Right before the holidays, I received an email invitation from a sweet Emma at Panera Bread to a Broth Bowl tasting. Hmm, broth bowls… sounded interesting. And now with this frigid weather we’ve been having, what could be better? The formal invitation arrived, positioning the event as “An Evening of Umami.” A small group of folks interested in food, nutrition and cooking gathered in this lovely loft in Chinatown. We were treated to a terrific presentation from their Culinary Institute-trained and former teacher, Dan Kish. Dan and his colleague, Mark McDonough, (Director of Product Development) traveled the world (wouldn’t I love to be them!) to research and pull together umami tastes, spices and fresh ingredients to create the newest four dishes, these broth bowls at Panera Bread. Then they served us our choice of broth bowl(s) for dinner, along with some lovely wine.
Here’s what I knew about Panera Bread. They started in St. Louis as the St. Louis Bread Company! I am originally from St. Louis, so you know, they have to be good.
Here’s what I learned. They’re now huge (1,845 cafes) and an incredible company! I mean, having Culinary Institute trained chefs create their dishes and also be concerned about their green footprint, is BIG. For instance, they’ve considered the repercussions of transporting the broth (water is heavy) to all locations or deliberated if it should it be concentrated and then concerned if it can it retain the taste, as well as, considered how to efficiently make the bowls out of components and achieve the desired consistency, using the least amount of energy through all of the processes. Their ingredients are nearly all organic – no antibiotics in the chicken and nearly all cage-free eggs. That’s huge! This “fast casual” food has been designed to be genuinely healthy, even low calorie and totally delicious! I mean this company is really doing amazing things to feed our bodies and take care of our planet. It is not easy to create healthy food available in about 5 minutes after you order at their counter. But boy if they can change our fast food culture into something this great, wouldn’t that be way cool? Really!!! Having healthy energetic people walk the planet exuding wonderful positive energy is just what we all need.
The problem is, is that I never knew any of these things about Panera. (I think they need us to do their marketing and to spread the word, don’t you think?)
So what exactly is Umami? I wanted a succinct answer. Here’s what the Umami Information Center says. (Yes, it’s true, there is one. Just Google it.) Taking its name from Japanese, umami is a pleasant savoury taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. As the taste of umami itself is subtle and blends well with other tastes to expand and round out flavors, most people don’t recognize umami when they encounter it, but it plays an important role making food taste delicious.
Could it be that fake Umami is monosodium glutamate – MSG? Well there’s none of that here.
Check out these broth bowls – they’re delish!!!
I particularly liked the quinoa lentil one with the hard boiled egg on top!
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Sounds interesting. There’s a Panera near us in Scranton. I’ve never been but maybe next time when we’re up there shopping. Thanks.
Rosemary Mullally recently posted…Fresh Borlotti Bean Blizzard Soup
Rosemary – you should try it – I think you’ll particularly like these broth bowls!!
Never had a broth bowl myself though the quinoa and lentil combination sounds very tasty!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Choc Chip Uru recently posted…Topsy Turvy Australia Day
Yes!! It was my favorite!
Umami makes food really delicious and it’s one of the secrets of Asian cuisine. Some get it from MSG but there are ways to cook without it and still get tons of flavour like getting umami from sources like dried mushrooms, fish sauce, soy sauce, tomatoes. etc.
Raymund recently posted…Beef and Asparagus Stir Fry
Exactly!! – anchovies – right?
What a great idea, as I love soup bowls!
yummychunklet recently posted…TwD: BCM Brown Butter and Vanilla Bean Weekend Cake
Me too!!! These were great!!
It looks very comforting and delicious and very much like a lentil stew..Delish!
Angie@Angie’s Recipes recently posted…Beetroot Chocolate Einkorn Cake
It was really delicious!!
This looks amazing! I am so hungry…
ATasteOfMadness recently posted…Microwave Nutella Hot Chocolate
Well go out and get one!! There are 9 Panera Bread Cafes in the Toronto area!
That’s interesting combination of ingredients and flavours! Must be tasty! 🙂
Mila recently posted…Macaroni a la flot
Yes Mila – it was really delicious!!
I adore Panera. I’ve eliminated drive-thru’s from my diet some time ago but this is one exception. I really do need try the broth bowls. It’s hard for me to venture away from their delicious salads. If you haven’t already, you should try their spicy Thai chicken salad.
I agree that they need better marketing as well – I also didn’t know any of these things.
Joyce – a girl after my own heart!!
Yes I do like their Spicy Thai Chicken Salad and I’m so glad you agree with me about their marketing – tell them they need my company!!
There’s nothing like a great broth on a cold day. And there is such a huge difference between a great broth and a so-so one. It really is all about the umami!
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons recently posted…Smoky Barbecue Chicken, Bacon & Corn Dip
Exactly Lori!!
I’m going to have to check these out at Panera. It’s great when I can find convenient, affordable food to feed my family on busy nights! Also, what a fun opportunity to go to a Panera tasting!
Rachel recently posted…Spinach Artichoke Chicken
Yes Rachel – it was a lot of delicious fun!!
Do check out these broth bowls – perfect for a healthy family meal!!
I just tried my first Lentil Quinoa Bowl with Chicken and it was quite good. Actually all 3 of us in the party had one and we all agreed that it was not filling at all and only like half full. When I look at photos my serving looked nothing like the photos. Not even close to the amount of chicken shown on their website. About 1/4 the amount. 🙁
I’m sorry to hear this Robert. I want you to know that I have forwarded your comments to the Panera people and they are aware of your experience. Hopefully, this was just a fluke and next time will be better for you!!