300 South Riverside Plaza Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60606 technomic

1. 300 South Riverside Plaza Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60606 www.technomic.com Powered by MenuMonitor • In this issue… • Appetizer • Entrée • Dessert • Beverage • Key Takeaways Prepared exclusively for Canadian subscribers by:

2. Appetizer Highlights • Appetizers by the Numbers • Soups made up the highest percentage of new appetizers this fall, representing 20% of offerings. Over the summer, soups only captured 11.1% of new offerings. • Dips continued a steady increase, from 5.4% in the spring to 6.3% in the summer to 8.6% in the fall. Cheese-based dips were popular, with dishes like Skillet Queso, Ale & Cheddar Dip, and Feta Cream Cheese Spread. • Salads saw the sharpest decline in share of new appetizers from summer (17.5%) to fall (3.8%). • Pork increased in popularity on appetizer menus. It received eight mentions in the fall, compared to one in the summer. This increase is largely due to the addition of pulled pork flatbreads and sliders. • Top Trends • Seafood • Asian Inspiration • Hearty Soups Source: 42 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO appetizers from September – November 2012

3. Key Trends—Appetizers Boston Pizza revamped its menu with the introduction of 26 new offerings in the fall. A number of the new items featured seafood, including the chain’s calamari appetizer. This dish features deep-fried calamari and banana peppers, served with chili-lime mayonnaise for dipping. White Spot Restaurant introduced its new Shrimp Gyoza appetizer featuring five shrimp dumplings on a bed of edamame, red peppers and green onions. The dish is drizzled with Hoisin sesame sauce and served with a sweet soy-cilantro dipping sauce. Original Joe’s Restaurant & Bar rolled out a tomato and bacon soup with grilled cheese croutons as part of its Winter Warm-Up menu. The creamy soup is served with grilled garlic French bread croutons topped with melted mozzarella and Parmesan. Source: 42 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO appetizers from September – November 2012

4. Entrée Highlights • Entrées by the Numbers • Breakfast captured a smaller portion of entrées this fall, declining from 9.4% to 8.3% of new or limited-time offerings. Egg dishes were the most popular, including many variations on eggs Benedict. • Of the 68 sandwiches offered, chicken was the most popular protein (15 incidences). Runners-up were pulled pork and turkey (nine incidences each), followed by steak (eight incidences). • Overall, 18.8% of burgers featured bacon, the most popular topping. Bacon only topped 11.4% of burgers in the summer. • Salad entrées represented 5.5% of fall offerings, decreasing from 10.5% this summer. • Top Trends • Spicy • Panini Sandwiches • Ethnic Flavours Source: 103 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO entrées from September – November 2012

5. Key Trends—Entrées IHOP Canada rolled out its new Spicy Triple Meat Scramble featuring diced pork sausage links, ham, jalapeños, bacon, hash browns and cheddar cheese. The dish, introduced on the chain’s 7 for $7 menu, is served with two buttermilk pancakes. Tim Hortonsintroduced new grilled-to-order panini sandwiches available in five varieties: Tuscan Chicken, Chipotle Turkey, Smoked Ham & Cheese, Bacon Tomato & Cheese and Grilled Cheese. Pictured is the Tuscan Chicken variety featuring seasoned chicken strips, tomatoes, red onions, mozzarella and sundried tomato sauce. Milestones Grill & Bar offered a harissa chicken entrée on its Seasonal Favourites menu. The dish features a chili-spiced grilled chicken breast inspired by the cuisine of the Tunisian region of North Africa. The chicken, topped with Fontina cheese and lemon-mint yogourt, is paired with brown rice, sweet potato and parsnip pilaf and seasonal vegetables. Source: 103 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO entrées from September – November 2012

6. Dessert Highlights • Desserts by the Numbers • Desserts captured a bigger slice of fall offerings, increasing from 8.6% to 10.9%. • Overall the most popular flavourwas pumpkin (15 incidences), followed by apple (12) and chocolate (seven). • Baked goods represented 63.7% of desserts in the fall. Overall, 11 of these items were cake/cupcakes, eight were pies and four were cheesecakes. • Ice-cream dishes represented 27.5% of dessert items, where the top flavour was pumpkin. One-fifth of ice-cream offerings were sundaes. • Pudding/gelatin mentions decreased in popularity since summer, from 8.3% to 2.2%. • Top Trends • Apple • Nontraditional Ice Cream • Mint Source: 39 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO desserts from September – November 2012

7. Key Trends—Desserts Cactus Club Cafe introduced seasonal offerings from executive chef Rob Feenie, including the Apple Galette dessert. This sweet offering features a flaky pastry topped with caramelized apples, Tahitian vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Baskin-Robbins Canada rolled out Honey Sesame Crunch as its Flavour of the Month for September. The toasted sesame ice cream features a sweet honey-caramel ribbon and sesame seed-coated cashew pieces. Second Cup offered a variety of holiday treats as part of its Winter Wonderlineup, including mini mint brownies. The bite-sized chocolate brownies were topped with mint frosting and sprinkles. Source: 39 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO desserts from September – November 2012

8. Beverage Highlights • Beverages by the Numbers • Chocolate was the most popular non-alcohol beverage flavour, followed by holiday favouriteslike pumpkin, gingerbread, eggnog, peppermint and candy cane. • Overall, 32 lattes were offered this fall compared to 12 coffees. • On the adult-beverage portion of the menu, specialty drinks represented 44.8% of offerings this fall. Menus began to feature hot drinks like Maple Coffee and Irish Hot Chocolate. • Beer captured 39.7% of fall offerings, an increase from 26.3% in the summer. Most of the menu listings were seasonal craft beers. • Top Trends • Chocolate • Seasonal Lattes • Craft Beers Source: 41 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO beverages from September – November 2012

9. Key Trends—Beverages Second Cup rolled out a lineup of holiday beverages, many of which featured chocolate. Some of these chocolaty-flavoured drinks included the S’mores Hot Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Latte and Candy Cane Hot Chocolate. Williams Fresh Cafe introduced a number of seasonal lattes this fall. Some latte varieties included s’mores, gingerbread and pumpkin spice. Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant offered a wide range of craft beers this season, including the returning Blue Monk Barley Wine. Pictured here, this copper-coloured brew is 9.9% ABV. Other craft beers introduced by the chain included Double Chocolate Brown Ale and Gunther’s Hefewiezen. Source: 41 Canadian chains promoting New or LTO beverages from September – November 2012

10. Key Takeaways