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MAXIMIZING HOLIDAY OPPORTUNITIES

Christmas or New Year party table in a restaurant or cafe.  Waiter is serving table

Thanksgiving kicks of the long season of celebratory meals that bring family and friends together for grand dinners and drinks. Offering special deals and packages targets specific customers and generates buzz.

  • LTOs: Busy holidays are the ideal time to offer special packages, or Limited Time Offers, to draw in customers who want to skip the cooking, cost, and mess of big gatherings.
  • Boxed dinners: Target those diners that wish to simplify dining at home, by offering the option to pre-order a complete, ready-to-eat menu of traditional favorites and on-trend extras.
  • Business parties: As remote working remains a large part of post-Covid companies, bringing together staff at group celebrations is one way to maintain comradery. Advertise in-house buy outs that include dinner and drinks symbolic of the holiday.
  • Prix fixe: Certain diners prefer to splurge on chef-driven, adventurous takes on the classic Thanksgiving meal. Offer a multi-course, produce-focused menu to attract this set.

SEASONAL PRODUCE CHECKLIST

  • LTOs: MFC Idaho Potatoes, RSS Diced Yellow Onions, RSS Diced Celery, RSS Trimmed Green Beans, RSS Peeled Garlic, and MFC Apples.
  • Boxed Dinners: RSS Brussels Sprouts, RSS Chopped Collard Greens, MFC Mushrooms, RSS Stuffing Starter, and sweet potatoes.
  • Business parties: RSS Juices, RSS Orange Sections, RSS Harvest Crisp Blend, winter squashes, and RSS Peeled Pearl Onions.
  • Prix fixe: MFC Asparagus, MFC Fennel, MFC Leeks, MFC Pears, RSS Wild Arugula, MFC Herbs, pomegranates, and cranberries.

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.