Consistency is key for labor shortage woes

Amid unprecedented labor challenges, College & University foodservice operators are working with skeleton crews and trimmed menus—but many have the same amount of customers to serve, which can present problems in the kitchen. Keeping up with student demand, for many operators, means simplifying food prep work.

Some of the most popular comfort foods on menus include ingredients that can be difficult to work with in high-volume dining facilities. For instance, cheese sauces made from scratch take time and skill to make, plus they have a relatively short shelf life, which can lead to waste. They are also tricky to chill and reheat, as applying heat to a cheese sauce can cause the sauce to break, or separate.

In these situations, a great solution is to use consistent ingredients, such as those from Land O’Lakes, to ensure that the food being served looks and tastes great no matter what. Extra Melt® products from Land O’Lakes offer fast-melting and superior hot-hold capability, which means they help make dishes come together quickly and easily. What’s more, their value-adding formats—loaves, pre-shredded and sauces—give operators the functionality to save hours back-of-house or the versatility they need to create an assortment of crowd-pleasing dishes.

Working with consistent ingredients designed to perform the same way every time they’re used can give dining directors peace of mind, as it helps ensure customer satisfaction and can lessen waste, plus they offer an additional benefit—they’re reliable even in settings where kitchen staff may not be as experienced. 

With some recipes, the dish needs to be prepared a specific way with little room for error, and if a worker gets sidetracked or simply isn’t aware of the potential for recipe mishaps, the results can not only be costly and wasteful, but can also throw off kitchen timing, which can mean longer wait times for customers’ orders. In short, it’s best to use products that take the guesswork out of the recipe and that staff can trust to work every time.

Land O Lakes® Extra Melt® products, for example, offer that consistency. Chef Daniel Kalil, Commercial Foodservice Product Specials with Land O’Lakes Foodservice says, “As a chef, I was always looking for ways to make life easier for our cooks. Our products deliver premium dairy ingredients that are delicious, easy-to-use and consistent.”

Speed-scratch offerings, such as Extra Melt® Yellow or White Cheese Sauces, make pastas, nachos, soups and sandwiches come together in a breeze, without staff needing to worry about watching a clock as a sauce simmers. Another option, pre-shredded cheese, means operators don’t have to have staff spend time shredding cheese for various applications, including salad bars, as toppings on an array of dishes, for sandwiches and burgers and more.

When using ingredients that perform the same way every time they’re used, operators can focus their time and attention on other business priorities like menu development or employee recruitment and training—so they can rest assured the food being served looks and tastes great.

With Land O’Lakes, you can choose from an array of consistent, high-quality dairy products in a variety of formats designed to meet the needs of high-volume college and university foodservice facilities. To learn more about Extra Melt® products, click here.