{"id":25634,"date":"2018-03-14T11:03:34","date_gmt":"2018-03-14T15:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gordon-food-service-canada.pantheonsite.io\/ideas\/nduja-spells-opportunity\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:49:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T15:49:39","slug":"nduja-spells-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/nduja-spells-opportunity\/","title":{"rendered":"Nduja Spells Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little bit of nduja can bring a lot of flavor to your menu. Here\u2019s inspiration to be first-to-market with this opportunity.<\/h2>\n

Nduja (pronounced en-DOO-yah) holds plenty of menu potential for 2018, says Chef Jason Kalinowski, a Gordon Food Service\u00ae Culinary Advisor based in Milton, Ontario. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen it showing up in specialty stores and butcher shops, so it\u2019s ready for operators to put the right spin on it and bring it to the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

This intense, spicy sausage hails from Calabria, Italy, and stands out with both its deep flavour and spreadable texture. It\u2019s an artisanal butchery product that sees pork shoulder, Calabrian chile and pork fat stuffed into a casing, then hung up to cure. \u201cThe fat ratio is high enough that even after it cures, it\u2019s still spreadable.\u201d Application ideas are numerous, serving up big flavour in small doses\u2014on charcuterie boards, pizza and pasta dishes, with potential for creative inclusion in vinaigrettes, flavoured butters and more.<\/p>\n

As a flavour booster, \u2018nduja is second to none, introducing deeply savoury notes with a serious blast of heat. At Buon Gusto in Guelph, nduja is on Chef\/Partner Dave Manno\u2019s menu in a couple of places. It\u2019s on an antipasto platter called Salumi e Formaggi, which includes capicollo, nduja, caccutiri salami, gorgonzola, provolone, walnuts, peppers, olives and rustic Italian bread. This sausage also lends heat to the restaurant\u2019s Calabrese Pizza, topped with San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte, cooked prosciutto, roasted garlic, grana Padano and baby arugula.
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\nJust a little bit of nduja goes a long way, which is good considering its hefty food cost (between $5.00 and $6.00 for 100 g.). Chefs can bypass the price tag problem by making their own version\u2014one that delivers an enticing nduja flavour and a unique menu item customers will pay a premium to try. Making your own in-house nduja takes pureeing a dry-aged ham in a food processor with some sort of fat (either a duck fat or pork fat), then flavouring it with paprika or  cayenne pepper to turn up the heat. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of too many parts of the menu that nduja wouldn\u2019t add a little sizzle,\u201d Kalinowski says. Since this sausage is uncommon on Canadian menus, nduja gives operators a first-to-market edge that adds menu flavour and complexity.<\/p>\n

Kalinowski shares three opportunities calling on this spicy, spreadable sausage.<\/p>\n

1. Spread the flavour<\/h3>\n

For operators who have enjoyed success with duck confit\u2014flaking duck leg meat into a spreadable bar snack served with crostinis\u2014Kalinowski sees a similar opportunity with nduja. \u201cOne of the easiest ways to present nduja is as a bar snack,\u201d he notes. For operators looking to increase cheque totals, taking orders for a couple of bar snacks at $6 each lets diners experiment with the flavour experience while bringing in a few more dollars than one appetizer or sharable.<\/p>\n

Examples on North American menus<\/p>\n