In the restaurant industry, time is an ingredient as important as salt or sugar. It’s the invisible seasoning that can make or break a restaurant’s success.

That’s why a growing number of foodservice businesses, of all sizes and categories, are exploring labor-saving products in their battle against the clock. These ingredients aren’t just culinary shortcuts; they are strategic decisions that can improve your operation’s efficiency and success.

Why Choose Labor-Saving Products?
Labor-saving products provide more than convenience. By removing unnecessary steps, streamlining prep procedures, and incorporating time-saving ingredients into your most popular and profitable menu items, you’re not just simplifying food preparation; you’re opening up a world of possibilities for marketing, social media engagement, and business growth.

The direct benefits of labor-saving products are clear…

• Save Staff Time: Reduce the hours spent on tedious prep work.
• Cut Training Requirements: Simplify the on-boarding process for new staff.
• Reduce Waste: Minimize the risk of human error and ingredient spoilage.
• Ensure Consistency: Deliver the same high-quality experience every time.

The ancillary benefits come with time…
With time reclaimed through labor-saving ingredients, your team can shift their focus from the cutting board to the drawing board. This newfound time could be used for brainstorm sessions that fuel fun marketing ideas, epic food photo shoots, fostering engagement with your audience across social media platforms, and to drive overall business growth.

“I wish I had more time…” is something I hear often from business owners regarding their marketing efforts. Marketing, social media management, and content creation are just a few of the areas that would benefit from having more time. What other aspects of your business could benefit from a little more time invested?

Looking toward the future of foodservice, in a world exploding with AI-powered advancements; it’s clear that speed and efficiency will be increasingly tied to profitability. By embracing labor-saving products, you’re not only keeping up with the times; you’re future-proofing your business.

Visit www.dennisfoodservice.com/laborsavers to explore a selection of our favorite labor-saving ingredients. For personalized recommendations and suggestions, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Account Executive. Together, let’s optimize your kitchen’s efficiency and unlock new opportunities for success.

From menu innovation to organizational tweaks, savvy restaurateurs seize this season to make strategic changes. Fresh ingredients find their way onto revamped menus, and outdoor seating areas come alive with the chatter of diners. Whether you’re a seasoned restaurateur or a fresh-faced foodpreneur, there’s something here for everyone.

Throughout this article, you’ll find hyperlinks to resources, product recommendations, and expert advice. Click away to explore in-depth guides and practical tips.

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Asian flavors are big, bold, rich in flavor, spicy, and vibrant, and above all, they are some of my favorite flavors to utilize. This flavor-forward Asian-inspired peanut soy glaze is super simple to make, holds well (under refrigeration) when bulk prep is a necessity, and can be used on a wide array of products. I chose Hormel’s Fire Braised Beef Short Rib for this application; however, this glaze can be used on chicken, seafood, pork, tofu, and vegetables. Watch and see how effortlessly you add Asian-inspired flavors to your menu.

Additional applications for the peanut soy glaze:
On grilled shrimp. With seared salmon. Tossed with roasted carrots. Slathered on chicken wings. Basted on a whole rib roast, pork loin, or pork chops. And it can even be used as a salad or slaw dressing.

Hormel Fire Braised Boneless Short Ribs are item #25708

More Fire Braised Meats
More from the Test Kitchen

This labor-saving boneless beef short rib that is an easy way to add a consistently delicious item to your menu, without the work of braising. These tender cuts are gently seasoned with red wine and rosemary. A perfect starting platform for your recipe. They’re seared with fire to caramelize the exterior and develop flavor, and then slow-cooked until tender, moist, and delicious – so all you need to do is finish it!

Hormel Fire Braised Boneless Short Ribs are item #25708

More Fire Braised Meats
More from the Test Kitchen

Multitasking ingredients such as flavored butters, sauces, dressings, and gravies save time and money in the kitchen.

Multitasking ingredients can enhance several dishes keeps food costs, labor, and inventory in line. Ingredients that can be used in more than one item are the Holy Grail of menu management, keeping food costs, labor, and inventory in line. Dennis offers a variety of products from multiple vendors that are designed with multitasking in mind—you can use them as is, or as speed-scratch basics for multiple applications.

Consider the following examples as a template for maximizing the utilization of your own flavor-building inventory. 

Flavored Butters

One of the easiest and most convenient ways to add flavor to food is by mixing seasonings and other ingredients into butter, which can then be chilled or even frozen for later use. In addition to using on steaks and other proteins hot off the grill, these butters can be used to:

• Sauté or dress vegetables
• Slip under the skin of chicken before roasting
• Include in a signature bread service
• Offer with cornbread or muffins
• Float on a bowl of soup
• Top off a baked potato
• Spread on grilled or toasted sandwich bread

Nestlé Professional Chef Mary Locke suggests the following to offer as schmears for corn on the cob, but the butters have many other uses:

• Fire Roasted Poblano Flavor Concentrate with butter, Cotija, and a squeeze of fresh lime
• Herb de Provence Flavor Concentrate and goat cheese
• Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Flavor Concentrate thinned out with a dab of good olive oil and toasted pine nuts
• Fire Roasted Jalapeño Flavor Concentrate and mashed, ripe avocado
• Chipotle Flavor Concentrate, blue cheese, and crumbled bacon

Dressings as Marinades

Many dressings, particularly vinaigrettes, include an acidic ingredient such as vinegar or citrus juice, which also serves as a tenderizer in marinades. Other common dressing ingredients that tenderize proteins include honey and yogurt (think of tandoori marinade), which also aid in flavor-boosting caramelization when cooked.

Likewise, many marinades can be used as dressings for salads and other chilled foods—perhaps with the addition of an ingredient to make them more clingy, such as oil or mayonnaise.

Creamy Sauces

Creamy, relatively neutral-flavored sauces such as béchamel, Alfredo, and cream gravies have many uses in addition to adding a luxurious touch atop cooked foods.

• Use as a replacement for cream sauce or béchamel in a casserole or au gratin
• Flavor mashed potatoes or other vegetables by substituting a creamy sauce for some of the liquid
• Customize with the addition of tomato, pesto, sautéed onions, mushrooms, crumbled bacon, and so on
• Use in cream soups, such as Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice or Seafood Bisque
• Substitute for cream sauce in a classic Spinach and Artichoke Dip recipe
• Mix with vegetables and a protein (optional) for a main course stuffed baked potato

It’s All Gravy

Talk about a menu workhorse: Gravies of all kinds are the ultimate multitaskers. in ways that go way beyond the mashed potato.

• Over hearty sandwiches like French dips, open-face turkey, and New Orleans-style po’ boy sandwiches
• As a dip for fries or tots, or for a classic poutine
• In casseroles, shepherd’s pie, and pot pies
• As a binding for meatloaf or meatball mixtures
• As a flavor-building thickener for soup
• To moisten a brunch-worthy egg strata
• In a simmer sauce for pot roast, chicken fricassee, and other braised proteins
• In quesadillas, instead of—or in addition to—cheese

Sauces = Spreads = Dips

Sauces are the true shape-shifters of the menu-making world. Depending on qualities such as flavor and thickness, a sauce can be used as-is or in additional uses such as a warm spread (for sandwiches, for instance) or a dip for finger foods.

The cheese sauce is a perfect example. The binder for mac-and-cheese and the topping for nachos and steamed broccoli can also be used to create a cheeseburger, fondue, or dip for fries. Thicken cheese sauce with a product such as cream cheese to make it more spreadable or add flavor and body with products such as crumbled cooked chorizo or crabmeat to create a dip.

Stir into scrambled eggs, mix into fritters, layer on flatbread, or mix into beer and broth with sturdy vegetables to create a soup.

Content courtesy of Nestle Professional
GreatMenusStartHere.com

750,000 jobs is roughly 6.1% of the foodservice workforce. Simply put, restaurants face a challenging path to employment recovery. And, while some progress is being made, that progress is slow to take effect. In fact, a recent report shows that one in three operators are seeing a drop in the total level of culinary skill in their kitchen staffs (Datassential, 2022).

So, what steps can you take in the while waiting for this current labor shortage to improve? Here are a few tips to help simplify back-of-house prep and improve efficiencies in your establishment.

Consider using speed scratch ingredients on your menu to help reduce prep time BOH and increase prep consistency for your staff. Examples include pre-chopped vegetables and pre-marinated and pre-seasoned proteins.

• No-prep Produce
• Labor Saving Products
• Multitasking Ingredients

Try fully cooked proteins on your menu to reduce cook and prep time in the kitchen and help all workers — regardless of skill — create entrees quicker and more efficiently.

• Hormel Fire Braised Meats
• Fully Cooked Hams
• Innovative Chicken Products
• Easy BBQ Products

Use base recipes to add cross utilization and labor-saving versatility to your operation, easily expanding menu options with only a few additional ingredients.

• Turkey Breast Base Recipes
• Find more labor-saving inspiration in our blog…

Consider investing in new technologies, equipment or innovations to implement back of house that will save time in the long run.

• Date Code Genie (Ultimate Foodservice Label Maker)
• QR Codes for Digital Menus & Ordering
• DIY Digital Menu Boards

Restaurants should be picky when hiring new employees, but they should also adjust their hiring expectations and practices. Additionally, new employees must be properly trained, and welcomed into the workplace culture–not just the open position.

• How to adjust your restaurant recruiting process during COVID-19
• Restaurant Server Training Tips, Techniques, and Best Practices

Running efficiently during these lean times is no easy task, but there are ways you can get ahead without taking shortcuts. We hope these tips are a great place start.

National Restaurant Association, 2022
Datassential One Table Report, 2022

Hillshire Farm® Bakin’ Bacon Heat-N-Serve Pizza Topping adds premium appeal to pizzas, appetizers, entrées and more. Because the par-cooked product finishes in the oven, it spreads its savory bacon flavor throughout an entire dish.

Hillshire Farm® Bakin’ Bacon Heat-N-Serve Pizza Topping will save prep time and assure ease of use for your back-of-house staff. Let more amazing bacon-y flavor bubble into your dishes with Hillshire Farm® Bakin’ Bacon Heat-N-Serve Pizza Topping.

• This product has shifted to the Hillshire Farm® Brand. It’s the same great product you know and love with a new brand name.
• Par-cooked format makes it easy for back-of-house staff to use and reduces the food safety concerns of raw bacon.
• A premium, flavorful ingredient that finishes cooking in the oven, assuring a bacon-y flavor throughout the dish.
• A great value that is more cost effective than fully cooked bacon.
• Versatile, and is perfect in a wide variety of recipes that are already on your menu.

Aloha Bacon Pizza featuring Hillshire Farm® Bakin’ Bacon

See the Full Recipe

Hillshire Farm® Bakin’ Bacon Heat-N-Serve Pizza Topping
Item# 27349
4/2.5 LB
Specs & Info

Ingredients:
Cured With: Water, Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite. May Also Contain: Smoke Flavoring, Sugar, Brown Sugar.

Serving suggestions:
Add extra flavor to a center-of-plate entrée with Hillshire Farm® Bakin’ Bacon Heat-N-Serve Pizza Topping as it finishes while in the oven, spreading that bacon taste throughout a dish.

Given the vigor in which I push “labor saving products” one might think I am getting a kickback from some of these companies. That, however, couldn’t be farther from the truth. The truth is my recent appreciation for such items comes from a desire to meet the needs of an industry experiencing labor shortages. Who can say with any certainty that the labor crunch will conclude anytime soon, or ever really subside? This, in my opinion, is enough to give labor savors valid appeal and reason for strong consideration.

Consider the fact that some labor savers can easily be taken a step or two further and used for multiple applications. One such item is Bake’n Joy muffin batter. As I like to say, what is a muffin topped with a fresh piping of frosting? A cupcake of course! What do you call muffin batter baked off in a Bundt pan? A Bundt cake of course! Bake muffin batter in a loaf pan, top with streusel, and you have a breakfast loaf cake! Perfect for buffets or as a profitable addition to your bakery case. And get this… muffin batter makes a great pancake! Who knew?! That’s at least four ways you can use one item. How’s that for cross utilization and foodservice labor saving?

Bake’n Joy Ultra Moist Pumpkin Batter
Item# 33154
1/8 lb