Mediterranean<\/a> concepts.\u201d <\/p>\nThe unusual texture of eggplant\u2013spongy when raw, but yielding to a melting, tender creaminess when cooked\u2013allows it to absorb flavourful sauces and aromas that complement its mild flavour. <\/p>\n
Beyond frying <\/h3>\n
While frying is popular, it\u2019s only one option. Traditional Sicilian caponata, a sweet and sour eggplant dish, is showing up in surprising places: as a topping for arctic char (at Cal Mare in Los Angeles) with caramelized fennel and grilled lemon; or deconstructed at Sixth and Mill (Los Angeles), where each ingredient shines. <\/p>\n
Dips and snacks<\/h3>\n
Baba ghanoush is the seminal eggplant dip, but chefs are elevating it with flavourful upgrades. At X\u2019tiosu kitchen (Los Angeles) green chiles, spices, and fresh citrus give the Middle Eastern dip a Latin flair. <\/p>\n
Shared plates<\/h3>\n
Eggplant lends itself well to shared plates. The charred Japanese eggplant at Katana Kitten (New York City) skewers bites of eggplant drizzled with ponzu and topped with crunchy shallots, peanuts and fermented bean curd. A standout dish came from Hunan Slurp (NYC): stout cylinders of roasted Japanese eggplant, stuffed with grilled peppers and preserved duck egg, drizzled in a rich sesame dressing.<\/p>\n
Entr\u00e9es and handhelds<\/h3>\n
Veg-centric eggplant entr\u00e9es span from global mashups like the roasted eggplant tostada at Guerilla Tacos (Los Angeles) to the Southern comfort of the eggplant Orleans at Ina Mae Tavern and Packaged Goods (Chicago): slices of breaded, fried eggplant stacked with saut\u00e9ed crawfish, smothered in a crawfish cream sauce.<\/p>\n
Ask your Gordon Food Service Sales Representative for eggplant ideas that match your menu needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From simple to sensational, it\u2019s emerging as a star on the menu. Every so often, an ingredient appears on menus everywhere with delicious results. From dips and snacks to shared plates, handhelds and entr\u00e9es, eggplant is emerging as a menu star. \u201cWe\u2019re really seeing this explode,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Corporate Consulting Chef Gerry Ludwig, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26840,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,68,123,112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-culinary-ideas","category-hotels-hospitality","category-restaurant-bars"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Eggplant Knows No Boundaries | Gordon Food Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eggplant Knows No Boundaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From simple to sensational, it\u2019s emerging as a star on the menu. Every so often, an ingredient appears on menus everywhere with delicious results. From dips and snacks to shared plates, handhelds and entr\u00e9es, eggplant is emerging as a menu star. \u201cWe\u2019re really seeing this explode,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Corporate Consulting Chef Gerry Ludwig, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gordon Food Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-17T17:09:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T15:16:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Eggplant-Raw-IC-Recipe-Hero-Image-760x400_0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"760\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cody.rivers@gfs.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GFSDelivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Eggplant Knows No Boundaries | Gordon Food Service","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Eggplant Knows No Boundaries","og_description":"From simple to sensational, it\u2019s emerging as a star on the menu. Every so often, an ingredient appears on menus everywhere with delicious results. From dips and snacks to shared plates, handhelds and entr\u00e9es, eggplant is emerging as a menu star. \u201cWe\u2019re really seeing this explode,\u201d says Gordon Food Service Corporate Consulting Chef Gerry Ludwig, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/","og_site_name":"Gordon Food Service","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/","article_published_time":"2019-09-17T17:09:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-01T15:16:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":760,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Eggplant-Raw-IC-Recipe-Hero-Image-760x400_0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cody Rivers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cody.rivers@gfs.com","twitter_site":"@GFSDelivers","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cody Rivers","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/"},"author":{"name":"Cody Rivers","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ac2dd585b10d08ce15daca230d897374"},"headline":"Eggplant Knows No Boundaries","datePublished":"2019-09-17T17:09:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T15:16:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/"},"wordCount":337,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Eggplant-Raw-IC-Recipe-Hero-Image-760x400_0.jpg","articleSection":["Catering & Small Business","Culinary Ideas","Hotels & Hospitality","Restaurant & Bars"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":["WebPage","CollectionPage"],"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/","name":"Eggplant Knows No Boundaries | Gordon Food Service","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Eggplant-Raw-IC-Recipe-Hero-Image-760x400_0.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-17T17:09:18+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T15:16:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Eggplant-Raw-IC-Recipe-Hero-Image-760x400_0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Eggplant-Raw-IC-Recipe-Hero-Image-760x400_0.jpg","width":760,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/eggplant-knows-no-boundaries\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Eggplant Knows No Boundaries"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/","name":"Gordon Food Service","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization","name":"Gordon Food Service","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GFS-EN-Logo-og-image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GFS-EN-Logo-og-image.png","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Gordon Food Service"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/","https:\/\/x.com\/GFSDelivers","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gordonfoodservice\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/gordon-food-service\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ac2dd585b10d08ce15daca230d897374","name":"Cody Rivers","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9b81a7281ffd8fc2d52ce39faf1be6f131db67bdc3ed5914928324e202f21f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a9b81a7281ffd8fc2d52ce39faf1be6f131db67bdc3ed5914928324e202f21f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Cody Rivers"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/cody.rivers@gfs.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25536"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38586,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25536\/revisions\/38586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}