Sweet Nostalgia

What’s old is new again.

Classic desserts are making a major comeback, albeit in reinvented, innovative ways.

Andy Cheblana, a certified master pastry chef and instructor at Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Ill., a longtime US Foods® customer, says these days, nostalgia rules (at least for desserts).

“What’s old is definitely new again,” he says. “I’m seeing nostalgic desserts like Oreo mousse and French silk pie, strawberry cheesecakes modeled after those Good Humor ice cream bars, plays on s’mores with gooey caramel, peanut praline and toasted marshmallow, and old-fashioned cakes and chocolate chip cookies coming back around.”

US Foods New Business Manager (and former Food Fanatics® Chef) Austin Kosater agrees. “We’re seeing a return to classic and retro desserts – even just a nice slice of cake or dessert pie on the menu that you don’t necessarily need a pastry chef to be able to execute. I’m also seeing more regional favorites, like buttermilk chess pie from the South, key lime pie from Florida, or shoofly pie, which is my favorite, from the Northeast. Or, just serve three freshly baked cookies and count your profits. Desserts will never save your restaurant, but it could help add at least $10 to a bill.”

Baked Alaska Is Back, Baby!

Get your torches ready! This hot-cold, frozen-baked dessert’s making a dramatic comeback, thanks to the tableside torching element. It’s nostalgic and delivers that Instagram-able “wow” factor–perfect for younger diners and those looking for more experience.

Truluck’s, a US Foods customer and upscale seafood restaurant chain with locations in Texas, Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C., serves a reinvented version of the classic with a chocolate cake base and Oreo cookie crust.

Here are three other reinvented classics offered by the chain on the dessert menu:

Key Lime Pie

A graham cracker-almond crust filled with tangy key lime custard and topped with freshly whipped cream.

Chocolate Malt Cake

Layers of rich cocoa frosted with decadent chocolate icing and topped with berries and a warm, housemade ganache.

Carrot Cake

The iconic Truluck’s dessert – a tower of spiced carrot cake layered with cream cheese frosting and topped with spicy pecans and warm butterscotch sauce.