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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We’ve got a recipe that’s not just delicious but also easy to prepare in advance! This Crab Cake Sandwich with Dill Pickle Aioli is a must-try for your menu–a simple seafood masterpiece that’s worthy of a 4-star review.

What makes this crab cake sandwich perfect for foodservice?

Crab meat is a winner: Delicious and popular, lump crab meat’s natural sweet and succulent flavors shine through in this recipe, enhanced with just a hint of Old Bay Seasoning.

Effortless Prep: These crab cakes have a short prep time, and they hold together well so you can prepare them in advance – time-saving that maximizes efficiency during service.

Aioli Elevation: It’s not just the flavor that gets elevated here. Elevate appeal (and charge accordingly) on your menu with Dill Pickle Aioli. This signature sauce from Ken’s combines the tang of chopped dill pickles and pickle juice with the creamy richness of aioli. It’s a simple addition that transforms your sandwich into a standout item, and boosts profitability.

Zero Waste, More Profit: No need to worry about leftovers; we’ve streamlined this recipe to allow you to create four, 5-7oz crab cakes (by weight) from 2 pre-portioned 8oz containers of crab meat. This eliminates waste and ensures more profit for your restaurant. It’s a no-brainer for your bottom line.

Yield 4 servings:

Ingredients:

• 16 oz crab meat (2 containers) (#115083)
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (#24753)
• 1 Egg (#4673)
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (#26274)
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (#6640)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise (#27310)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (#70717)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (#70100)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (#22101)
• Zest from 1 lemon (#26031)
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard (#22149)
• 4 Brioche buns (#27487)
• 8 slices ripe tomato, thick-sliced (#26130)
• Leaf lettuce (#10080)
• 8 oz Ken’s Dill Pickle Aioli (#28294)

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine crab meat, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, and Old Bay Seasoning. Gently mix until well incorporated, making sure not to over-mix. The crab meat should remain lumpy and intact.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, ground mustard, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and the egg until well combined.
3. Gently fold the egg mixture into the crab meat mixture until thoroughly combined. Be careful not to break up the crab meat lumps.
4. Form the mixture into 4 patties (each serving includes 2 patties). Place the patties on a plate and refrigerate them for about 30 minutes. This chilling time helps the crab cakes firm up and prevents them from falling apart during cooking.
5. Fry the crab cakes for approx. 5 minutes or until they are lightly browned and heated through. (3-5 minutes per side if coking in a pan with 1/4 cup vegetable oil.)
6. While the crab cakes are cooking, toast the brioche buns until they are crispy. Spread a generous amount of Ken’s Dill Pickle Aioli on the inside top and bottom of each bun.
7. To assemble the sandwiches, place a sautéed crab cake on the bottom half of each bun. Top with lettuce and tomato slices. Sprinkle fresh chopped parsley over the crab cake.
8. Serve your delicious Crab Cake Sandwiches with Dill Pickle Aioli!

Note: You can also customize your sandwich with additional toppings like avocado, red onion, or coleslaw if desired.

Ingredients for 16 servings:

• 64 oz crab meat (#115083 – 8, 8oz containers)
• 2 cups bread crumbs (#24753)
• 4 eggs
• 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning (#6640)
• 1 cup mayonnaise (#27310)
• 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (#70717)
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Zest from 4 lemons (#26031)
• 4 teaspoons ground mustard (#22149)
• 16 Brioche buns (#27487)
• 32 slices ripe tomato, thick-sliced (#26130)
• Leaf lettuce (#10080)
• 32 oz Ken’s Dill Pickle Aioli (#28294)

Ingredients for 48 servings:

• 192 oz crab meat (#115083 – 24, 8oz containers)
• 6 cups bread crumbs (#24753)
• 12 eggs
• 12 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 12 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning (#6640)
• 3 cups mayonnaise (#27310)
• 12 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (#70717)
• 12 teaspoons salt
• 3 teaspoons black pepper
• Zest from 12 lemons (#26031)
• 12 teaspoons ground mustard (#22149)
• 48 Brioche buns (#27487)
• 96 slices ripe tomato, thick-sliced (#26130)
• Leaf lettuce (#10080)
• 96 oz Ken’s Dill Pickle Aioli (#28294)

Tender pasta combines with briny clams in a rich broth. Fresh clams are cooked in olive oil, shallots, garlic, white wine, and black pepper until they open. The clam stock, combined with Elite Major Clam Stock Base, creates an unbeatable sauce. Italian parsley adds freshness, and optional red pepper flakes provide heat. Serve clams over pasta, ladle the sauce, and garnish with parsley. Add Parmesan or Romano cheese, and serve with fresh crusty bread for an indulgent touch.

Ingredients:

• 3 oz. Elite Major Clam Stock Base, #16595
• 80 Each Fresh Clams
• 3 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 1/4 Cups White Wine
• 10 Cloves Minced fresh Garlic
• 2 Each Minced Shallots
• 1 Quart Clam Stock
• 2 Lbs. Cooked Pasta (Linguini, Spaghetti, Fettuccine, etc.)
• 1 1/2 Cups Fresh Chopped Italian Parsley
• 1/2 Each (Optional)Zest of Lemon
• (Optional)Red Pepper Flakes
• (Optional) Fresh Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese

Directions:

1. Cook pasta al dente
2. Rinse clams and be sure they are tightly closed
3. Bring one quart of water to the boil and add clam base
4. Set clam broth aside
5. In a pot with a cover add olive oil and sauté (lightly) shallot and garlic
6. Add clams, white wine, and black pepper
7. Cover and cook until clams open. DO NOT force clams to open. If they do not open, discard them.
8. When the clams are cooked, remove from pot and drain collecting all liquid
9. Return liquid to pot and any ingredients that are loose
10. Add half clam stock to pot (fresh clams can vary greatly in the amount of saltiness. Be sure and taste broth before adding all stock. If it is naturally salty do not add more clam broth)
11. Return clams with 2/3 of fresh chopped parsley
12. Add red pepper flakes, if desired, and toss
13. Divide warm linguini into 10 soup plates.
14. Lightly top pasta with fresh lemon zest if desired
15. Divide clams between dishes and top with hot clam sauce
16. Garnish dishes with remaining parsley
17. Freshly grated cheese is optional, not traditional.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MAJOR  SEE MORE RECIPES

Chef Tim takes chowder one step further with the addition of one simple ingredient, creating a item for you menu and adding additional profit to your bottom line. In this quick video you’ll see how to transform your existing chowder into hearty revenue with biscuit dough. Never made a “chowda”? Start with the basics outlined in this video!

Remember, we stock a fantastic variety of premium, ready-made, heat-and-serve chowders that could easily be customized into a wide variety of profitable pot pies for your menu. And of course we stock a number of biscuit products with which to top your crocks, including the one seen in this video, Rich’s Country Jumbo Biscuit Dough, item #11100.

Chowda Pot Pie up!

We all know that most visitors traveling to, and vacationing within New England, are looking to slurp down a wicked good amount of chowder. In some cases, your chowder might be the biggest reason for a repeat visit to your establishment year after year. Featuring a signature chowder on your menu could be just the ticket for those return customers or an easy up-sell by waitstaff. In this video recipe, I’ll demonstrate the basic steps of preparing a delicious chowder, from which you can derive your creative variations.

If preparing a unique chowder from scratch falls outside your operation’s current capabilities, we stock a fantastic variety of premium, ready-made, heat-and-serve chowders. These versatile products can even be used as a base layer for creating your restaurant’s signature chowder. For example, you could add chorizo to corn chowder, a dash of zaatar to fish chowder, or a pinch of saffron to lobster chowder.

House-made, premade, or premade as a base; consider chowder’s place on your menu and its potential impact on your average ticket. And, when you’re ready, here’s a simple way to add more profit with just one additional ingredient–I call it “chowda pot pie“.

Chowdah up!

Traditional New England staple or creative menu offering? There is no right or wrong answer, as it greatly depends on your individual preference. Personally, I tend to evaluate the classics and come up with ingredients that play well within the traditional palate. Baked haddock is a perfect example of a classic dish that can be taken down several unique avenues. By adding grilled corn and oregano, which is my favorite all-purpose herb, I was able to give this New England staple a creative twist without reinventing the wheel.

Why stop there? Push the limits of your baked stuffed haddock dish by adding alfredo sauce and torn basil leaves for an Italian twist, or bake with sliced chorizo, corn, and saffron butter for a Spanish twist.

Traditional or creatively elevated? It’s up to you!

The real key to enticing patrons to purchase seafood from the menu is ultimately the same as what brings them into a restaurant in the first place: foods and flavors they can’t replicate at home.

Many consumers find preparing seafood a daunting task because they are unfamiliar with how to cook it and don’t want to purchase seafood simply to have it ruined—especially with a more complicated recipe. For this reason, seafood at home is often kept simple, with salt, pepper, and lemon juice—perhaps served alongside classic accompaniments such as clarified butter, tartar sauce, or cocktail sauce.

Unexpected flavor pairings, bold seasonings, and creative ways of serving seafood are where operators come in. Global inspiration serves as a rich starting point, and menu trends show that seafood dishes at trendy restaurants and specialty grocers are more regularly featuring flavors like sriracha, curry, ponzu, maple, and Hunan.

Bellagreen, a fast-casual chain in Plano, Texas, not only plays up global flavor in one of their seasonal specials but makes a familiar concept feel altogether new. Fish tacos are familiar, but using salmon in their Rainbow Slaw Paleo Salmon Tacos makes it more surprising—especially tossed with veggie slaw, spices, and house vinaigrette—served in paleo almond-flour tortillas. Habanero sauce is served on the side for a final delivery of flavor and heat.¹

Seasonal ingredients offer another natural avenue to explore in the creation of unique seafood dishes. Consumers applaud this approach too, with 58% loving or liking the seasonal dishes they find on menus.2 Think about how local, seasonal ingredients fit together in a new rendition of a dish people know—or even how global influence might factor in. On their seasonal menu, Rubio’s Coastal Grill features their Chipotle Honey Argentinian Shrimp bowl made with grilled shrimp, handmade guacamole, creamy chipotle sauce, and signature chipotle honey sauce.

¹Nations Restaurant News, July 2, 2020; Bellagreen Menu, May 2022
²Datassential Get Smarter, February 17, 2022

Content courtesy of High Liner Foods and GreatMenusStarthere.com

It’s not just my preparation, and the fun ingredients used, that elevate this salmon dish from salmon to slammin’. It also has a lot to do with the taste, texture, and nutritional value of salmon in general. Salmon is a popular protein-rich, low-calorie, center of the plate item that fits comfortably on most menus. Salmon is packed with omega-3s (good fats) and an abundance of vitamins A, B, & D which takes this fish from simple ingredient to lifestyle choice – and a tasty one at that!

In this recipe I’m using Ocean Horizons, 8oz Salmon Portions Item #26982.

Ocean Horizons® Atlantic Salmon is raised in the clean, cold waters of Chile and fed a carefully controlled diet. Atlantic farm-raised salmon offers a more economical price point versus wild Sockeye salmon without sacrificing quality.

Ocean Horizons® 8oz Salmon Portions

Ocean Horizons® Deep-Skinned Atlantic Salmon Portions with KeepFresh are Best Aquaculture Practices Certified (BAP). Farm-raised Atlantic salmon is known for its mild flavor, consistent red-orange color, moderately high oil content and consistent supply which lends itself to virtually any cooking technique.

Item #26982 Atlantic Salmon 20, 8oz portions

• Phosphate Free, IVP, Frozen
• Accuracy in sizing and portion counts
• Strict in-house Quality Control management
• Deep-Skinned, for a more consistent flavor vs. commodity-trimmed product
• KeepFresh, a patented, all-natural, culinary technique to retain vital moisture

Features & Benefits PDF

KeepFresh

KeepFresh, a patented, all-natural, culinary technique to retain vital moisture. This natural moisture contains only the respective fish protein, water, and salt. The KeepFresh process involves marinating the fish with its own protein, inside and out, to lock in natural juices prior to flash freezing. This protects the fish throughout the freezing, storage, and cooking processes. Enhancing the natural moisture provides an added “forgiveness” during the cooking process that mitigates the effects of overcooking and hold times.

• Protects the fish from the effects of dehydration in frozen storage
• Promotes “forgiveness” during the cooking process and hold times
• Provides a premium eating experience

KeepFresh Overview PDF