shutterstock_1055828519SMALL

It’s hard to come up with a dining trend that brunch doesn’t seem to include. According to Suzy Badaracco, President of Culinary Tides, a trends forecaster for the food industry, brunch is the more upscale, refined evolution of the all-day breakfast trend, but one that includes plenty of time for longer seating and party-of-eight level socializing.

“The brunch culture includes the cocktail culture, the coffee culture and the trend for all-day eating and snacking,” she says. With its later-in-the-day service, it allows an easier bridge to more global business.

“Most cultures eat breakfast at 10 a.m., and that’s the start of our brunch,” she observes. Globalization has hit the brunch menu in a significant way. A recent survey of professional chefs on breakfast trends showed 63 percent of the respondents forecasting ethnic-inspired breakfast items would be a “hot trend” for restaurant menus in 2018. Look for Asian-flavored syrups, Chorizo scrambled eggs and coconut milk pancakes to be popping up on brunch menus across the country.

Chefs’ favorite

Whether you’re offering menu-only items or creating a brunch buffet, this is one meal that offers the chance to realize a higher profit margin as compared to other dayparts. But that’s only part of the reason that brunch is increasingly becoming a restaurant’s weekend high point. Molly Martin, co-owner of Antoinette Baking Co. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told the Tulsa World newspaper why brunch is her favorite: “It’s the meal where people don’t feel the need to follow the rules. It doesn’t matter if you’re on a diet or if you want to get started drinking early. It’s all thrown out on the weekends when it comes to brunch. You can do whatever you want.”

The availability of seasonal ingredients makes spring brunch a lighter and fresher dining occasion. Look to fresh berries, asparagus and tender greens to add pizzazz to your menu. And batten down the hatches for the biggest brunch day of the year—Mother’s Day is just around corner on Sunday, May 13.