WQRF Rockford
Tue, September 24, 2024 at 1:08 PM PDT

HOST:
And joining us tonight to talk about the future of food is Chef Alvaro Lima. Can you share with us the current trends that chefs and diners are driving today?

CHEF ALVARO:
Thank you. Yes, absolutely.
So we have modernized comfort foods, low-waste menus, irresistible vegetables, local abundance, and the new sharing.

HOST:
Yeah, and you have a lot of dishes in front of us. Tell us about them.

CHEF ALVARO:
For modernized comfort foods, we actually have French Onion Ramen. This puts a modern twist on a comfort food by incorporating caramelized onions.

For low-waste menus, we have Ostiones al Escabeche. This utilizes every part of the vegetable so we can cut back on food waste. As you can see here, I have the full mushrooms: stems, caps, everything.

For irresistible vegetables, we’re truly making vegetables the star of the plate. Here I have some spicy garbanzo beans made into a falafel, a little roasted potatoes, some pickled vegetables, and some fresh tomatoes.

For local abundance, we have some beet and mushroom sliders. This is about being able to share the story from the farmers we’re sourcing our local produce from, and making dishes a little more sustainable. We also incorporated our back-of-house Hellmann’s Vegan Mayonnaise.

And one of my favorites is the new sharing. This is a modern take on tapas. Here we have acorn squash dumplings paired with some trendy sauces like salsa macha and a charcoal aioli.

HOST:
You keep mentioning “local.” How has shopping local helped shape menus today?

CHEF ALVARO:
Basically, what we’re trying to do is make things trendier, sharing this with operators and chefs, showing how they can still create things profitably, make them easy for the back of the house, and share the story of where they’re purchasing their ingredients, where they’re sourcing their produce, and their commitment to sustainability.

HOST:
You mentioned in all your dishes, and we see this here, vegetables. That seems to be a major trend right now. How can we change our dishes to make them more refined at home?

CHEF ALVARO:
Absolutely. Vegetables are the new thing right now. What I like to do at home is take those vegetables, whether it’s potatoes or roasted carrots, and then fold in some fresh herbs, maybe a little citrus, vinegar, and then tie all that together with Hellmann’s mayonnaise to create a wonderful balanced aioli.

Or, if I’m feeling like something a little more savory, I like to use our Knorr Professional Bouillon. You can sprinkle a little bit of that into a sauce you’re preparing for grilled chicken or maybe a soup you’re making for the fall.

HOST:
Where can people go for more information or to get some of these recipes?

CHEF ALVARO:
Your viewers can download the full trend report at UnileverFoodSolutions.us. There they can gather all the recipes to these wonderful dishes, as well as tips and tricks they can use in their own kitchens.

HOST:
Perfect. Thank you, Chef Alvaro, for joining us tonight.

CHEF ALVARO:
Thank you so much for having me.