DENVER — A team of 20 elite executive and R&D chefs from restaurants, retail chains and foodservice distributors rediscovered the power of potatoes at the United States Potato Board’s (USPB) annual “Menu Innovations with Potatoes” seminar held in October at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone in St. Helena, CA. Themed “The New American Menu: Global Flavors, Healthy Appeal”, the seminar inspired new thinking around uses for potatoes.
“This culinary innovation program helps chefs see potatoes in a new light,” said Meredith Myers, USPB Public Relations Manager. “Chefs are always amazed by the truly innovative and healthier-for-you dishes they can create with potatoes once they start thinking beyond traditional baked, fried and mashed preparations.”
Special guest, Chef Mark Sullivan, the executive chef at Michelin-starred Spruce Restaurant and one of Food & Wine Magazine’s 2002 America’s Best New Chefs, shared culinary insights and demonstrated two innovative potato dishes from his menu. CIA chef and instructor Bill Briwa led the group through sensory immersion sessions and two days of hands-on culinary workshops, where dishes like Crispy Potato Panzanella Salad and Shrimp Escabeche with Wasabi Yukon Potatoes were created.
This year’s accredited seminar was attended by executive chefs from leading restaurant and retail chains, such as Outback Steakhouse, Brio/Bravo Restaurant Group, Kroger, Safeway and Harris Teeter, as well as two of the nation’s largest foodservice distributors, Sysco and Gordon Food Service. Altogether, more than 14,000 foodservice and retail units were represented. All of the attendees rated the seminar program as “excellent” on their evaluations, with more than one noting that it was: “One of the best culinary programs with which I’ve been involved.”
“The New American menu is evolving as chefs all across the country work to find the perfect balance of unique, new flavors and healthful, familiar ingredients,” adds Myers. “Potatoes are an essential part of this evolution and the perfect canvas for the types of menu items everyone looks for today: flavorful, globally-inspired, fresh and creative.”
For additional information about the USPB or the seminar, please visit: www.potatogoodness.com/foodservice.
For more information on the USPB as the nation’s potato marketing organization, positioned as the “catalyst for positive change,” and the central organizing force in implementing programs that will increase demand for potatoes, please visit www.uspotatoes.com.
David Fairbourn is Manager, Industry Communications & Policy, at the United States Potato Board in Denver. The mission of the USPB is to increase demand for potatoes and potato products through an integrated promotion program, thereby providing US producers with expanding markets for their production. David can be contacted at 303-369-7783 or david.fairbourn@uspotatoes.com. For complete information about the programs, ROI results, resources and tools available to all members of the industry through the USPB, please visit www.uspotatoes.com. The United States Potato Board—Maximizing Return on Grower Investment.
Source: United States Potato Board