Bakery-cafe chain adds new menu items to You Pick 2
Panera Bread rolled out Thai Chicken Soup and Citrus Asian Crunch Salad with chicken. Curated by its culinary team, guests can choose the items as standalone orders or as You Pick 2. The St. Louis-based fast-casual chain said 465 combinations are possible via its You Pick 2. Through the menu combo, customers mix and match two items to personalize their meal.
Thai Chicken Soup offers a combination of chicken, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, red bell peppers and edamame. These ingredients simmer in a Thai yellow coconut curry broth with lemongrass, ginger, galangal, and Thai lime, as part of the spicy soup’s preparation. The Panera Thai Chicken Soup precedes 10 other soups in the innovation pipeline, currently, announced the cafe-bakery chain.
A spicy Mexican Street Corn Chowder will launch this summer. In addition, a Cajun Shrimp & Andouille Sausage, Greek Lemon Chicken & Farro and Cuban Black Bean & Poblano will debut.
Plus, the new Citrus Asian Crunch Salad with chicken debuted. It starts with fresh romaine, which is then topped with a blend of chopped broccoli, green cabbage, carrots, and kale. These are tossed with edamame, pickled red onions, and fresh cilantro in tangerine soy ginger dressing. Cafe staff finish off the salad with warm seared chicken thigh meat, crispy carrots, and a teriyaki drizzle.
[Related article: Panera Bread to go public (again) as part of Panera Brands]
“Our chefs have been meticulously obsessing over every ingredient in our test kitchens, creating new menu items with a focus on taking familiar flavors and adding a unique Panera twist, turning them into bold, amazing dishes our guests will love,” said Claes Petersson, head chef and chief innovation officer at Panera Bread. “From classic Panera favorites to new, enticingly bold flavors, we hope to satisfy any craving and provide more adventurous flavors for our customers.”
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