Artisan toast continues to present huge opportunity for operators. They’re extremely popular thanks to a number of factors, including familiarity, shareability and Instagram-worthiness.
Toasts are a springboard for creative flavor combinations. Our research spotted six themes under the toast umbrella—all offering opportunity for menu differentiation. Artisan toast not only answers consumer demand, it also works well operationally. You can assemble them from inventory items, and they perform nicely across dayparts—from breakfast and brunch to bar snacks, lunch and dinner.
1) Sweet Toasts
The combination of sweet and savory works beautifully on modern menus. Fruit jams, chocolate spreads, rich breads—all help build intriguing flavor combinations.
2) Meat-centric Toasts
Chefs are using toast as a carrier for both deli- and charcuterie-inspired meats. Underpinning those bigger flavors are umami-rich accompaniments like miso butter or sweet counterpoints like jam.
3. Seafood Toasts
The seafood category is red hot on menus right now, so it makes sense to combine seafood with toast. The seacuterie trend, where seafood is cured like charcuterie, fits the toast platform.
4. Veg-Forward Toasts
The veg-centric opportunity is fueled by consumer demand and will affect menus for a long time to come. With toasts, chefs are creating beautiful presentations that lead with flavor-forward veg-centric ingredients.
5. Knife-and-fork Toasts
These robust presentations require utensils. They impress with size and heartier ingredients. They can still be shareable, but that’s not the intent. The Overpriced Tomato toast at Daisies in Chicago was our favorite bite from last year’s research tour.
6. Avocado Toast 2.0
Avocado toast is the granddaddy in the toast trend. Now chefs are making avocado toast more elaborate, adding more textures and flavors into the builds.
Hungry for more?
Contact your Sales Representative or visit gfs.com/ideas and click “Recipes” to find culinary inspiration for your menu.
