More and more restaurants are cooking with local ingredients, but why? What makes local ingredients so special? The truth is there are a number of benefits to using local foods in your restaurant. Whether you’re using locally raised beef or locally grown vegetables, it’s good for your business. The following are just a few of the benefits of cooking with local foods.
Freshness and Quality
When you order produce from across the country, you’re getting fruits and vegetables that were picked before they were ripe. When you buy local foods, you’re getting the freshest produce available. There are times when the produce you pick up at the local farmer’s market was harvested that morning. It doesn’t get any fresher than this. This means that your dishes are going to taste much better and your customers are definitely going to notice.
Eco-Friendly Option
Local foods allow your restaurant to create a smaller carbon footprint. This is because the foods you’re using are coming from local sources, rather than thousands of miles away. Some restaurants even grow fruits and vegetables in their own gardens, which greatly reduces the miles.
Inspires Creativity
When you’re working with local ingredients, you’re forced to create dishes based on what’s available. This means that you will change your menu on a regular basis and keep customers coming in to see what’s new. Customers will never feel like they’ve tried everything on your menu so there’s no chance that they’ll get bored.
Draws in More Customers
Local foods draw in more customers because more and more people are looking for ways to support local businesses, go green, and to eat the highest quality food. When you see a restaurant that claims to use local ingredients, there’s just something welcoming about it. It’s more like eating at a friend’s house than a restaurant.
Is Great for the Local Economy
Last, but not least, the simple act of using local ingredients can greatly boost the economy of your city. When you buy from farmers, they have more money to spend in local shops and those that work in local shops have more to spend at other shops and restaurants. It’s a wonderful circle that can build a wonderful community.
It’s easy to see that there are a number of wonderful benefits associated with using local foods. Whether you want to have a creative menu or want to help the local economy, local foods are a wonderful place to start. Best of all, you’re not limited to produce. You can find most of the foods you need locally, including flour, eggs, meat, produce, honey, and dairy products.
About the Author: Tommye Arnau loves to cook and enjoys using as much local food as possible to create his dishes. He also finds that local foods make for simpler recipes, which are easier to track in his restaurant pos system and storage fridges.
