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Foodservice
Ever since the introduction of the first frozen fry, value-added potato products have saved foodservice operators time, labor and money, while assuring consistent quality. Today, these products run the gamut from refrigerated and frozen to sliced, diced and mashed. Many of these products meet nutritional guidelines for school foodservice.
The goal of current USPB foodservice efforts is to motivate chefs to add new, healthy potato sides and salads to their menus.
Foodservice – Chef Outreach
The cornerstone of our outreach to chefs is the USPB’s “Innovation with Potatoes Seminar” at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, CA . This seminar is a two-day immersion in potato nutrition and healthy preparation ideas. Attendees are research or executive chefs from major chain restaurants. The highlight of the seminar is always when the chefs prepare their own new and innovative potato dishes. After the seminars, we offer ongoing creative and technical assistance to help chefs move forward with new potato menu ideas.
Potatoes, Fresh Ideas for Menu Innovation, a foodservice brochure, reflects some of the new menu ideas developed in the first seminar. Many of these ideas, plus other successful potato menus, are publicized in foodservice magazines read by chefs, restauranteurs, and school foodservice personnel.
To date, 41 chefs have attended these seminars and over a third have made changes in their menus as a result.
Foodservice - Schools
To reach parents and school foodservice professionals, the USPB attends and exhibits at the PTA and School Nutrition Association (SNA) national conventions. A new “Potato Power” brochure, with kid tested recipes, was distributed, along with the “Dig This” poster/lesson plan, and information on School Wellness Grants being offered to elementary schools in partnership with the SNA. A big hit with both audiences was the newly developed “Potatoes Make the Grade”, a listing of some of the many potato products that meet school foodservice nutrition guidelines.
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