Foodservice Products: Twist for a New Idea

CHICAGO — From food preparation to food consumption, new takes on old foodservice ideas and products were on full display on the floor of the 2021 NACS Show in Chicago.

Want a combination coffee maker/espresso machine? How about strips of meat that look like bacon but are sausage? A powered sugar that gives fried chicken the flavor of a maple syrup-covered waffle? Or how about oat bars that taste like churros?

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The A1000 FLEX from Franke, which has its U.S. headquarters in Smyrna, Tenn., delivers both hot and iced coffee and espresso beverages from one machine. The A1000 FLEX features a cold-water bypass for the iced coffee beverages. Customers can select cup size, hot or iced, their beverage, their milk (between two different types of dairy milk) or leave room for cream for the coffee beverages.

They also can select from up to six flavored syrups.

The E-Series 18 gas-powered pressure fryers from Beloit, Wis.-based Broaster allow operators to more easily manage back-of-house labor while providing customers with moist and flavorful chicken.

These machines help operators save on operating, cleaning and maintaining the equipment and training staff.

The 18G, which boasts the highest-level energy-efficiency via a 50,000 BTU/hour efficient burner system, features a range of innovative features and uses smart technology. It has an automatic quick-filtration cycle that starts after each cook cycle, and features a reusable, high-capacity filter that eliminates the need for daily filter paper handling.

This new product from Sheboygan Falls, Wis.-based Johnsonville offers sausage flavor in a strip that can be cooked and used like bacon. The strips are meaty and flavorful, making them great for sandwiches, appetizers or on their own.

They come in four flavors: original, maple, spicy and chorizo.

Under Dinuba, Calif.-based Ruiz Foods’ El Monterey label, these new items, which debut in December (apple pie empanada, right) and February (cinnamon roll Tornado, left), are in response to retailers telling Ruiz they want to introduce a sweet pick-me-up to help sales.

The empanadas are made by hand, come in a light and flaky crust, can be baked or fried, and can hold in a hot case for up to four hours.

The cinnamon roll, the latest Tornado flavor, is a cinnamon-swirled cream cheese filling wrapped in a warm, sweet and crispy shell.

This cinnamon churro bar is part of the Sweet Sofia’s Bakery line from Kenilworth, N.J.-based Taste It Presents. It’s so new they didn’t have the wrappers in time for the NACS Show.

These churro-inspired oat bars are studded with chewy caramel and topped with buttery cinnamon crumbs. This bar was in response to requests from retailers for a product with an international flavor.

In Naperville, Ill.-based Eby-Brown’s Perfectly Southern Fresh Fried Chicken line is this maple-flavored-waffle powdered sugar recipe that comes in a 16-ounce shaker bottle.

It’s designed to raise the flavor of the fried chicken by sprinkling the powder, which contains hints of maple waffle, but of course no one says it can't be used elsewhere.

Alexandria, La.-based Krispy Krunchy Chicken’s three new breakfast items are a blueberry biscuit, empanada and Crispito.

The blueberry-flavored biscuit (left) comes as one or in a bundle of two or six.

The Cajun-infused empanada (right, with inside visible), good for grab-and-go, is made with eggs, chorizo sausage, cheese and jalapeños.

Finally, the Crispito (also right) is marinated chicken sprinkled with cheese and then tightly rolled in a flour tortilla.

Union, N.J.-based Creative Serving’s hands-free sanitizing station holds a 1-gallon container of hand sanitizer (sold separately). The back can be locked (pictured right) to avoid theft, and the unit comes with a screw-on pump. Custom graphics are available. The product also features:

• Non-slip rubber feet on the bottom of the stand. The unit also can be bolted down
• Durable antimicrobial polyester powder-coated steel stand construction
• Easy foot pedal operation
• No batteries/electrical needed
• Incorporated drip tray
• An available ADA compliant model
• Dimensions: 46.25 inches high by 12 inches wide by 12 inches deep