Food service menu trending: Duke University's chef ventures into ghost kitchens; smoking meat during the pandemic

Onsite food service is in flux. The pandemic has meant a series of adaptations and invention among those who make and serve food. Chefs, directors and dietitians have taken the turbulent present tense and used it to make menu moves including creating and testing new items, adapting concepts for grab and go and mobile ordering, streamlining some menus and leaning into new opportunities. Here are 16 ways onsite food service programs are redefining the menu during coronavirus.

One of those chefs is Rob Kinneen at Duke University. It’s yet unknown how many Duke University students will return to the Durham, N.C., campus for classes, but Duke Dining is preparing for social distancing, mobile ordering and more as Alaska-born Chef Kinneen pivots into a new world. One of the new programs they're unveiling? Repurposing catering into ghost kitchen for the fall semester.

And chefs are using flavors familiar to people to provide comfort during this time. We the people keep returning to one American food in particular: Barbecue. Here’s a look at some of the best ways operators are sharing smoked meats with the masses.

See what else was trending in foodservice menus this month.