TREND BITES:

Island

March 10, 2023

As consumers continue wanting newer, bolder, more exciting dining experiences, chefs are looking to more global inspiration to change up their menus. We’re seeing Asian, African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American dishes being served across all foodservice segments as operators strive to appeal to a broad audience and adapt offerings to rapidly changing trends. One global food trend that is easy to execute and gives consumers a bright, memorable flavor experience is Island cuisine. Charring, caramelizing, skewering, and garnishing with bright fruits and flowers? Consumers are all in.

Why is Island Food Trending?

Americans are loving Island-inspired dishes because these meals help them think of warm weather and travel, even if just for an hour. "Tropic Like It's Hot" was one of Flavor and the Menu's 2022 trends because island flavors offer "mood-boosting colors, vibrant ingredients and island-escape sensibility." For the same reasons, Cozymeal chose Island Flavors as a top food trend for 2023. They expect pineapple, passionfruit, coconut curry, and Caribbean spices to be popular for enhancing dishes this year.

Vacation-Inspired Cuisine

While local produce, cooking methods, and serving styles vary as you travel from one island to the next, a few things remain constant: vibrant colors and flavors, fresh fruit, and large, welcoming platters. Island-inspired cuisine in the US tends to pull from the vacation-experience aspects of Caribbean, Greek, and Polynesian island meals. When ordering an island dish in the US, people expect bright, ripe fruit and comforting, robust spice blends. They'll be delighted to see a dish served with an over-the-top, tropical presentation, such as huge slices of pineapple, tropical flowers, leaves, skewers, and colorful, fruity drinks.

Bring the Island Experience to Your Customers

There are a lot of unique aspects to island dining that you can deliver to customers to give them a tropical experience wherever you are. Bring in elements of island cooking, like charring, caramelizing, and grilling, which will come through in your finished dishes. Instead of just serving exotic fruits, try charring or caramelizing them before using them as garnish. You can also feature island flavors by emulating the spice blends used in the Caribbean. Check out the spices used in our Jerk Chicken and Huli Huli Marinade below for ideas!

Try these island-inspired applications!

Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa

One of the most popular Caribbean-inspired meals is Jamaican jerk chicken. Traditionally, jerk chicken is prepared by coating raw chicken in spices and then slow cooking it over fire. Since that might not be possible for some kitchens, we developed a simplified version with this Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa, which uses jerk seasoning on our fully cooked chicken fillets and for a low-prep meal that's still packed with island flavor.

Huli Huli Chicken Marinade/Glaze

For an easy Island-inspired plate presentation, serve juicy, flavorful chicken on skewers. This Huli Huli Chicken recipe can be used as a marinade before you cook the chicken or a glaze afterwards. The delightful flavor is created with pineapple juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, ginger, and more, and makes for a simple, vacationesque meal that your customers will have fun eating!