Quick: Name one of the top check builders. If you said “desserts,” you’re absolutely right. According to data from Technomic, 85% of consumers in a recent survey eat dessert at least once a month, and more than half (57%) eat it once a week. And that represents a lot of opportunity.

Dessert has become a huge source of add-on sales—not to mention patron satisfaction—in the past decade, and even though standards like chocolate cake and cheesecake make up the bulk of dessert sales, the dessert section is more exciting than it’s ever been.

But you don’t need a pastry chef to offer great desserts. Many of today’s popular homestyle favorites, like bread pudding, don’t require a lot of skill to make. And fully prepared desserts can be gussied up with fresh berries, flavored whipped cream or a sauce. Custom Culinary® Gold Label Crème Anglaise Sauce is a classic custard sauce that enhances many desserts. It can be customized with the addition of ingredients like bar mixes (e.g. mojito or fruited martini mixes), coffee syrups (hazelnut or Irish cream), or bourbon, rum or Kahlua®. Like all Custom Culinary® sauces, Gold Label Crème Anglaise Sauce was created by chefs to provide authentic, made-from-scratch taste and convenience in the foodservice kitchen.

Trends from the Sweet Side

Ethnic – The world is an open-minded chef’s oyster, from Hispanic dulce de leche and Asian mango sticky rice pudding, to Italian tiramisu and Japanese green tea mochi.

Mini Sweets – #1 on the National Restaurant Association’s 2008 Top 20 list is the small-dessert trend. Houlihan’s “Mini D’s” are $1.99 treats, such as Grilled S’Mores and Triple Berry Cobbler, which can be pitched to light eaters but are more often sold as $8.49 five-item “flights” for sharing. Individual desserts like cookies and cupcakes are also hot.

Classic Comforts/Traditional Favorites – Some never went away; others are staging a comeback—include crème brûlée and cheesecake (easy to signaturize with added flavors or ingredients), cakes like German chocolate and red velvet, and Mom-food specialties like crisps and crumbles, baked apples and bread pudding.

Drinkables – Dessert and drink are one in sweet beverages including grown-up malts and ice-cream sodas, exotic fruit smoothies, specialty coffee and tea drinks, and even gourmet egg creams and lambic shakes.

Savory Flavors – Sophisticated pastry chefs are introducing herbs, chiles and other ingredients normally associated with the savory side of the kitchen, such as salted caramel pudding, chipotle chocolate cake, and lavender panna cotta.

Themes and Variations – Sampler platters highlighting several different preparations of one ingredient, such as lemon or chocolate, are very popular; consider the $11 Grand Finale Tasting of Chocolate at The Orangery in Knoxville, TN: Chocolate Mousse in a Chocolate Teardrop; Almond Gâteau with Chocolate Ganache, and Vanilla Ice Cream; and Bittersweet Chocolate Custard in a Tart Shell with Chocolate Tuile.

Selling More Dessert

Here are suggestions to help sell more desserts:

• Include desserts on the main menu so that customers can be thinking about them from the time they first sit down.
• Offer a separate dessert menu again afterwards, placing it on the table rather than asking if the guest wants to see it.
• Consider a tray, trolley or table tent (depending on the concept) so patrons can see for themselves how good they are.
• Have servers suggest something to share for the table.
• Menu at least one diet-friendly option, such as fresh fruit.

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