Regional Creativity

Each Chef will have opportunities to create dishes, that apply more to your region and locally available produce, proteins, spices, and herbs. When selecting items from your region, be sure they are applicable to the dish you are creating, or the ingredients you are using (e.g., pomegranate molasses vs. prickly pear syrup)

Daily and weekly features

As you begin to build your census, the diversity of your menu will need to increase to accommodate your members appetites and preferences. It can be a challenge to know what will be popular in your community, and therefore challenging to manage food cost and labor.

Daily and weekly specials are key to developing your menu and as a source to run additional product you may have available. Use daily specials to run additional product, while the weekly special can be used to introduce new menu items and recipes.

Special Ingredients

Special ingredients may also include:

• Garam Marsala

• Curry- Spice and Paste

• Sumac

• Aleppo

• Za'atar

• 100% Virgin Olive Oil (better quality is best)

• Lemon Olive Oil

• Pine Nuts

• Pomegranate Molasses

Information above was provided by Chef Erich Border.

Beverage Suggestions

Wines, spirits, and other beverage selections should complement the Mediterranean concept and pair perfectly with the menu selections. The good news is that the Mediterranean region includes Italy, France, and Greece, three countries known for producing some of the best-loved and most popular wines. Craft cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages should be designed and selected with both the concept and the membership in mind.

Click on the bottles below. Be sure to check with your beverage distributor to

Wine

For more Mediterranean wine suggestions, check out this article: Mediterranean wines: 7 wines to try at least once in a lifetime

Spirits

Find more Mediterranean spirit suggestions in this article: 5 Faves: Spirits of the Mediterranean