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6 Months In: Looking Back and Moving Forward
CSSI Staff Post – September 3, 2020
A return to hospitality and community as it was before COVID may not be on the immediate horizon, but over the last few months, it has been amazing to see the resilience of our industry and its ability to adapt and change.
At CSSI Marketing + Culinary, we have the pleasure of working with many great brands and people within the restaurant operator, manufacturer and commodity board community. Not a single restaurant operator or CSSI partner has gone the last few months without feeling the emotional and financial pressure from the impacts of COVID. But at the same time, not a single restaurant operator or CSSI partner has allowed the strain the pandemic has put on our industry to stop them from thinking about what the future looks like, how to adapt, and how to stay true to our business, which is to delight and satisfy the guests who dine at restaurants every day.
As we quickly adapted to a virtual work environment and solidified our Ferocious Innovation™
process, we worked with a variety of restaurant chains to adopt and implement the process and reinvigorate their menu innovation. The results have been rewarding as new concepts move into consumer testing and market tests. With drive-thru focus groups and virtual consumer panels, we continue to hear that while we are all adapting, consumers are still looking to restaurants to provide a moment in time during their day when they can relax, get out of the house and enjoy a delightful food experience.
There will for sure continue to be changes to our industry in the months ahead, but at this time many of the changes on the horizon are positives to our industry. Whether it's elevated drive-thru experiences, technology advances that eases store operations but elevates customer experience, or new menu launches that deliver on trends, flavors and textures that keep consumers curious and delighted. While the challenges are not gone, I have never been more proud to be in the hospitality industry. I know that means delivering hospitality not only to our restaurant guests, but also truly delivering hospitality to one another, whether as a supplier or operator.
Thomas Talbert
Vice President, Culinary Marketing
March 1st, 2023 We’re thrilled to introduce the newest addition to our culinary family: Chef Steve Madonna. Formally trained in both Italy and the United States, as well as having worked for Wolfgang Puck, Chef Steve brings an extensive set of connections and culinary knowledge to our already stacked chef roster. Featured in this month’s issue is one of Chef Steve’s favorite recipes for making memories at home with your loved ones.
October 19, 2022 Pumpkin pie is a nostalgic menu item and my personal favorite when it comes to fall and winter menus, as it goes hand in hand with a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. We elevate the nostalgia by turning this must-have holiday dish into a clarified cocktail that leaves your taste buds as curious as your eyes. We get adventurous as we replace expected visual elements with an ice-cold glass of clarified liquors infused with pumpkin pie. This cocktail defies all visual expectations, while leaving your sense of smell and taste immersed in a seasonally nostalgic experience.
October 19, 2022 Canada is well known for many things. Hockey, snow, maple syrup, and a few other stereotypical but somewhat accurate concepts may immediately come to mind. What you may not know, though, is how invested we are in the snacks that we consume. Compared to the U.S., sure, we are no match for the quantity and variety offered in the land of the free, home of the snacks. However, what we know in our hearts is that Canada has a long-standing, tried-and-true, flawed, yet beloved top-notch snack game. I’m talking about comfort foods that have become so integrated and so established that they are classified as cult-favourites—and no, I did not spell favourites incorrectly. You are about to see a lot more of the letter “U” in this article. Sorry! The great Canadian snack game is easy enough to understand. You think of a flavour and either slap it on a potato or pair it with chocolate. Snacking has always been a huge part of Canadian food culture, but it is only going up from here. To put it lightly, the past few years have been tough on everyone around the world, and Canadians have chosen to increase their spending on snacks by 67% as an indulgence or, personally, as a coping mechanism. In no way, shape, or form am I claiming to be a culinary expert somehow employed in the field of Finance, but I have eaten a lot in my life and right now, I’m the best and/or only Canadian guide you’ve got. Let’s get into the details:
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