MenuDirections News

If you’ve been to MenuDirections, you’ll notice a number of changes at the event, taking place Feb. 28–March 1 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.

From barbecue and beans to mushrooms and tapas, there was a lot of food—and food for thought—passed around at the 13th annual MenuDirections conference.

From drinking more red wine to crisis management, non-commercial operators learned important lessons at MenuDirections 2015.

Here are five recent concept launches Chef Gerry Ludwig encountered during his journey to conduct research on menu and restaurant trends. Whether they’re within your same segment or not, they’re ones to watch.

Quinoa—that once-unique, now ubiquitous grain—has moved beyond salads and bowls to pancakes, risotto, even burgers and buns. Here are some of the more interesting menu trends he tasted.

After two and a half days of workshops, culinary demos and general sessions, attendees came away with dozens of actionable items to implement in their operations. The following list are but 10 of the things we learned at MenuDirections 2014.

New ideas and trends can bubble up from the non-commercial side of food service as much as they trickle down from restaurants, as Senior Editor Pat Cobe discovered at a recent conference for food service directors.