Clabber Girl Culinary Brief
Topic: Drinkable Desserts
It may be the right time to take it up a notch with your beverages.
Adding “drinkable desserts” to your dessert list and dessert cocktails to your bar offerings this spring can revitalize your menu and fatten your cash register.
Hitting the Food Channel survey charts at number two among dessert trends, and the NRA’s 2010 Chef Survey as the sixth hottest trend in the dessert category, drinkable desserts provide creative new opportunities to satisfy the nation’s sweet tooth. The “sippables”, once limited to desserts of the milkshake variety, have opened up imaginative new ways to refresh your dessert and beverage menus. With beverages offering the highest margins on most menus, that’s good news for restaurateurs.
Among the more profitable ideas for drinkable desserts are those that feature adult beverages. Alcohol sales are holding steady, according to studies, even as average check receipts are down. In this economy, you’ve got to play to your strengths, so while customers may retreat from the high dollar entrée, the perceived value in a dessert that is also a cocktail (or is it a cocktail that is also a dessert?) provides a way to recapture lost revenue.
Spring is a great time to launch new menu innovations. As temperatures warm up, lighter fare takes the stage, making drinkable desserts more appealing. Clabber Girl’s Executive Chef Eddie knows nothing says “spring”, like the “wearin’ o’ the green”.
Chef has created a simple, affordable base recipe, featuring liqueur infused Royal cheesecake mixes that offer exciting possibilities for creative variations. For a St. Patrick’s Day crowd pleaser, Chef Eddie suggests starting with a basic Cheese Cake Cordials mixture, then layer in a little of this, a little of that and -- luck of the Irish, you’ve go an Irish Kiss! See Chef Eddie’s recipes for the base recipe, Irish Kiss and Irish Monk below.
Re-engineer Your Menu for Spring
Speaking of tweaking, industry experts suggest that a few changes to your menu can make a difference in the bottom line. Here are a few ideas:
Balance your menu. Offset the increased costs of premium menu items, which tend to be the least profitable, by using lower-priced ingredients. The Royal dessert line offers the affordability and flexibility you’ll need to make cost-savings adjustments without sacrificing quality, taste or creativity.
Seeing dollar signs. The Culinary Institute of America and Cornell University showed that customers spent an average of 8 percent more when menus were printed without dollar signs or the word “dollars” in the list of prices. Smaller font sizes on the price helps too.
The value of training. Training servers to know everything about a restaurant’s dishes is a crucial part of menu engineering. A server is your most important connection to your customers. Their product knowledge can make a huge difference in what a customer orders.
Don’t forget about beverages. Beverages usually aren’t included in price-fixed meal deals and offer higher margins that most menu items.
Adore chocolate? Enjoy cheesecake? Now your customers can enjoy this delectable infusion offlavors together with the introduction of the NEW Royal Chocolate Cheesecake Mix! Maximum Flavor with minimal preparation. Just add milk! 
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