Having risen in popularity in recent years, Korean BBQ style food is appearing on more and more menus across the on-trade.
It typically boasts spicy, salty, sweet, and umami notes, thanks to the use of ingredients like chili paste, kimchi, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Last month, pub giant JD Wetherspoon (JDW) shared plans to replace steak, mixed grills and gammon with Korean-style dishes on its menus.
The plates included Korean Chicken Burgers, as part of a new gourmet burger range.
Brewhouse & Kitchen (B&K) has included dishes with Korean influences since 2022, with Korean Chicken Wings now part of the core menu.
Marketing and brand director Matt Preisinger told The Morning Advertiser (The MA) the dishes were “incredibly popular” across B&K’s 22 strong pub estate.
He said: “They are big and bold in flavour; a natural progression for menus that have drawn inspiration from American BBQ style trends.
Visual flare
“The interplay between sweetness, vinegar and salt/umami is widely popular and now very much established. The dishes also often lend themselves to adding a pop of colour and visual flare to the menu.”
The company is also looking to develop these plates, Preisinger added: “The trend is one we are now applying across various sections of our menu rather than just having it as an option of wings. Chefs are becoming more confident and creative with applying Korean inspiration across their menus.”
For others looking to expand their offering in this space, the marketing and brand director advised the first port of call should be to look at condiments and sauces.
“Beyond that there is an awful lot to learn from garnishes, flour/coating recipes and just the overall bold flavour profile that Korean inspiration can bring to a menu”, he continued.
Greene King is another company to have incorporated Korean flavours into its menu.
It first introduced a Korean BBQ Chicken Burger to its menus at its Hungry Horse estate, which totals 220 venues, some three years ago.
The dish has since become the second best-selling burger at Hungry Horse, just behind its classic bacon cheeseburger, food and product development lead Jason Radbourn told The MA.
“On average, around 7,000 Korean BBQ Chicken Burgers are sold in our venues each week”, he continued.
The burger has proved particularly popular with younger customers, Radbourn added.
Fusion menus
He said: “We have seen a real trend in the rising popularity of Asian-inspired dishes as younger customers search for more adventurous flavours from around the world, in addition to classic British pub dishes.
“In addition to the Korean BBQ Chicken Burger, we have found the Karaage Sticky Chicken – a Japanese-inspired dish – has been incredibly popular, and is the top-selling starter in our Flaming Grill pubs, as well as in some of our Greene King pubs."
Radbourn advised offering new dishes for a limited period of time before they become permanent enabled operators to gauge demand from their customer base: “This way, chefs have the ability to try out new recipes and flavours, ensuring that new menu options will be popular with their customers.”
Last summer, a report from AAK Foodservice noted while Chinese and Indian food were very popular, newer cuisines such as Thai and Korean were favoured by many of the 650 diners surveyed, suggesting south-east favours would be a big hit in 2025.
Meanwhile, British fusion foods were cited as a key trend for operators to consider last year by Bidfood.
In April 2024, chef and owner of the Black Bull in Sedbergh, Cumbria, Nina Matsunaga, told The MA she had seen increased interest in Korean, Japanese and Mexican fusions at her pub.
Matsunaga added the “beauty” of fusion cooking allowed chefs to explore and express their creativity while “introducing new and different flavours” to consumers.
She said: “If you have a fusion menu, there will always be something for everyone. It’s great to be able to mix [adventurous flavours and classic dishes] on one menu, there’s no losing really because you can find something for everybody.”
Though Matsunaga advised operators looking to incorporate fusion style dishes onto their menu to pick a cuisine they were familiar and comfortable with: “It needs to be something you have tried before and can confidently say you enjoy rather than picking something because you think it will be popular; that will never work.”
