Hot food to go

Hot food

to

With consumers returning to their old routines and the colder months due, hot food that’s tasty, quick to prepare, and healthy - as well as offering a selection of global flavours - is set to be back in demand.

THE NEED FOR SPEED

Even before the pandemic shook up consumer eating out habits, food to go had established itself as a huge phenomenon, part of our daily lives, and eat-on-the-go food is expected to surge in the coming years.

Starting in the 1970s, and in line with the spread of eating patterns that mirror an average lifestyle which is increasingly fast-paced and hectic, speed is the element which, more than any other, has marked a substantial difference in how people structure their lives. It’s not surprising, then, that these years have coincided with the spread of fast food restaurants (LW 2020 Food Report, source https:// globalfoodworld.life/food-trends2020-and-beyond).

Traditional day parts are all but vanishing. According to Deliveroo’s order spikes, customers are breaking the mould more than ever before, eating at up to six different mealtimes. Customers are also ordering mid-sized portions and snacks to keep fuelled throughout the day. For operators, this all means more opportunities to offer up tasty, satisfying food to go.

One sure-fire solution, popular across generations and cultures, and day parts, has always been hot and crispy fries, but how to get them to their destination – whether it’s the office/home office, a train journey, en route to a meeting or a picnic in the park – so they are still hot and crispy? Supplier, Lamb Weston now think they have the solution with their new concept Hot2HomeTM fries (www. lambweston.eu/uk).

The problem has always been that fries don’t travel well. However crisp, golden and delicious they might be when cooked, by the time they reach their destination they’re cold, soggy and unappealing, leaving consumers dissatisfied... However, the Hot2Home Fries concept works in two ways - newly developed fries with a special ultra-thin starch coating (a closely-kept secret recipe, say the company) to ensure they stay crispy and flavourful longer, and a patented packaging that works with the fries coating to stay hot and crispy for 20 minutes, claim the form.

Andrea Deutschmanek, Lamb Weston’s international marketing lead Northern Europe, says: “Grabbing food on the go is very trendy and everybody likes fries. Fries are very versatile with a lot of possibilities to use them as snacks, sides, starters, sharing plates and loaded up dirty. Customers want hot and crispy fries and Hot2Home is the

first overall solution for delivering fries with the guarantee that fries stay in optimal condition for up to 20 minutes.

“Our research team listened to both our customers, and their consumers, so we knew the size of the challenge. The team then spent months developing and testing both the fries and the packaging until we knew it would ‘deliver’, and we now feel that Lamb Weston’s Hot2Home is truly the end to soggy fries!”

FAR FLUNG FLAVOURS

“Lunchtime food to go choices have evolved considerably from the standard sandwich and a packet of crisps; an exciting array of foods from far flung places has whetted the appetite of today’s diners and food offerings have never looked more enticing,” says Greta Strolyte, brand manager at noodle company, Lucky Boat (www.luckyboatnoodles.co.uk).

“Global cuisines open up a world of tastes and textures, its popularity having been helped in part by its widespread availability via street food markets and our easy access to worldwide destinations.

“A Mintel report (UK World Cuisines Market Report 2021) states, ‘world cuisine has seen a considerable boost in popularity thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the closure of many foodservice locations and increased time spent at home in the evenings. 59% of world cuisine eaters have reported trying to make a meal from scratch they’ve previously bought as a ready meal in the three months to March 2021. The pandemic has brought increased focus to health and wellbeing, with more consumers now aware of their diet. With 70% of world cuisine eaters saying a wider range of healthier options would encourage them to eat these meals more often, further innovation could provide opportunities for brands.

“Consumers are sure to be relieved to get back to their favourite eateries now restrictions have lifted, to once again enjoy those dishes that really taste so much better out of home! Hospitality venues have had to adapt to accommodate the pandemic restrictions, meaning many have had to resort to offering delivery and takeout in order to bring in income. These have proved popular services with consumers and will be well worth retaining for operators, and for those reluctant to eat out, a delivery service to the workplace could be most welcome too.”

As a result, food to go options need to be served fast, be reliable, easy and quick to prepare, feel the company, whose range of premium quality noodles offer caterers a tasty and popular menu item, satisfying the huge demand for Asian cuisine.

As well as addressing the demand for global cuisines, their noodle range also answers the call for vegetarian and vegan options, being free from egg, and made to traditional recipes with superior grade flour, they point out. Feedback from chefs, say the company, shows that by using Lucky Boat’s noodle range, operators are able to produce dishes offering greater authenticity to a very high standard that could otherwise be more difficult to create.

Zing Zing, for example, is a North London takeaway serving modern Asian food, and it relies on authentic, great quality ingredients to create its contemporary, fast-food favourites.

“We have been using Lucky Boat No. 1 Thick Noodles for five years and it is our best-selling noodle. We recently trialled Lucky Boat’s new Rice Vermicelli Noodles and have experienced an uplift in sales as they are far better quality than the previous brand we were using,” reports David Lakatos, Zing Zing’s operations manager.

“We’ve also seen a decrease in wastage and a host of operational benefits as the noodles don’t stick together or break easily, we are saving more compared to other noodle brands. Our chefs love their consistent quality, finding them easier to cook in the wok and to portion.”

PIZZA PROVES POPULAR

Latest trends signify an increase in consumer demand for bakery products that offer enhanced health benefits and items that are nutritionally enriched, by way of the inclusion of seeds, nuts, fruits, pulses, and vegetable flours, observe awardwinning supplier of frozen, fully and part-baked, dough-based products for foodservice, Pan’Artisan. Yet, in stark contrast, the uptake of indulgent treats and comforting home cookedstyle favourites has increased too, they add.

Both trends have been somewhat amplified by the pandemic experience - a need for cheering sweet treats and rewarding bakery items to make lockdowns more bearable alongside an awareness of the need to boost our health and immunity through a nutritionally beneficial diet have been mutually apparent.

In recognising the importance of premium ingredients, great taste and texture, along with a prerequisite to produce artisanal, clean label products, Pan’Artisan feels that it has been able to retain a continual return of custom.

As we all know, delivery and takeaway sales in particular soared during the various lockdowns according to Just Eat Takeaway.com (the Guardian; ‘Britons’ Just Eat orders nearly double in Covid lockdown’ April 2021). Customers stuck at home across Europe placed some 200 million orders with the company between January and March, and orders were up 79% compared with the same period a year earlier with pizza proving to be the most popular choice.

It’s a wrap

When thinking about autumn menus, operators should be thinking outside the box as well as refl ecting current consumer trends, advise food to go supplier, Mission Foods, and with research showing that 93% of plant-based meals are eaten by non-vegans (Kantar Worldpanel data), having exciting meat-free alternatives is also crucial these days.

“Mission Foods’ Spicy Jerk Black Bean with Avocado and Pineapple Salsa Wrap, for example, is a hearty menu addition that can be adapted for both meat and vegan options, and providing a kick to warm up your customers on colder days,” says Kim Hartley, business development chef, Mission Foods (www.missionfoodservice.co.uk).

Off ering distinctive and reliable options is integral to a successful menu, feel the company, whose extensive product portfolio off ers food to go businesses options such as Beetroot & Chia, Tomato & Chilli and Spinach Wheat Flour tortillas to help enhance their handheld menus with additional fl avours and vibrant colours.

All Mission Tortillas and Tortilla Chips have been created to be suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets, providing operators and chefs with a diverse and fl exible foundation for the creation of tasty plant-based menus and featuring an in-depth range of Plain, Bar-Marked and Flavoured Tortillas options.

The company say that they also appreciate that diff erent outlets and channels will require a range of solutions, which is why their tortillas are available in a variety of sizes and formats from frozen to long-life ambient products, low salt, low fat and fl avoured options which can then be packed full of tasty fi llings and rolled and then wrapped without breaking (the company also have a vast library of recipes and in-depth channel knowledge available to enable operators get the most from their menus).

Pan’Artisan’s latest launch - Italian Wood Fired Pizza Bases - represents a re-engineered version of one of the company’s most popular bases, the result off ering the authentic characteristics of a higher crust and the delicious fl avour of traditional Napoli pizza, claim the company.

To ensure a genuine, rustic, artisanal base, the dough is manufactured to Pan’Artisan’s specifi cations in Italy. The bases are naturally proved for 24 hours in a purpose designed room to control heat and humidity, and which also imparts a fi ne and light texture, providing an easier digestible base with a stronger fl avour and aroma, they point out.

For the ultimate in convenience, they are then topped with a premium tomato sauce and partbaked on the stone in a wood fi red oven and blast frozen, having been rapidly cooled and frozen to maintain the quality of the base. They are available in two sizes - 23cm in cases of 10 and 29cm in cases of 12.

The Italian Wood Fired Bases simply need defrosting at room temperature for 10 minutes, and as they are already sauced, a sprinkle of grated cheese, then topping, is all that is required. Suitable for all oven types, cooking times will vary depending on oven and toppings used, say Pan’Artisan (www. panartisan.com).