Steven Roberts Original Desserts announced the creation of the Innovation and Development Team, a highly specialized group designed to become the driving force in originality in the restaurant dessert industry. This team will leverage interaction between customers, suppliers, and industry trends to provide key insight into future preferences, resulting in inventive new products positioned perfectly for success with consumers.
“One exciting aspect of this new team involves incorporating international trends in ways that are relevant to American consumers,” says Cal Fabos, vice president of Research and Development. “For example, although we based the formula for our macaroons on the traditional French recipes, we filled the cookies with jams and chocolates that are more familiar to American tastes.”
The introduction of the Innovation and Development Team came as part of an exclusive, by invitation only gathering, as a complement to the National Restaurant Association annual events in Chicago. This marks the fourth year that Steven Roberts has hosted an event as part of the NRA, and it was attended by over 150 chefs, buyers, and partners at a private location.
Steven Roberts showcased more than 50 distinctive desserts at the event, including cannoli tiramisu, a fusion of two great Italian desserts for a twist on a classic. Almond cannolis are filled with a light chocolate mousse then surrounded with rich mascarpone cream, and each piece is covered with chocolate ganache and almond crumble. Other new creations included “PB and J,” buttery pound cake “bread” layered with grape jelly ice cream and Reese’s peanut butter sauce; and Pistachio Lime Ice Cream Sandwich, double chocolate chunk cookies sandwiching a pistachio lime ice cream. This was the first year that Steven Roberts has incorporated ice cream representing part of its expanding capabilities.
The extended Innovation and Development Team also includes branded ingredient partners such Kraft and Ghirardelli, both of whom participated in the event with chefs and showcased products.
