No doubt about it, Americans love their sweets, so you can count on the fact that desserts are going to be an ongoing trend. At Al and Alma’s Supper Club and Charter Cruises we’ve found a few keys to serving sweet treats that consistently work for us.
Good ingredients never go out of style …
Great desserts will always start from scratch. Processed foods and high fructose sweeteners are taboo and today’s ingredient-savvy consumers demand better, especially when it comes to food “electives” like desserts. Desserts might just be one of the most vulnerable items that you prepare for your guests. We eat desserts for fun but if they disappoint …we are no longer having a good time. So start from scratch - real cream, sugar, vanilla, chocolate, whatever ingredient your recipe requires - use the best. Great ingredients = great desserts!
Stick to what you do best and … SHRINK IT!
Our peak business is conducted in the summer months and our Homemade Key Lime pie has always been a summertime favorite. Recently, however, we noticed that a growing number of guests were either taking desserts home with them or leaving them unfinished. Since we continued to get rave reports about the taste, we determined that our problem wasn’t with quality, but quantity. Even though our guests still love indulging their sweet tooth, they are doing it in smaller doses. As a result, we adapted our recipe, taking it from whole pies that we cut into slices into petit pies for single servings. Dessert portion awareness is especially relevant when guests are dining with their business associates. We all tend to be much more conscious about what and how much we eat in front of co-workers and clients.
Win With Variety
Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Simply put, more choices = more happy guests. Not everybody likes chocolate, or fruity desserts. As such, the more variety we offer our guests, the more likely we are to hone in on everyone’s sweet spot. Combine this with shrinking your dessert portions, and you have a winning combo. For example, offer petit vanilla cheesecake portions and allow guests to select and serve their own fruit, chocolate, fudge, caramel, nuts and candy toppings. In this way, you put the guests in the driver’s seat by allowing them to garnish their own dessert, which allows them to have exactly what and how much they want. Finally, reducing serving sizes will help control your food costs, and that’s a win for your bottom line as well.
