The first thing that comes to mind for me would be the rapid switch to more casual and outdoor dining during Covid directly after reopening after quarantine. My restaurant, Moshulu has a large outdoor dining area which was always very popular, but shifted to being one of the premier outdoor dining areas in Philadelphia during Covid restrictions. With 100% of our business dining outdoors, we quickly realized that we had to re design our menu to address guests desires for more casual dishes, things that were quicker to execute and generally more broad appeal cuisine. The outcome for our restaurant was that we added a few more sandwiches, protein oriented salads, and more value friendly items and ultimately we ended up having a lot of success delivering great quality exciting dishes at a lower price point that were quick to execute consistently; resulting in more diners coming through our doors during a very challenging time for the restaurant business.
As a trained chef, one such moment which I have experienced where I had to catch up fast with a food trend was during the rise in popularity of plant-based diets. Although Kashkan Restaurants was mostly focused on meat dishes, we decided to change the way of our work and add more vegetarian and vegan options to the menu. The challenge was to ensure these new offerings worked not only for the regulars but also for the new diners instead of making them bored as well as keep the quality and flavor our customers have gotten so used to. To do that, our unit spent time in the research and development phase. Additionally, we were in the culinary process of finding not only the best-tasting but also the best-looking plant-based food dishes. We were fortunate to work with local suppliers to purchase the freshest ingredients and use interesting and ethnic spices to make the menu exciting and trendy at the same time. This effort was important to keep up our standard as a business without going down the drain in this modern age. The result of this adaptation was in a very positive way. It not only allowed us to attract a new clientele of health-oriented diners but we also had good feedback from our regular customers regarding the innovative and yet appetizing plant-based dishes. Such success of this undertaking testified to the importance of staying ahead of culinary trends and reinforced our commitment to offering diverse and high-quality dining experiences at Kashkan Restaurants.