People love French fries – from the pomme frites of the trendy locavore restaurant to the greasy, salt-covered variety served in buckets at the county fair. Simple and unassuming, the traditional fry will always be a favorite. However, the future of fries is expanding with creative toppings, bold flavors and international influence. At the most basic level, guests are looking for new and exciting tastes leading to a nearly industry-wide response.
Driven by millennial tastes, this convergence of trends is contributing to the proliferation of new fry offerings on menus ranging from trend-based eateries to fast food chains, such as Wendy’s Ghost Pepper Fries.
Fat, salt and potatoes are already a winning combination; it’s what you put on your fries that make them special. Fries are a fantastic way to expand menu options. “For operators, potatoes are an inexpensive blank canvas,” says Darren Tristano at food service research and consulting firm Technomic.
According to Nation’s Restaurant News, based on the percentage of menus featuring each ingredient, below are the top ten ingredients served with fries:
- Cheese
- Bacon
- Cheddar
- Garlic
- Onion
- Parmesan
- Sour Cream
- Truffle
- Mozzarella
- Gravy
Poutine is a meta-fry trend on the rise that is utilizing multiple of the top ten ingredients. Once virtually unknown outside of Canada, increasing numbers of Americans are discovering this cheese curd and gravy covered style of fries. One creative chef has made it even more international by creating Bahn Mi Poutine, bringing Quebecois, American and Vietnamese cuisine together for a truly unique flavor combination.
Two key ideas for creating your own fries:
- Anything you can put on pasta, you can put on fries
- Think of your custom fries like a sandwich, add protein and now they’re a meal.
Need more inspiration?
There are many undiscovered toppings and combinations for fries, so use your imagination! If you’re not interested in French fries, surprise guests with this unexpected twist, by serving these delicious Baked Zucchini Fries (shown)! How can you top it and make this dish even more craveable?
