7 In-Season Foods Your Restaurant Should Use this Month

New foods in your restaurant is good for business. Consuming only foods that are in season used to be seen as a “treehugger” lifestyle choice, but the trend has been on an incline for several years now, from millennials to gourmet restaurants. Introducing seasonal plates is a great way to bring back customers who have already tried most of your menu and to bring in new customers.

Since these items are in season, the flavor is at its full potential, which will increase the value of your plate and be sure to have people raving about their experience! They will also cost you less since they are in season, so if you were thinking of introducing one of these items to your menu year round, now is the perfect time to test it out.

Apples

Apples are everybody’s favorite when October comes around. They are so versatile and easy to add to any plate. Try adding baked apples or apple crisp to your dessert menu. Adding an apple cider is a great addition to your drink menu, too.

Beets

If your restaurant does not already have a beet and goat cheese salad, you should definitely try it out for the month of October. Another great idea is to add oven-baked beet chips to your appetizers, or even as a side option instead of fries. 

Blackberries

Blackberries are great to add to your salad dishes and to use as drink garnishes. You can also throw together a blackberry crumble, or blackberry pie for your dessert menu. If you run a breakfast or dessert restaurant, try substituting strawberry/blueberry waffles for blackberries.

Broccoli

This is one of the easiest in-season foods this month to bring into your restaurant that does not have to change your menu at all. Use it in your seasonal vegetable side dish and maybe make an in-house broccoli cheddar soup your soup of the day.

Cranberries

You may already be tossing these into some of your salads, but try adding them to some of your sandwiches, too. Another idea is to switch out your spinach and artichoke dip for a cheddar cranberry dip.

Pumpkin

Pumpkin is the one ingredient guaranteed to bring customers into your restaurant over and over again this month. Add pumpkin pie or cheesecake to your desserts, and if you’re running a cafe-type establishment, a pumpkin spice latte is an absolute must. 

Sweet Potatoes

This is another ingredient that doesn’t have to change your menu much. You most likely already have a sweet potato fries side option, and can add them to your seasonal vegetable side dish too, but also think about changing regular mashed potatoes to sweet potato mash! If you have a breakfast skillet, change the regular potatoes to sweet potatoes, or even add them to a chili dish!

These 7 Fall foods will add versatility and interest to your menu for the fall months!