Mintel at The Flavor Experience

Breakfast

Tuesday morning’s menu offered a wealth of options to attendees from “Beautiful Breakfast Quiches” (two to choose from, including an Applewood Smoked Bacon, caramelized Sweet Onion, and Asiago cheese Quiche and a Vegetarian Quiche with Fire-Roasted Vegetables, Italian Marinated Tomatoes, Spinach, Potato, and Asiago cheese) to a “Strawberry Sunrise Smoothie”.

At this point, I should pause to apologize. I am not much of a breakfast person. Brunch, yes. The (now) rare late-night plate of eggs & bacon? Absolutely. However, to start a long, high-energy day I typically gravitate more toward the coffee & a bagel end of the spectrum.

Thus, despite the “Breakfast Bagels with Wild Alaska Salmon”, the “Idaho Mashed Potato & Egg Breakfast Pancake”, and so on, I kicked off my day with a coffee and a “Sunrise” smoothie. Both of which hit the spot.

Nosh

Twice a day on Tuesday and Wednesday, we split up the morning and afternoon sessions with “Nosh & Network” breaks. Each break was defined by a color – beginning with green. For example, Tuesday’s dishes included ingredients such as kiwi, avocado, (green) grapes, etc.

The highlight of the break was the “Mini Avocado Margarita Cream Parfait” described as “a ‘just enough’ parfait in layers of graham cracker crumbs and delicious fresh Avocado cream filling, garnished with Raspberry, whipped cream, and fresh Mint sprig.” I was very impressed with both the flavor profile of the dish as well as its versatility. I could easily imagine the parfait as a brunch item, a sweet end to a nice lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, a refreshing bite between courses during dinner, or even an upscale dessert option. (And yes, it really did taste good!)

While the subject had not yet been explored in detail by mid-morning on Tuesday, I think the parfait nicely exemplifies a few developments on menus:

• More options to order small bites of sweet dishes, such as a mini-cupcake or a dessert “shot”.
• Moving desserts from something seen almost exclusively as an after-dinner dish to a sweet-treat that could be enjoyed any time during the day.
• The use of unusual flavor profiles in desserts (the “Top 10” list also mentions corn, salt, beets, and chiles).

While the oft-mentioned mainstream consumer may not be ready for Avocado parfaits (and I’m not sure I would order a full-size dessert with such an unusual flavor either), offering diners an opportunity to try something new at a low-risk price and portion size could be a successful idea. For more information from Mintel on consumer attitudes toward dining out, try going here.

ML