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EXPANDING FALL MENU HORIZONS: PUMPKIN WHO?

homemade egg tart with sweet purple potato shortcrust

Each year trendcasters predict the end of pumpkin spice, and each year it continues to reign. But who says that’s the only flavor on the menu? Other emerging fall flavors call out to customers who embrace this seasonal shift.

  • Starbucks started it all, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t added to their repertoire with offerings like pecan crunch and caramel apple spice.
  • The Cheesecake Factory is featuring the unique citrus notes of yuzu in cocktails such as the yuzu crush and the yuzu drop (a modernized version of the classic lemon drop).
  • Tim Horton’s serves the Apple Cider Timbit, a bite-sized donut with deep apple notes, while Dunkin’ Donuts has brought back the Braided Apple Pie and the marshmallow flavors of Cereal ‘N Milk Latte.
  • Boozehounds goes global with the Filippino-focused fall dessert bibingka, a coconut rice cake made with macapuno and bright purple potato cream.

Diners are increasingly hyper-focused on high-protein and plant-based foods. Alongside all of the new-fangled, lab-based, cell-cultured options out there is the humble bean. A staple food for millenia, beans are being re-examined as a healthy, versatile ingredient worthy of menu inclusion.

  • Retro and heirloom recipes—like Southern succotash, French cassoulet, and Cajun red beans and rice—fit the bill for those in search of authenticity.
  • Most world cuisines incorporate some type of bean in their classic dishes. Think feijoada in Brazil, black beans and rice with plantains in Puerto Rico, and garbanzo beans in Israel. Modern interpretations of these recipes are packed with produce and herbs.
  • The creamy texture of mung beans is proving an ideal substitute for those that are eliminating soy from their diets.