Burgers and sliders continue to rise in popularity and this week, it’s your chance to embrace the trend and celebrate International Burger Day.

Since 2016, they’ve remained the most popular food choice, and driven by both lunch and dinner meal occasions, this popularity lifted again in 2019.* For restaurants and cafes, this highlights the ongoing opportunity that burgers continue to present on menu.

During times of crisis, people seek out comfort and as many foodservice venues pivoted to takeaway during COVID-19, burgers continued their popularity. A new phenomenon arising from the restrictions was “Our Best Pub Dishes – Home to you!” and burgers remained firmly in the top three most popular dishes on the “Our Best Pub Dishes”.*

To celebrate International Burger Day, we spoke with Rob Lechowicz from Blackwood Pantry. Rob’s career started in fine dining hatted restaurants in both Australia and overseas, with his style evolving to casual dining through the years. He shared with us his views on trends in burgers and where he sources his inspiration from.  

“The burger game over the last few years has definitely evolved and changed, with more exciting products being used as well as flavour combinations. I believe this comes down to a few factors; there has been a huge increase in the number of products and produce readily available to use. This gave chefs and cooks a great platform to start using products they normally wouldn’t use to create new and exciting flavour combinations. With this I believe the trend has also pushed towards using better quality ingredients. This is clear to see with the use of so many premium buns, proteins, fillings and sauces now used.  

And lastly, one of the most exciting factors has been the mixing of cultural influences. With a melting pot of cultures in Australia we are so lucky to have so many great cooking techniques and flavours which are being mixed to create something excellent! 

Ever evolving and changing, the burger trends will continue to surprise and entice us to try new things today and well into the future.”

To celebrate International Burger Day, Rob has created the Mr Piggy which is a grilled fenugreek and pork patty, melted smoked gouda cheese and westmont pickles with a fennel, kohlrabi and apple slaw, finished with a truffled ranch mayo. Biting into the Mr Piggy provides a combination of rich, mouth-watering flavours and a deliciously succulent pork patty. Rob’s style is all about doing things out of the ordinary with the goal of getting people out of their comfort zone and trying new things. The Mr Piggy will be available at The Blackwood Pantry till Monday 1^st June or till sold out.

With burgers exciting the tastebuds of diners across the country and satisfying that craving for comfort, what will you be serving up this Thursday, 28 May, as the world celebrates International Burger Day? Tag us on social to let us know.

Still seeking inspiration? Why not check out these burger recipes *Foodservice Market Sizing Study. Year-On-Year Analysis 2020.Thrive Insights
**Food Industry Foresight. Covid-19 Foodservice Bulletin NR 03