Dressing up

Like an artist’s palette, a relish range brings both colour and pleasure to boost plated food, but with a healthy dollop of profit as well. Sheila Eggleston reports.

Lamb without mint sauce or burgers without ketchup is unthinkable. Even though there are more new flavours coming into foodservice, these examples of traditional combinations have managed to transcend the realms of time and helped enhance meals and offer value for money.

Kerry Foodservice says its fruity accompaniments under its Margetts brand "deliver a punchy fl avour and classic texture". Food development manager Gerard Murphy explains: "Whether it's a dollop of apple sauce served alongside roast pork, a tangy cranberry sauce to partner turkey, or the sharp kick of redcurrant jelly to complement lamb, condiments make a meal. None more so than the classic Sunday roast.

"Roasts in restaurants and pubs have recently taken an exciting new direction, with caterers offering larger joints for sharing. From whole corn fed chickens to anchovy studded legs of lamb, chefs can deliver stronger, fresher flavours by cooking bigger cuts for the whole table to enjoy.

"This partnering of sweet fruit with savoury meals goes back hundreds of years, as the acidity of the fruit aids the digestion of what could often be tough cuts of meat," he says. "While the quality of meat has improved over the years, the tradition has fortunately stayed with us."

Murphy says if caterers are looking to stretch the usage of condiments beyond the side of plate serving, they can. "Cranberry sauce makes a great salsa – just mix it with some fi nely diced red onion, red chillies, red peppers, chopped coriander and fl at leaf parsley for a great accompaniment to chicken and pepper skewers or a ploughman's lunch.

"Or heat a little port and mix in some redcurrant jelly to accompany deep fried camembert."

Spicing up menus however continues to be a trend as consumers' tastes broaden because of travel, the influence of celebrity chefs and media exposure.

Latest additions to AAK Foodservice's Lion range include two healthier dressings with a European flavour: balsamic and herb, and house dressing that contains white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.

"The new low fat additions to the Lion range offer less than 3% fat without compromising taste," says marketing manager Rachel Neale. She adds that side orders of salads and jacket potatoes will also benefit from other dressings such as its sour cream and chives, garlic and herb, and honey and mustard, "making them into a gourmet experience".

Some dishes aren't complete without the right condiment, according to Atlantic Foods commercial director Nigel Parkes, and is the reason why they should not be overlooked. "It's those small additions that can make a good meal great so choosing the best condiments is crucial. "From a caterer's perspective many are extremely versatile in the kitchen.

Tomato ketchup and mayonnaise can form the basis for other sauces and dressings, such as thousand island dressing or cocktail sauce.

"Despite being seen as classic individual sauces, ketchup and barbecue sauce can also be found in a variety of dishes especially Chinese, American Tex Mex and Mexican."

Atlantic Foods already offers tomato ketchup and mayonnaise, but recently acquired Oasis Foods, a UK based manufacturer renowned for its premium mayonnaise, which it believes will strengthen its position in the market.

This year Heinz Foodservice's development chefs aim to ensure that their company's front of house sauces meet the mark in terms of taste and cost effectiveness. "We understand how tempting it is for caterers to trade down on complementary parts of a meal during a downturn to cut costs," says brand manager Scott McKinnon. "However, if we take pub food customers as an example, research shows that the food offering is more crucial than the fact they might have to pay a few extra pennies, with 70% highlighting choice of food as the most important factor when eating out and just 12% deeming 'acceptable price' as their primary motivation.

"Another key insight from the pub world is that more than 20% of customers want to know the fat content of their food and one in fi ve wants to know calorie content," he says. "You might be telling them what's in a dish itself, but are you giving them healthier, quality options alongside? "At Heinz, this is our business. You only have to look at our tomato ketchup's credentials, which speaks volumes about how good it actually is and why it's not worth compromising on. Hence, of a foodservice tomato sauce market estimated to be worth £65.4m, Heinz tomato ketchup has a 64.7% value share.

"The emphasis on healthier food has also paved the way for renewed focus on new flavours and ingredients, plus launches in salad accompaniments to inject excitement into the category. With a third of adults now choosing low fat or reduced calorie dressings, it made sense for us to launch Heinz light mayonnaise into foodservice."

Heinz says that according to latest statistics, it makes seven of the top 10 sauces sold in the UK and it sells more than 165 million bottles in the UK each year [Nielsen]. This year it embarked on its biggest combined retail and foodservice campaign for five years on its iconic brands.

Yet it will be interesting to see how new flavours now coming to the market stand the test of time.

According to AB World Foods (ABWF), Caribbean food is currently the fastest growing sector within the UK ethnic food market, with a 52% value growth in the last five years worth £41m at retail.

Fuelling this growth is Caribbean foodie Levi Roots, who was publicly acclaimed following his success on the BBC's Dragon's Den programme with his Reggae Reggae sauce. Since then he has launched Love Apple tomato ketchup and Fiery Guava into the retail sector.

In May he will be launching two relishes – mango and chilli, which is a mango based sauce combining Caribbean herbs and scotch bonnet chillies, and Reggae Reggae relish, blending the original Reggae Reggae sauce flavour with a mix of vegetables.

The retail sector usually gives an indication of how far sauces have come with Nielsen data showing that table sauces are worth £680m [Nielsen Scantrack 52 w/e 20.02.10]. These new relishes are also set to revitalise and add value to the £141m pickles, chutneys and relishes category, with the relishes particularly growing at a rate of 14% year on year.

ABWF new business development controller Howard Morrish says: "With barbecue season fast approaching, consumers are on the look out for new ways to excite their taste buds, so we're delighted to be launching mango chilli and Reggae Reggae relish – perfect with burgers, sandwiches or even as a base for a Caribbean inspired canapé."