Weekly Roundup – Week of 8.22.2022
August 26, 2022
In this week’s roundup you’ll find our top food-and-beverage-related stories of the past week curated from our team of strategists and food enthusiasts:
Is Tex-Mex Cuisine At Risk?
While Tex-Mex is a globally popular cuisine, Tex-Mex restaurants in the U.S. are facing some challenges due to consumers’ increasing exposure to more diverse Mexican fare. Many Tex-Mex-inspired restaurants have closed in recent years, being replaced by eateries serving regionally-specific Mexican cuisines with authentic recipes and fresher ingredients. Once popular offerings, like carne asada tacos, are being swapped out on menus for traditional dishes such as Birria. While Mexican food will always be a staple in American fare, the cuisine continues to evolve bringing innovation to menus that are rooted in Mexican culture. Read More.
Local Chefs Serve Up Something Special For Seven Charities
Seven Milwaukee-area chefs came together to prepare a seven-course meal for seven well-deserved local charities. Chef Adam Pawlak of Egg & Flour, who participated in the series “Hell’s Kitchen,” and serves as Omnivore’s Executive Culinary Strategist, first created the MKE Chef Collaboration Dinner in 2017. This year’s event raised $15,000 benefiting charities including This Time Tomorrow, Well-Point Care Network, and Urban Ecology Center to name a few. The menu featured decadent dishes from 3D printed poached lobster and black garlic crusted lamb chops to rabbit and wild rice croquette and peaches and cream dessert. Get The Full Story.
e-Grocer Basquet Delivers Allergen-Conscious Brands
Future Market Insights predicted that allergen-free foods will become a $108 billion market by 2030, with sales growing by around 8.6% annually. To leverage the increasingly vast number of Americans who avoid the one of top nine allergens or follow specific dietary restrictions, e-grocer Basquet, launched in April 2022, currently offers 340 products from 140 brands that provide allergen-free alternatives or cater to special dietary needs. Basquet can ship anywhere in the continental U.S. Learn More.
Does It Cost Less To Eat Out?
David Ortega, a food economist at Michigan State University, told The Post, “Grocery prices increased 13.1% [in the last year] whereas food away from home prices increased substantially less than that — at about 7.6%.” This gap is likely due to grocers being directly affected by rising food costs and supply chain issues. Food costs, like ingredients, make up a smaller portion of the overall operational costs of running a restaurant and therefore are not as impactful as they would be for grocers. The Post compares four popular places for dining out against the costs of preparing the same meal at home. See Comparisons Here.
A Spotlight On Popular QSRs
Burger King is testing out a plant-based option of their Original Chicken Sandwich made with a seasoned Impossible chicken patty, intuitively named the Impossible Original Chick’n Sandwich. The test is for a limited time and only at locations in Cincinnati, Ohio. If the test goes well, could we see the Impossible Original Chick’n Sandwich reach nationwide status? Time will tell. Wendy’s is making news with the announcement of its new global restaurant design standard, Global Next Gen. Wendy’s President and CEO Todd Penegor says, “Global Next Gen enhances the customer experience across ordering channels and streamlines operations for our crew, all while creating better returns for franchisees.” The new format and technology will include reimagined kitchen spaces, dedicated mobile order pickup, and next-generation technology platforms. Watch for renovations beginning this fall.
Stop back each week to read our top picks!
