No doubt about it, sauces can make the menu. A good sauce can do a lot for a foodservice operation: add value or support premium pricing, introduce an exciting new flavor profile, or create a high-impact signature item. It depends on the sauce and how you use it.

Not surprisingly, sauce usage is booming in foodservice. According to Technomic Information Services*, sauce usage for the Top 500 chains was up 4.6% for the six months ended June 2008 versus the year-earlier period, and showed a whopping 10% surge for the trendsetting Emerging Chain and Top Independent sectors. This collective gain of 5.9% for the entire sampling suggests interesting things for the sauce category in the months ahead, as operators continue to compete for their share of the dining-out budget.

Sauce as a Sales Builder

In many successful restaurants, sauce has become the newest menu add-on. The trend may have started with the recent wave of signature steakhouses—places where a la carte side dishes like creamed spinach and au gratin potatoes are already widely popular—but it has spread to other kinds of operations that specialize in grilled foods.

At BLT Steak, Laurent Tourendel’s popular steakhouse mini chain—with locations in seven major cities—sauces are one of the menu supplements, along with more familiar sides like vegetables, potatoes and specialty mushrooms. For $3 a pop, customers can choose among classic steak sauce, BBQ, 3 Mustards, Béarnaise, Roquefort, Peppercorn, Horseradish, Red Wine and Chimichurri, as well as sauces intended for fish including Cilantro Mayonnaise, Ginger Ketchup and Caper Brown Butter. Not only does this approach allow customers to choose and sample the sauce or sauces they want—many larger parties order several to share—but it also serves as a valuable source of add-on sales that are simple for the server to sell, and easy on the kitchen during the height of a busy meal rush.
And at Croton Creek, in Croton Falls, NY, the menu lists $3 a la carte sauces (Creamy Gorgonzola, Syrah Demi-Glace, Green Peppercorn Brandy, Shallot Red Wine Reduction and Cajun Cream Sauce) and toppings (Horseradish Cream Sauce, Herbed Truffle Butter, Smokey Avocado Butter, Stilton Blue, Chives And Authentic Chimichurri) as well as the $24 “Assemblage,” which includes the complete selection of sauces and toppings.

The Premium Advantage

Even if you’re not charging extra for sauces, including a distinctive sauce as part of a menu item can help support premium pricing. In fact, according to Scott Gilbert, Custom Culinary® Corporate Executive Chef, 3 ounces of sauce served in a ramekin or gravy boat would cost about 90 cents to serve, and can command a premium of $2 to $4 or more, depending on the overall menu price point.

At Vesta Dipping Grill, in Denver, the entire concept is predicated in part on signature sauces: The extensive list of wood-grilled entrees ranges from items like Hanger Steak Skewers and Loin of Lamb to Crispy Chicken and Garlic Grilled Scallops, and customers then choose three sauces from an array of three dozen sweet, savory and spicy options. These include Thai Mango Sweet and Sour, Rose Blossom Yogurt, Pistachio Mint, Roasted Corn, Green Chili Gastrique and Tamarind Chipotle. Many of the same sauces are paired specifically with appetizers, such as Samosas with red curry and roasted corn sauces, and spicy hoisin chicken dumplings with sweet chili ginger and yuzu soy sauces.

Now that’s a saucy menu.

*Source: MenuMonitor, January-June 2007 versus January-June 2008, Technomic Information Serivces.

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