Inside five restaurants’ all-star cheese dishes

Fazoli’s | Based in Lexington, Ky.

Taco John’s | Based in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Chefs take the newest Boursin cheese products for a test ride and share their takeaways

Smoked Oyster & Artichoke Dip with Boursin and Georgia Gouda, served with French baguette slices

Housemade Ricotta with olive oil and rosemary honey, served with lavosh

Thick-cut pork belly, pimento cheese, jalapeño-bacon jam and pickled red onions on toasted sourdough bread

Rotating selection of cured meats and cheeses served with fresh honeycomb, blood orange mostarda, crabapple and micro vegetables

Lebanese Labneh Dip with za’atar-spiced honey drizzle, served with honey-grilled pita

Fried queso blanco, offered throughout the menu, including in the Fritanga Burger with cabbage slaw and crema, or as a side dish, served with guava ketchup

Pretzel Bites with Wisconsin cheddar cheese sauce

Developing a host of trend-forward menu items while maximizing one new SKU

Win the sandwich game with Bel Brands’ flavor-packed lineup of signature cheeses

A spectrum of flavors and textures makes cheese a trusted go-to for innovative menu development

Chef Francesco DiCaudo makes burrata a star of the season

Hot, stretchy, gooey cheese guarantees craveability

Mac and cheese serves up a great platform for innovation. More sides and shareables, cast-iron serving pans, bite-sized balls, unique add-ins, and longer noodles are also becoming the norm among trend-forward menus. Doing something different—and doing it well—is key to transforming mac and cheese from a stalwart side into a buzz-worthy bite.

Chefs across the country are taking something inherently craveable and familiar — cheese — and relying on it to elevate a menu item. Infinitely adaptable and universally loved, cheese offers a sound strategy in modern menu development. Here’s what’s hitting creative menus today.

Matadora offers a Kale Salad with melted provolone, chickpeas, olives, red onion, burnt raisins, crispy pumpkin, pepitas

U.S. Cheesemakers dominated the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison in 2018, and BelGioioso Cheese was awarded eight prestigious medals out of a total of 3,402 entries from 26 different nations

Flavor in Focus: Crispy, crunchy and heavenly, fried small plates deliver craveability like nothing else

A cheese-centric approach leads to small-plate success

Six ways to maximize the popularity and versatility of cheese

Champagne French Bakery's decadent sandwich is made with sliced Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese and creamy béchamel sauce, served between two buttered slices of pain de mie. It’s topped with a mild grated Swiss cheese, then oven-baked to create a flavorful crust.