Article

Spilling the 'beans' on Fast Casual Exec Summit

Panelists will give tips on menu development.

October 5, 2012 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Not only will attendees of the Fast Casual Executive Summit learn about developing new menu items during "Product Innovation: From Ideation to Launch," they'll also get to taste recipes from one of the industry's culinary leaders, Eric Justice of Culinary Concept Group.

Justice, who has cooked for top concepts including Pappas Group, Carlson Restaurants, Rare Hospitality and PF Changs, joins Louis Basile, CEO of Wildflower Bread, on the Oct. 22 panel to share insight into the creative research and development process involved in turning a food trend into a menu staple.

"How we start with an idea, vet that idea and generate that idea into an actual dish to test on our guests," Justice said.

As a bonus, attendees will get to try one of Justice's trending menu items, a white bean-tomatillo salad with chipotle dressing.

"I chose beans as the base for our recipe because they are trending now," Justice said. "There are a lot of fun heirloom beans out there, and chefs are using them in non-traditional ways now, like salads instead of in a soup or simply stewed with protein. Today's bean dishes, like mine, are lighter, fresher and allow the flavor as well as texture of the bean to show through."

Peter Truitt, CEO of Truitt Brothers, will moderate the session.

Read more about the seventh annual Fast Casual Executive Summit, which runs Oct. 21-23 in San Diego.

Cover: Iman Mosaad

About Cherryh Cansler

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Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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