Top This!

Cheese goes without saying, but a lot of other great ingredients—chiles, fried eggs, pork belly, tostones—also go on top.

CHAPTER 5

Top This!

WHEN IT COMES TO BURGERS, SOMETIMES IT’S WHAT’S ON TOP THAT COUNTS

After all, a topping of piquant pepper jack cheese and poblano pepper strips provides a whole different experience than melty Brie and caramelized onions.

Toppings, in fact, can really differentiate a burger and turn it into a craveable house specialty or premium signature.

According to Grubhub, cheese is the #1 topping, specifically American, followed by cheddar, Swiss, provolone, and pepper Jack.¹ That makes cheese the first line of defense in the battle for burger supremacy. Apart from the familiar varieties cited above, however, there are many other types of cheese, each with their own personality and appeal:

Global cheeses like asiago, manchego, Cheshire, gouda, feta, Gruyère, ricotta salata
High-impact blue, Roquefort, Limburger, aged goat, smoked cheese
Farmstead, small-batch, or locally made cheeses

Soft/spreadable ricotta, Boursin, double- and triple-cream cheeses, pimento cheese, cheese curds
Spiced or flavored cheese (cumin-and-caraway Leyden, mango-and-ginger Stilton, horseradish cheddar, ghost pepper Colby Jack)

Not surprisingly, the iconic burger gets lettuce, sliced tomato, and an optional onion, plus condiments, but there are many, many other topping possibilities to consider. For example:

Meat, such as ham, bacon, pulled pork, prosciutto, pork belly, Spam, sausage, brisket
Veggies, including sprouts, avocado, sautéed mushrooms or onions, sautéed greens, chiles, arugula, sweet potato, sweet peppers, Brussels sprouts

Something crispy, perhaps slaw, pickled giardiniera, potato or corn chips, vegetable tempura, tostones, tater tots, chicharron, onion rings or straws
An egg, fried or scrambled

Something different, such as macaroni and cheese, pâte, foie gras, grilled pineapple, lobster, caviar

MENU ADOPTION CYCLE: WHAT’S ON TOP²

For people who love their toppings, and also their ability to customize, the build-your-own burger platform is a natural. And according to Datassential, a whopping 70% of consumers say they’re interested in a build-your-own burger concept.

In fact, Build Your Own Burger has grown 19% on menus over the past four years, and 132% since 2009, and is predicted to outperform 79% of all other foods, beverages, and ingredients over the next four years.³

Not surprisingly, the DIY burger concept works very well in locations such as colleges and universities, food courts, employee and staff dining venues, high schools, and other high-volume settings.

17% of consumers say the toppings are the most important part of the burger, second only to the patty at 59%; 12% said it’s the cheese.⁴

Burger Studio, part of The Oasis at Campbell University, an Aramark account in Buies Creek, NC, specializes in create your own made-to-order Angus, chicken, or veggie burgers with toppings such as a fried egg, blue cheese crumbles, fried onions, tomatoes, banana peppers, red onions, and jalapeño peppers. Ordering is via a touch-screen kiosk.

Even a modest selection of patties, cheeses, toppings, and condiments puts patrons in the driver’s seat, and can utilize products that are already in use in curated burger builds, sandwiches, entrées, and even salads, sides, and breakfast items, making ingredients work harder.

OPERATOR SPOTLIGHT
Cowbell Burger Bar in Biddeford, ME, offers 25 different specialty burgers as well as a robust DIY section comprising nine patties, six buns, nine kinds of cheese (including feta, ghost pepper, and local goat), and nine extra toppings (egg, avocado, cherry peppers).

_{^{Sources: 1. Grubhub, 2019. 2. Datassential Menu Adoption Cycle, Burger Ingredients (2020). 3. Datassential SNAP! Build Your Own Burger (2020). 4. Datassential Creative Concepts: Burgers (2019).}}