The Dish | International Inspiration (Reinhart)

ideas for success

International Inspiration

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Take Pride in Authentic Ingredients

Diverse Flavors that are With You

from the foodies at

Culinary Combinations

Offer a World of Flavor The essence of cooking is to blend an assortment of ingredients into a cohesive, and hopefully delicious, end result. Over time, ingredients and recipes endemic to certain cultures and different parts of the world are combined to create new examples of gastronomy. Through that lens, the essence of cooking is fusion itself.

Restaurant-goers are often fanatic fans of very specific segments: Hispanic and Latin cuisines, Southern food, Asian cooking, and Italian dishes are just some examples. And the consumers craving internationally inspired meals seem to multiply every year.

With that backdrop, it makes sense that diners are intrigued by fusing these elements together.

This is a trend that continues to add momentum.

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In a competitive restaurant world, where digital and social media clicks are increasingly valuable, plates that fuse popular styles of cooking with eye-catching colors and presentations can be revenue difference makers. The skilled chefs at Performance Foodservice have been at the forefront of fusion, and for July, they have curated an exciting menu starring ingredients from innovative, authentic brands such as Contigo ®, Asian Pride ®, Bountidul Harvest ®, Culinary Secrets ® and Peak ® Fresh Produce.

Summer diners who really like to wrap their hands around food will be thrilled by the fresh, flavorful crunch of an Pork Banh Mi sandwich and irresistible, crispy Orange Beef Tacos. Contigo Street Corn Queso is a rich, creamy, and dippable app that just has to be shared.

As for other starters, the Hearts of Palm Salad redefines fresh and seasonal with its bold colors, and the Contigo Pork Cushion Chaufa is a must-try for fried rice afficionados. For more traditional plated options, the Red Snapper with Thai Melon Salsa is a phenomenal summer seafood dish with vivid fusion flavors, and the Chipotle Teriyaki Pork evokes the enchanting combinations of contemporary Hawaiian cuisine.

It can be a challenge to get the digital attention your food deserves. We hope this fusion menu offers some visual and ingredient inspiration to help put your cuisine front and center.

Look for these callouts:

Chef Talk Get inside our chefs’ brains and find out what inspired their dishes.

Check out our library of recipes and articles online.

PerformanceFoodservice.com/theDish

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Vietnamese

PEAK PRODUCE® VEGETABLES Premium produce picked at peak time for the best taste and color

Dream

BRICKFIRE BAKERY® DEMI BAGUETTE Made with unbleached, untreated, enriched wheat flour

ASIAN PRIDE® SESAME OIL Made from toasted seeds that produce a nutty flavor

FIND THIS RECIPE ONLINE! ASIAN PRIDE PORK BANH MI

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CONTIGO® PORK CARNITAS Slowly braised in a blend of savory seasonings and natural hickory smoke flavor

Chef Talk Succulent shredded pork is the star of this banh mi. The pork is enhanced with traditional Asian flavors and fish sauce to create umami for the palate. The acid from the slaw balances the fat in the pork, which is tied together by a grilled baguette lathered in herb aioli and other fresh herbs. Each layer plays off the other, creating a melody of flavor.

The Name’s Banh,

Pork Banh

International street food is incredibly popular because it tends to package gourmet flavors in a casual, easily accessible presentation. When street food dovetails with the growing handheld trend, it becomes a costeffective option at a premium price point.

Banh mi is a staple of Vietnamese cuisine, fusing traditional Vietnamese meat and veggie elements with French-style sauces on a baguette. For this colorful, crunchy handheld, tender pork carnitas from our exclusive Contigo line of authentic Hispanic and Latin products is seasoned and simmered in a combination of soy, oyster, and fish sauces. A zesty herb mayo is spread on a toasted Brickfire Bakery Baguette, imbuing the sandwich with a vibrant, fresh green color that perfectly complements the blend of veggies.

Shredded carrots, jalapenos, mint, cilantro, and yellow onions from our seasonal Peak Produce line, along with shredded daikon, add pops of color and crisp flavor – the greens and oranges cutting a garden-fresh look against the golden-brown bread.

This is a layered banh mi that offers your guests an exquisite international experience.

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Palm

Springs

ROMA® EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL Naturally free of cholesterol and trans-fat, and low in saturated fat

ASIAN PRIDE® HEARTS OF PALM Specially selected to offer exceptional and consistent quality

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Hearts

Content

Diners are seeking something different from the typical summer salad, and a hearts of palm base can offer a tropical, textural departure from leafy greens.

Hearts of palm, harvested from the core of palm trees, have a mild, slightly crisp taste that enables other ingredients to truly shine. This is a popular, versatile ingredient in Southeast Asia and Central and South America, rich in vitamins and protein.

PEAK® GRAPE TOMATOES Concentrated flavor with higher natural sugar content than other varieties

FIND THIS RECIPE ONLINE! ASIAN PRIDE HEARTS OF PALM SALAD

This juicy version of the salad features Asian Pride Hearts of Palm seasoned with lemon zest and other herbs and spices. Gorgeous Peak Grape Tomatoes and Red Onions provide a shock of red color against the white hearts of palm, with mint dotting slivers of green into the mix.

Culinary Secrets® Sweet Chili Sauce and Roma Extra Virgin Olive Oil are the secret ingredients in a dressing with subtle hints of heat and sweet. For a slightly higher price point, serve with a side of crusty French bread, allowing guests to sop up the fresh, summery flavors.

How can we add flavorful options to menus without hurting the bottom line?

Global flavors are exploding across menus right now. And you can infuse them into your menu while keeping costs low just by adding a few simple ingredients. Punch up an ordinary salad by incorporating some Mediterranean flavors with Bountiful Harvest® Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Culinary Secrets Multi Grain Cheese & Garlic Croutons, and Honey-Roasted Pecans. By adding a few cents worth of premium items to your menu, you will be able to enjoy around $1.00 in upsell opportunities.

Your cost stays low, your profit goes up, and guests go home happy.

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FIND THIS RECIPE ONLINE! CONTIGO® STREET CORN QUESO

Hot on the

Ques

When you dip, I dip, we dip – everybody loves to dip. And it’s even better when we can share with friends or family.

Apps are critical revenue drivers. They go great with beverages to start while a party is still figuring out what they want for entrées. But just like the rest of the industry, your apps have got to stand out from the crowd. Chips and queso are a classic combination, cost-and laboreffective, but also super popular. Put a little heat on your queso by serving Contigo Queso Blanco, designed specifically for Hispanic and Latin kitchens. This rich, creamy dip with a hint of jalapeno heat is frozen and fully cooked so that you can simply heat-and-serve.

Here’s what takes this queso over the top: Roastworks® Corn & Jalapeno blend adds texture, color, and spice to the creamy dip.

Top with Contigo Cotija Cheese, Peak® Cilantro and Green Onion, and watch your guests dive into the mix of flavors. Contigo means “with you” in Spanish, so you know we've got your back with warm Contigo White Corn Chips, perfect for dipping. Give yourself some street cred, because there’s still plenty of time to take your diners on a summer dip.

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CONTIGO CORN TORTILLA CHIPS Made with premium whole kernel corn

Chef Talk Elote, or Mexican street corn, is one of the hottest food trends of the past few years—warm corn on the cob slathered with mayonnaise or crema and sprinkled with salty Cotija cheese and fresh cilantro. This dip takes it to another level as a creamy, craveable, shareable that could also easily smother a burrito or even top a burger or grilled chicken sandwich.

Going Global Tell a fresh story by authentically incorporating international ingredients

Check out Worldwide Flavor

CONTIGO® QUESO BLANCO Creamy white queso, full of flavor

CONTIGO COTIJA Considered the Parmesan of Mexico

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Snap-

tastic As the summer continues to heat up, consumers tend to gravitate toward lighter fare like fresh seafood. Red snapper happens to have some tremendous health benefits in addition to great taste: It’s an excellent source of vitamin A, it’s loaded with potassium to aid metabolism, it can help prevent heart disease, and it’s great for healthy red blood cells. Why not serve up some food that makes your guests feel fantastic?

Here, responsibly sourced, sustainable Wild Caught Snapper is lightly seasoned and seared so that the skin becomes crispy and delicious. The fish is buttery and tender, and yet the palate pow of the Thai melon salsa carries this plate to new heights. Lime juice, fish sauce, and crushed red pepper combine to take mouths on a roller coaster ride, but there’s so much more.

Juicy, fresh chunks of Peak® Honeydew Melon and Roastworks® Flame Roasted Corn add pulpy texture and waves of flavor. The green, yellow, and red colors of the summery salsa stand in bold contrast to the pinkish hue of the snapper.

If your goal is to reel in health-conscious diners with beautiful colors and amazing, sustainable food, this snapper is the best bait.

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EMPIRE’S TREASURE® WILD CAUGHT SNAPPER Caught in the pristine waters off the coast of Indonesia

PEAK PRODUCE FRESH THAI BASIL Sweet, but savory, peppery, and minty

Peak Produce® Thai Melon Salsa with Crispy Skinned Snapper Servings: 12 PEAK PRODUCE HONEYDEW MELON Superior sweetness, and the fruit provides greater yield

FIND THIS RECIPE ONLINE!

Ingredients SALSA ¼ c. ¼ c. ½ c. ½ c. ¼ c. ½ tsp .

1 ½ lb. ½ lb.

2 tsp.

1/3 c.

1/3 c.

1/3 c.

PEAK PRODUCE THAI MELON SALSA WITH CRISPY SKINNED SNAPPER

water West Creek® Extra Fine Sugar Ascend® Premium Lime Juice Asian Pride® Rice Wine Vinegar Fish Sauce Magellan® Crushed Red Pepper Peak Honeydew Melon, peeled, seeded, small diced Roastworks® Flame Roasted Corn Kosher salt Peak Fresh Mint, chopped Peak Fresh Thai Basil, chopped Peak Produce Fresh Cilantro, chopped

FISH 12 ea.

Empire’s Treasure® Wild Caught Snapper, 4-6 oz skin on 1 T. Kosher salt 4 T. Roma® Pure Olive Oil

preparation

FOR THE SALSA

The Value of Vegging Out Fresh and vibrant veggie combinations can add summer flavor that’s healthy too.

Click here to Veg Ahead

Dissolve sugar in water, then combine with lime juice, fish sauce, and crushed red pepper. Toss with diced honeydew, roasted corn, and kosher salt. Fold in the fresh herbs and chill until serving.

FOR THE FISH Score the skin of the fish gently. Season lightly with salt on both sides. Heat saute pan and add oil. You’ll cook the fish in batches as to not crowd the pan. When oil begins to shimmer, place snapper skin side down in pan and press gently. Do not move! When skin begins to release on its own, and you can easily flip the fish, gently turn all pieces to lightly sear on flesh side.

Remove from pan and serve skin side up, on top of a bit of salsa and then more spooned over.

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FriedFun Rice

NATURE’S BEST® EGGS Strict production policies ensure the eggs are safe and fresh

ASIAN PRIDE® JASMINE RICE Grown and harvested in northeastern Thailand

International Introductions How one of the newest international trends can offer inspiration for menus.

Click here to read more

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FIND THIS RECIPE ONLINE! CONTIGO® PORK CUSHION CHAUFA

Sink into a

Cushion of Flavor CONTIGO PORK CUSHION

®

Lean, but flavorful for multiple applications

What are some benefits of adding global flavors to my menu?

Diners are seeking globally inspired flavors and want to be more adventurous. In fact, 79% say they are looking for something new. Join in on this trend by adding Mexican-style meats to your menu, great for traditional plates like spicy chipotle beef queso or new dishes like chorizo cornbread waffles. Burke provides fully cooked toppings that are perfectly seasoned with authentic spices. These versatile ingredients can be used across the menu, to help you do more with less.

An ideal delivery system for comfort flavors, fried rice is one of the most popular Asian menu items. This is our version of pork fried rice, fusing Chinese and Peruvian influences.

Fluffy and an excellent flavor enhancer, Asian Pride Jasmine Rice makes this dish go.

Chopped bits of scrambled eggs add texture and help hold the chaufa together. Contigo Pork Cushion meat provides strong inventory value with the benefit of Hispanic authenticity.

The tender caramelized pork is a great partner for the sweet and sticky sesame ginger soy dressing. Peak® Red Bell Peppers and slivers of green onion really help the fried rice pop with fresh colors.

A Pork Cushion Chaufa is a versatile fit for just about any menu; it works as a shareable app, a savory brunch item, casual takeout, or a more upscale entrée. And it enables you to tell a story about how Chinese immigrants to Peru altered the culinary landscape halfway around the world – this dish is a cool visual representation of the power of fusion.

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Talkin’

Fusion Due to their elegant simplicity, tacos are the ultimate canvas for fusion experimentation. In this feast of flavors, we coat Hispanic-inspired meat with robust Asian ingredients and then top with a generous helping of veggies and cheese.

Tender, responsibly sourced Contigo Carne Asada is slathered and cooked in cornstarch until it’s hot and crispy.

The beef is then mixed with Asian Pride Orange Sauce for the ultimate fusion of East and West. Other Asian flavors are then blended with Peak® Broccoli and Cucumber for a fresh, crunchy slaw that enhances the taste of the orange beef.

The tacos are topped with additional Hispanic-inspired elements: sliced jalapenos bringing the fire and Cotija cheese supplying milky, slightly salty touches.

The mélange of flavors is beautifully wrapped in charred Contigo Corn Tortillas. With this much palate-pleasing taste, it shouldn’t be hard to convince guests to wash down the tacos with some cold beers. The evocative fusion combination and stunning green/orange color mix will get plenty of attention on social feeds as well.

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CONTIGO® 6”CORN TORTILLAS Excellent for migas and tostadas as well

Chef Talk The egg white slurry helps create a crispy crust once fried, while keeping the moisture intact.

Pro tip: Mix the broccoli cucumber slaw a day ahead to let the flavors develop. Strain out any excess liquid before service.

CONTIGO CARNE ASADA Delicious grilled and diced beef

What’s an easy, cost-effective way to spice up tacos?

Bring the flavor of authentic Mexican street food to your menu with NEW Cholula® Chile Pepper Carne Asada Seasoning Mix and Cholula Smoky Chipotle Carnitas Seasoning Mix. Packed in easy-to-use pouches that reduce prep time, these seasonings add a dash of flavor to tacos & more.

ASIAN PRIDE® ORANGE SAUCE Sweet and tangy, with a blast of citrus

FIND THIS RECIPE ONLINE! ORANGE BEEF TACOS W/ BROCCOLI CUCUMBER SLAW

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Compressed for Success

CONTIGO® CHIPOTLE IN ADOBO Smoked peppers rehydrated in a tangy tomato sauce

CULINARY SECRETS® TERIYAKI GLAZE A rich soy flavor offset by fruity sweetness

When it comes to fusion, not only do the cultural elements and flavors interact to hit the palate in new and interesting ways, the resulting visuals are excellent for social media promotion.

Take this innovative pork dish, which deconstructs traditional Hispanic seasoned pork, Asian rice, and Japanese fruit, and recontextualizes them in a striking presentation. Our most tender Contigo Pork is seasoned and seared in a taste-bud tingling Asian Pride Teriyaki and Contigo Chipotle Adobo sauce. The tangy pork is then layered on 3”x5” umami rice planks, thickened with a small amount of Parmesan cheese.

As if the square, clean lines of this dish weren’t enough, the pork is dotted with cubes of yuzu-flavored Peak Honeydew Melon. Yuzu is a Japanese sour citrus fruit and a hybrid from the Mandarin orange family. The melon is marinated in the yuzu juice and vacuum sealed overnight before being cubed. The sweet and sour fruit adds intriguing textural dimensions and flavors to the pork and rice. The presentation shares some visual similarities with Hawaiian musubi and is a guaranteed conversation starter on social media.

International Inspiration For more recipes, trends, and great ideas to inspire your menu, go to performancefoodservice.com/thedish ©2022 Performance Foodserivce