3 tips for creating a ‘spooktacular’ Halloween culinary experience for your diners!

Whether you love the occasion, or the sheer thought of Halloween has you turning in your grave,there’s no question that October the 31st is date that provides restaurants with a chance to increase trade and engage with Halloween-loving consumers…that’s with the right menu options and creativity of course ;)

So, how can restaurants that are able to open at this time ensure a fa-boo-lous culinary experience is executed this Halloween?

In this blog-post, we reveal our top three tips..

Tip 1: Make the most of traditional Halloween-themed produce and flavours

From blood orange and toffee apples, right through to cinnamon spices and barmback bakes, the variety of traditional Halloween produce and flavours that caterers can use in their dishes and drinks is truly extensive.

Arguably though, the one food that truly screams Halloween is the humble pumpkin: a beautifully versatile fruit (yep, it's not a vegetable!) that can be used in a whole host of savoury and sweet dishes.

So, if there’s one ingredient that you make sure you use to create Halloween dishes, then make sure it’s a pumpkin – you can’t go wrong!

Tip 2: Deceive customers with culinary Trompe-l'œils

Culinary trompe-l’oels (that’s foods that ‘trick the eye’ by looking like other objects to you and me) are sure to add ‘wow-factor’ to any Halloween themed menus; after-all,Halloween is all about masquerade, so why not get creative by disguising your foods?

For the kids, how about whipping up a gruesome brain cake, or gooey cheese puff eyeballs?

For caterers that are looking to create more sophisticated, adult-appropriate trompe-l’oels, then a goblet of blood cocktail or mocktail is sure to go down a treat!

Tip 3: Come up with a ‘trick or treat’ concept

Unfortunately for kids, the tradition of trick or treating is off the table for 2020 due to new Covid guidelines. However, that doesn’t mean caterers can’t bring the sentiment of trick or treating to the tables of their customers, right?

For a culinary twist on ‘trick or treating’, then why not place a trick or treat box on the place-mats of every child diner? Within this box could be a simple Halloween riddle, sweet-treat or a spooky-themed colouring activity!

Restaurants can also adapt the trick or treat tradition for their adult guest too, perhaps by offering them a ‘treat’ in the form of a money-off voucher or free drink?

These little gestures and ideas are ones that customers will truly appreciate now more so than ever. So this year, make sure to think outside the box and make your Halloween offering as special as possible!”