Every year at our annual development tasting in addition to new food items, we present innovative and unique specialty drinks. As we were searching for inspiration for what our new concoction would entail our ideas were shooting in countless different directions. Just a few days before the tasting we still had not come up with a conclusive specialty beverage….we had hit a mental block.
Our owner woke up the day before the tasting and thought “We need to relax, be creative, and think outside the box.” This led to a google search on thinking outside of the box. This led us to searching for foods for creativity and we read through results picking various ingredients. We then matched the ingredient with its food equivalent. We also knew from past research that cooked garnishes were becoming a trend and wanted to incorporate this into the drink.
Next was testing the ingredients. We tried different combinations and ratios of the drink’s components and had our own staff members vote on their favorite concoction. Once the recipe was finalized we had to plan the presentation.
Specialty drinks are never just about the drink but a large part is the presentation. The drink was drank through a nature straw and garnished with a grilled orange. The vessel was wrapped with a burlap ribbon with a “Think Outside the Box” sticker. The sticker was in the shape of a box with the symbol of wisdom, creativity and the complexities of life in the center. We used square shaped glasses that would be displayed on rustic wooden boxes with grassy display pieces…all incorporating a nature theme. On the display cart was a sign explaining the story behind the drink along with the ingredients and the symbolism of the drink. Every part of this year’s specialty drink was thoroughly thought out and tested with no detail overlooked.
Thank you to Erin Hession Photography for the pictures.