Trend-forward descriptors like charred, blistered, burnt and smoky are becoming increasingly popular among operators and the guests they serve. While different in their particulars, each signals transformation through a cooking method as old as time.

Just about every global cuisine embraces elements of charring as a flavor-enhancing technique. The darkened hues and bitter nuances created by charring are vital to composing complementary flavor systems and complex profiles. But why pay attention to a technique that’s well-established? Because, as seasoned as charring might be, it still plays a powerful role in contemporary taste preferences. It’s a storytelling (and therefore marketing) platform that invites guests to make new flavor discoveries.

Cooks and modern chefs alike use fire and high heat to alter the original composition of an ingredient, whether meat, seafood, starch, vegetable or fruit. Charring transforms an ear of corn into the foundation of eloté, with toasty notes. Similarly, the combination of cup and char pepperoni and bubbled dough elevates pizza, yielding an extra crispy texture and craveable, almost sooty flavor. Even as a final finishing touch, the impact of charred flavor is substantial—just look to how a finishing squeeze of charred citrus adds vibrancy to a mild seafood dish.

Even with more glamorous approaches, charring remains memorably unpretentious and generates impactful menu awareness. Across the pond, Sprout & Co in Dublin goes all in on char, even sharing tantalizing cooking videos demonstrating the literal firepower of dishes like Charred Peppers & Tofu with brown-butter pine nuts and Charred Eggplant Tofu. The menu also includes a Warm Charred Chicken Taco Bowl, Charred Taco Wrap and a seasonal side of Yum Yum Charred Broccoli.

Following suit, let’s explore modern savory food applications that expand the possibilities of charred across all foodservice operations. Afterward, we dip into the symbiotic relationship between charred and smoky flavors.

Ways to Showcase Charred

Credit: Palisade

Surf and turf finds greater depth of flavor in Belly + The Beast at Palisade, which features sweet-and-sour pork belly alongside a charred octopus jalapeño slaw.

Vegetable Prowess

Plant-forward trends benefit from flavor systems that bring out natural sweetness while also infusing rich smokiness. At the forefront, a charred treatment applied to vegetables induces new levels of character. Chefs are showcasing these vegetables as standalone items, while also calling them out as menu heavy-lifters, with a little bit going a long way.

• Brunch: Beef tallow black bean purée + char-blistered rainbow baby carrots (tops on) + lemon verbena chimichurri + queso fresco crumbles
• Soup: Clam chowder + charred leeks + Calabrian chile croutons + charred lime wedge

Main Attractions

Charred menu descriptors connotes care and expertise, but they also conjure a more basic sensory experience: the crackling of fire, the slow blistering of flesh, the mouthwatering aroma of smoke. When charring is applied as a flavor amplifier, it deepens profiles and contrasting elements within a dish. There are endless ways for operators to implement charring’s appeal into main dishes and handhelds.

• Pizza: Wood-fired sourdough pizza + basil pesto + mozzarella + goat cheese + blistered red and yellow pear tomatoes
• Entrée: Brick-pressed Cornish game hen + roasted butternut squash purée + charred radicchio and braised collards + black garlic chicken jus

Extending Charred’s Charm

Salsa offers a straightforward entry point into charred wonderment. Charring all manner of vegetables, fruits and citrus juices adds authenticity, amplifies visual appeal, concentrates flavor and imparts hints of smokiness to any salsa. Charring also enhances the perceived value of salsa, as these desirable characteristics broaden the condiment’s journey into cross-cuisine applications.

• Appetizer: Hand-battered crispy onion rings + creamy yellow tomato salsa made with charred peach and morita chile
• Taco: Smoked beef cheeks + creamy charred baby bok choy-watermelon radish slaw + Korean salsa roja (charred red tomato, charred poblano, red onion, ginger, gochugaru, sesame seeds) + white corn tortillas

Menu developers can further charred prominence with enticing vegetable or fruit applications, which add a burst of flavor to dishes. Think of charring as a workhorse flavor system that can give any menu item a jumpstart.

• Puréed with oil or infused into oil for a vibrant finishing drizzle over food
  • Charred Roma tomato-scallion olive oil
  • Charred cara cara orange-green tea avocado oil
• Chopped and incorporated into spreads/dips/sauces/mignonette/soup
  • Charred shallot-Aleppo pepper-passionfruit mignonette
  • Charred Meyer lemon tartar sauce
• Infused into whipped butter or creamed cheese and used as an intriguing bread companion, a dollop atop breakfast classics or a sauce for sautéed vegetables
  • Charred eggplant-miso whipped butter
  • Charred cherry-chile crunch whipped cream cheese

Charred Menu Sightings

Chicken Al Pastor: pickled red onion, avocado salsa verde, charred pineapple, charred tomato and jalapeño salsa
Barrio, Chicago

Belly + The Beast: sweet and spicy pork belly, charred octopus jalapeño slaw, chimichurri, tomato and sweet peppers
Palisade, Seattle

Charred Savoy Cabbage: Thai red curry, spiced pepitas, micro cilantro
Saltie Girl Seafood Bar, Boston and Los Angeles

Roasted Beet Salad: mixed greens, tahini-yogurt herb spread, charred-citrus vinaigrette
Campground, Arcata, Calif.

Watercress Guacamole: charred jalapeño-scallion pebre, lime, corn tortilla chips
The Little Beet Table, New York City

Sending Smoky Signals

Credit: 82 Acres

The succulent synergy between charred and smoky flavors is on full display at 82 Acres, where charred cabbage is paired with smoked onion purée and charred fondue.

Dovetailing with the increased attention to charring is the alluring byproduct: smoke. Whether naturally occurring from the actual charring process or via an added smoky ingredient (like smoked paprika), the interplay is what makes this flavor system so irresistible. Miami Beach’s ORO features both elements in its Blistered Shishito Peppers, flavored with smoked soy, gochujang and bubu arare. STEAM Restaurant & Bar in Wilmington, N.C., beautifully serves up Lump Blue Crabcakes with sweet corn emulsion, charred broccolini, smoked paprika oil and bacon dust.

While charred and smoky have a symbiotic relationship, the latter is a powerful flavor system in its own right—and may become the next iteration of the sweet-heat trend, with “swoky” (sweet-smoky) flavors steadily increasing their menu prevalence. In March, Chick-fil-A brought back its Smokehouse BBQ Bacon Sandwich, this time with the suggested pairing of its new Pineapple Dragonfruit beverages for a smoky-meets-sweet experience. Meanwhile, fellow heavy-lifter Chipotle unveiled the Chipotle Honey Chicken LTO, bringing a sweet twist to one of Mexican cuisine’s best-known smoky flavors.

Menu developers looking to tap the hi-lo trend should consider incorporating smoky elements. For example, a fried chicken sandwich sports a more refined pedigree when paired with green cabbage slaw and caviar-smoked onion Bama sauce atop a brioche bun. Restaurants with the ability to push boundaries should consider micro-smoking appetizers tableside, bringing sensory theater to the guest experience.

Whichever implementation of the many paths operators choose, one thing is for sure: Charred with a smoky back note imparts sophistication.

Smoky Menu Sightings

Sopa de Tortilla: smoky tomato broth, pulled chicken, crispy tortilla strips, Cotija cheese, cream, avocado, cilantro
JAKO Cocina y Agave, The Colony, Texas

Smoked Portobello Carpaccio: caper dressing, cracked pepper, nigella seed and fennel remoulade
Vedge, Philadelphia

Grilled Artichokes: smoked Urfa garlic butter
Zou Zou’s, New York City

Smoke + Luge: beef tartare, grilled toast, torched bone marrow luge
Palisade, Seattle

Charred Lakeside Farm Cabbage: smoked onion purée, Cottonwood River cheddar fondue, garlic chips
82 Acres, Portland, Ore.