There has never been a better time to make pork your menu hero.
Pork is the most popular meat in the world and Australians are catching up. Eating everything from ribs to ham to bacon, pork is now the second-most eaten meat in Australia*. And it’s easy to see why!
It’s incredibly versatile with everything from the ever-popular pork belly right through to a pork cutlet and a super-lean tenderloin. It is perfect for a warm salad and those health-conscious customers, too. Not only is it excellent value when considering price, pork also is consistent in quality and supply.
Pork is on the menu in two out of three places where foodservice meals are purchased and remains much more likely to be on the main menu of a venue. In 2021, we saw the largest gains on menu for Clubs/ RSLs to be across skewered meat / kebabs (up 6%), followed by sushi (up 2%) and meat dishes (stew / curry / meatballs up 2%). The share of meals eaten overall fell for grilled meat, stir-fry, fried meat and roast meat and pork meals eaten were less likely to be part of a grilled or roast meat**.
There is something for every tastebud.
Colin Fassnidge
With this in mind, Australian Pork have developed a range of on-trend foodservice specific recipes for Autumn/Winter, that includes everything from char sui skewers to mouth-watering pork vindaloo, crispy pork burgers or a cider-braised pork shoulder, with a cost per plate starting as low as $4.00* meaning that you can offer greater value while making greater margins.
“Pork is a great meat to carry a flavour. There are so many great dishes, from the classic roast pork belly to a pulled pork and slaw roll, to a braised pork neck, to a quick fried pork medallion,” says chef Colin Fassnidge, of The Castlereagh by Fassnidge, for Sydney’s City Tattersalls group of clubs.
“There is something for every tastebud that our customers can enjoy and our chefs are able to create. Pork is an amazingly cost-effective protein for us to use in our venues and done well is an easy sell on the menu.”
Combine these reasons and it’s time you embraced pork in your venue. The fact that fresh pork consumption is up 35% over the past 10 years is a clear sign that it’s the perfect time to get some pork on your menu!
Click here to download our Autumn/ Winter recipe book.
*ABARES 2022, Agricultural commodities: March quarter 2022
** 2021 Year-On-Year Foodservice Report by Thrive Insights, commissioned by APL.