-expensive cousin, chicken tenders, may start leading the pack. “Chicken wings have been successful because their bones allow them to retain heat, but with the rising cost of wings, I predict that boneless tenders might see a spike in consumption this year.”

Small and angry

If you’re wondering what to add to your catering or take-out menu for Game Day, Tristano suggests thinking small and thinking angry. First, small: “Even if you don’t have a pizza or wing offering, you can still offer appealing options by offering miniaturized, high-flavor versions of items like sliders, hot dogs, tacos, tostados and burritos,” he says. Next, angry: Consider spicing things up – not just a little bit, but a lot. “The ‘angry’ trend, which began with the ‘Angry Whopper,’ describes foods that are extreme in flavor and highly spicy, and consumers are responding positively both to the term and the offerings,” he says.

Finally, he reminds operators to keep in mind those vital last feet from your operation to consumers’ plates. “If you’re offering catering or delivery, make sure consumers know they’ll be getting right-temp, tasty treats that will give them variety and value.”

Marzetti^® tip

All those dippable delights will taste even better when paired with Marzetti dressings and sauces. Choose from Avocado Ranch, Blue Cheese, Chipotle Ranch, Sriracha Bourbon and more.

 

Read more

Five top chefs share their ultimate game day recipes with Epicurious

 

Recipes

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Italian Nachos

Classic Sliders

BBQ Baked Beans w/ Sausage

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Pull Apart Pizza Bites

 

Looking for more recipe ideas and menu inspiration? Make sure to check out our website.