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The tough economic climate has not deterred most Canadian restaurant-goers from ordering appetizers when dining out. According to the 2009 Canadian Appetizer Consumer Trend Report, 64% of Canadian adults surveyed revealed that when ordering food from a restaurant, they order appetizers either sometimes or most of the time. At the same time, a sizeable one-third of respondents indicated that they rarely order appetizers when eating out, suggesting that the economy is prompting some consumers to limit spending by forgoing starters.
Dinner vs. lunch trends
The report also shows that Canadians associate appetizers with the dinner daypart more than the lunch daypart. A majority of panelists (61%) said that they are most likely to order an appetizer before their main dinner course. A smaller percentage (14%) said they tend to order appetizers as their main meal during dinner, a practice that is often tied to efforts to spend less money. Only one-quarter of respondents indicated a tendency to order appetizers during the lunch daypart, whether as a main meal or starter.
Wings most popular
When evaluating the most prevalent appetizers on the Top 250 Canadian menus, it is clear that a handful of items dominate. The three most common appetizers on Canadian restaurant menus are wings, fries and nachos, with 113, 91 and 69 items, respectively. Samplers and chicken strips/chicken nuggets round out the top five. The remaining appetizers are roughly divided between items such as calamari, quesadillas, non-breaded shrimp, bruschetta, onion rings and cheese bread.
Preparation styles vary
The data reveal that appetizer preparations tend to fall into one of a handful of categories. The majority of items are fried, baked or toasted, with fried being the most popular with a 5.4% incidence. Other common preparation styles are breaded, grilled, barbecued or roasted. Alternative preparations, such as sautéed, seared, blackened, stewed, braised and pan-seared, have a noticeably lower incidence – with many scoring below 0.5%.
How to make the most of your appetizer menu
Clearly, appetizers still appeal to many Canadian consumers. Operators should respond by instructing wait staff to push appetizer sales during dinner, when customers are most inclined to order them. They should also scrutinize their current appetizer list, checking for range and varied preparation styles. If the list comes up wanting, operators should actively take steps to give their customers more variety, which will help business in the long run.
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