Menu Mix: Fruit Salad Paradise

Felix Krishna

Our wellness station is self serve, and in the summer we feature a lot of produce from local farmers: raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and stone fruits. We keep it undressed. If fruit is harvested at the right time, it should have the sugar content it needs to be sweet.

“Another great thing to do with fruit is to make a plated salad: a ‘steak’ of watermelon with feta cheese on top, drizzled with basil-infused oil. We make these to order at a la minute stations, just to mix things up.”
—Craig Tarrant, Director of Culinary Advancement, Compass Group supporting Microsoft

“When you can get a good variety of fruits, that really makes the plate pop. For our exotic fruit salad that we serve at lunch functions as well as on a buffet, we use: cherries, white peaches, mangos, lychees, grapes, kiwi, papaya, rambutan, compressed melons, apple slices, raspberries, strawberries and grapes, with balsamic vinegar and mint (pictured above).”
—Felix Krishna, Associate Director-Catering and Retail, Stanford Hospitality

“I’m a fruit salad purist at heart. I’m pretty much against adding things like pudding mix or any dressing to fruit. For catered events, we take a mix of available fresh fruit, put it in an oversized bowl and tip it on its side onto a mirror.

The different fruits are cascading from the bowl to give the appearance that the bowl has tipped over and the fruit is spilling out. We then add a few fresh herbs to garnish it.”
—Kyle Davis, General Manager, The Café, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA

Recipe: Avocado Fruit Salad With Lemonade Dressing

Recipe and Photo: Chef Aquiles Chavez for Avocados from Mexico

Yield: 4 portions (1 cup each)  
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon ground chile piquin (optional)
¾ cup fresh pineapple cubes (about ¾-inch)
¾ cup fresh papaya cubes (about ¾-inch)
¾ cup fresh quartered strawberries
¾ cup jicama cubes (about ½-inch)
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped mint
1 firm-ripe avocado from Mexico, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks

In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, honey and chile piquin, if using. Stir in the pineapple, papaya, strawberries, jicama, jalapeño and mint until evenly coated with the lemonade dressing. Gently fold in the avocado and serve.