Sponsored by Kikkoman
Doing more with less is the business model of the future in the restaurant industry, and using high-quality, versatile sauces is one of the best ways to accomplish that.
Sauces can help operators create recipes more consistently and efficiently, which has become increasingly important in an environment where employees may have varied levels of experience and training. Incorporating sauces across multiple applications and recipes provides the added benefits of ingredient cross-utilization and inventory optimization, which can help drive down costs.
At the same time, focusing on using high-quality, brand-name sauces helps generate customer engagement and drive top-line sales.
“Not only do high-quality sauces add efficiency to the kitchen, they also add peace of mind in regard to trusting a brand like Kikkoman to bring a consistent experience to the guests,” says Chef Erik Bruner-Yang of Maketto in Washington, D.C. “Over the course of 10 years that Maketto has been in business, we have always been able to rely on Kikkoman to deliver an amazing product which makes the lives of every cook easier.”
Bruner-Yang switched to Kikkoman’s
Asian Inspiration
And when it comes to creating popular Asian-inspired menu items, from ramen and poke to banh mi, dumplings, and Asian-style bowls, high-quality prepared sauces can save labor and take the guesswork out of achieving perfectly balanced flavor.
Kikkoman offers a full line of
These versatile products can be used straight from their easy-pour bottles as sauces, marinades, condiments and dipping sauces. Or they can be combined or accent with other flavors and ingredients to create signature menu items. You’ll find plenty of recipes, videos and inspiration at KikkomanUSA.com/foodservice.
Benefits of
“Overall, the use of high-quality sauces in the kitchen can add efficiencies by saving time, simplifying inventory management, controlling costs, ensuring consistency, facilitating staff training, enabling menu versatility, and enhancing customer satisfaction,” says Chef Raymond Li of Li’s Dim Sum in Miami, Florida. Li points to several benefits of incorporating high-quality brand-name sauces in the kitchen:
- Consistency:
“ High-quality sauces are made using premium ingredients and follow standardized recipes, ensuring consistent flavor and quality every time they are used,” says Li. This consistency helps reduce variations in taste and texture, making it easier for chefs to deliver consistent dishes to customers. - Time savings: Preparing sauces from scratch can be time-consuming, especially when it involves complex processes and numerous ingredients.
“ By using high-quality, pre-made sauces, chefs can save valuable prep time in the kitchen, allowing them to focus on other important tasks such as cooking and plating,” he says. - Inventory management: Using high-quality sauces can help chefs streamline their ingredient inventory. Instead of stocking a range of individual ingredients to make different sauces from scratch, they can simply stock a few key sauces that can be used in multiple dishes, Li explains. “This helps reduce ingredient waste and simplifies inventory management, as well as helping to simplify the operation,” he says.
- Customer satisfaction: Ultimately, using high-quality sauces can enhance the overall dining experience for customers.
“ Consistently delicious sauces elevate the flavor profiles of dishes, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty,” says Li.
Leveraging the
“You can use it as it comes as a dip for fried or roasted foods, or you can also use it as a base for a vinaigrette,” says Li.
Among the other ways he suggests that sauces can be cross-utilized in different recipes:
- As a base ingredient for different dishes: “A versatile sauce like a tomato-based marinara sauce can be used as a base for pasta dishes, pizzas, lasagna, or even as a dipping sauce for appetizers like breadsticks or mozzarella sticks,” says Li.
- As dressings and marinades: A high-quality vinaigrette or aioli can serve as a dressing for salads, as a marinade for proteins such as chicken or fish, or as a condiment for sandwiches or wraps.
- As flavor enhancers: “Rich and flavorful sauces like a demi-glace or a reduction can be used as a base for gravies, or even as a finishing touch for soups or stews,” says Li.
- As accompaniments: Sauces such as hollandaise can serve as a topping for eggs Benedict or steamed vegetables, or as a dipping sauce for seafood.
- In customized variations: “By adding different herbs, spices, or ingredients to a base sauce, you can create variations to suit different dishes,” says Li, citing as an example adding chipotle to a mayo-based sauce to create a spicy aioli for burgers or tacos.
“Remember, the key to cross-utilizing sauces is to have a variety of base sauces that can be customized and adapted to different recipes, saving time and effort in the kitchen, which results in money saved for the business,” says Li.
For more sauce inspiration, recipe ideas, and other information to help you optimize your operations and drive sales and profitability, visit https://kikkomanusa.com/foodservice/.