It’s heating up in the kitchen this year, starting summer early with the King’s Coronation which will hopefully attract tens of thousands of visitors to the country to witness the auspicious occasion. Over the next few months, there’s still plenty of opportunity to have a sizzling season and to get you started, our panel of experts tell us all about their favourite dishes. Whether you are going big on BBQ, or simply keeping it seasonal with the freshest ingredients, it’s time to step up and get inspired!
ANETA JARZMIK General Manager, Hard Rock Cafe Manchester
When it comes to our most popular summer dishes, it’s probably the Grilled Salmon Noodle Bowl as a refreshing option, and a personal favourite too. It’s a perfect combination of healthy and delicious, making it the ideal choice for summer; it went down really well in 2022. For drinks to cool customers down on a hot day, our Blackberry Sparkling Sangria and Passionfruit Mai Tai are great – a fruity and refreshing twist to traditional cocktails. If you have a sweet tooth and want something other than just an ice cream, our homemade Hot Fudge Brownie is sure to satisfy your cravings – warm chocolate brownie topped with vanilla bean ice cream, hot fudge, chocolate sprinkles, fresh whipped cream, and a cherry. Naughty but nice.
REBECCA MANFREDI Managing Director, Suncream Ice Cream
For those needing an alternative to milk-based or lactose free ingredients but without having to compromise on taste and texture, there’s the dairy free Love Vegan range from Suncream Ice Cream available in 3 well-loved classic flavours: Natural Vanilla Bean, Strawberry with Strawberry Ripple sauce and Chocolate with Chocolate Ripple sauce. There are so many ice creams out there, which although vegan, still contain at least one of the major allergens such as soya, there seems little point in removing one allergen ingredient and replacing it with another, so we are proud that ours is free from all 14 declarable allergens. Our Love Vegan ice cream is something everyone can enjoy and still delivers a great flavour and a lovely creamy texture.
JOEL CARR Development Chef, Young’s Foodservice
Summer dining is all about fresh food, lighter meals, and creating delicious dishes that utilise all those seasonal fruits and vegetables that we miss in the colder weather. A great opportunity for caterers to offer the perfect summer dish is by making delicious barbecued Mediterranean fish kebabs! Featuring Young’s MSC Certified Wild Alaska Pollock and Salmon pieces marinated in lemon juice, paprika, garlic and chilli flakes before being skewered with peppers, courgettes and tomatoes and finally popping on the BBQ. These kebabs are not only delicious but are simple to create and perfect for the summer dining experience.
KAREN GREEN Marketing Manager, Aimia Foods
Summer is all about the sweet refreshing taste of a creamy ice cream or milkshake. With the wonderful concoction of different flavours to add to the already existing palate of summer, children, adults and anyone with a sweet tooth look forward to their favourite sweet drink while basking in the sun. A favourite among customers in those summer months is the Raspberry and White Chocolate Shmoo Thickshake, an ideal combination of those sweet summer berries and the creamy succulence that white chocolate can bring. Watch sales fly as you combine it with a frosted doughnut or marzipan blanket.
DANIEL HEFFY Chef, NORD
I have a really sweet tooth, so I love to make homemade ice creams. At NORD, we will be producing all our ice creams in house. For me, ice cream is a great opportunity to use up large amounts of strawberries in the summer when they’re cheap and at their best, the same goes for all summer berries. Baked Alaska will be a staple on the NORD dessert menu, it’s perfect for sharing and if you have a good ice cream, it’s very simple to make. Then, all you need is a cake base and creamy Italian meringue and you have the perfect dessert for all occasions.
