Squash doesn’t seem like the most charismatic of vegetables. Even the name sounds like a failure. But many chefs are into them. They say each one has its own unique qualities, with summer varieties offering fresh, clean tastes and winter ones providing sweetness and a sort of implied richness, despite their low fat content, that can help lighter dishes seem more satisfying.
The difference between chefs’ love for squash and consumer perception might be reflected in Technomic’s Ignite menu data, which indicates that mentions of squash on United States menus overall decreased by 7% between the end of 2022 and the end of 2023. But butternut squash soup mentions are up by 19.6%, and squash mentions in fine-dining restaurants are up by 8%.
One big squash advocate is Dan Barber, chef of Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., and Family Meal at Blue Hill in New York City.
Barber also is the founder of a seed company, Row 7, that essentially got its start developing new squash varieties, including the popular koginut, a variation of butternut that is now grown nationwide.
Why invisible technology continues to be the most important thing for restaurants
Employees want more now, so it's time to invest
Here's how eatertainment is evolving and sticking around for a long time
Why most restaurants aren't turning to discounting to show value to customers now
Amid Red Lobster's downfall, what can the restaurant do?
Why Chipotle's extreme focus on this one thing has paid off
Why you should stay nimble with your restaurant's social media
How Sweetgreen has benefitted from its recent success
Why Papa Johns may be losing its competitive edge in the pizza segment
How Applebee's is planning to turn things around
How Dutch Bros pulled ahead of its biggest competition this quarter
How big restaurant chains are trying to get in on the growing coffee segment
Why Starbucks is financially shaky right now
Why Yum Brands had its first negative quarter since the pandemic
How Domino's is benefitting from this big change
How Chipotle is bucking industry trends
How third-party delivery could possibly be legislated federally
Chipotle, Starbucks workers are citing burnout. Why?
Digging deeper into the Starbucks Supreme Court case and its implications
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
HCI Leadership Revolution
Human Capital Leadership
The Power of Music Thinking
BusinessWISE
Business Wars