A new trend in foodservice is the growing use of food trucks, long the domain of independent operators, by major restaurant chains and franchises. It is a concept that has become a significant growth area for Idaho potatoes, according to Don Odiorne, vice president of foodservice for the commission.

Sizzler, Red Robin and Jack-in-the-Box are among “a number of chains that have gotten into this,” Mr. Odiorne said.

In addition, “some of the star chefs are now doing street trucks,” he said.

Don Odiorne and Chef Eric Handley at Cal Dining at the University of California-Berkeley. Restaurants find that use of the catering trucks enables them to provide food for special events and to reach new customers. It is “a real growth area for us,” Mr. Odiorne said. “That is an area we are continuing to be involved in to grow the business.”

The commission has developed several recipes specifically for the catering trucks, he said.

“A lot of the street truck activity involves freshly made mashed potatoes and fresh-cut french fries,” he said, and most of the trucks are built with a french fryer, so they do tend to use a lot of potatoes.

The potato commission’s foodservice activities for 2012-13 include some new programs and some new twists on old programs, but many programs from the past that have a record of success are being repeated, according to Mr. Odiorne. “So much of our activities are building upon a successful base.”

The commission’s foodservice trade ad campaign “continues with the theme, Passionate about Potatoes,“ he said. “We are doing a series of eight ads this next year.” A new magazine being added to the list of those in which the commission is running foodservice-oriented ads is Saveur, which is both consumer and foodservice, he said. The publication, which has a distribution of about 325,000, appeals to foodies, “but there is a very strong professional chef base. They are using that magazine as a source for finding out wht is new and what is happening.”

The commission continues “to target restaurant chains with menu emersions,” Mr. Odiorne said. “One of the success stories this last year” was with LongHorn Steakhouse, which has gone to using 100 percent Idaho potatoes. “It has been a cooperative effort. We have been working with [one of the shippers] in getting to the chefs and doing menu immersions and menu ideations, and it has paid off.”

One of the innovative things Long Horn is doing on its menu with Idaho potatoes is a limited-time offer for surf and turf with a new twist. “Instead of being combined with lobster as it used to be, [the steak] is combined with a baked potato with chunks of lobster in a cream sauce.”

The commission has been doing menu immersion activities with several different chains such as Sizzler and Perkins and Captain D’s over the last year, Mr. Odiorne said. “We’ve identified another 18 for this year.” The commission brings chefs “to their chain” who plate perhaps six of eight different menu items for the restaurant chain’s own chefs and menu planners to see and taste. “It is an excellent way” to get new dishes with Idaho potatoes on the menus, “and it is working,” he said.

The commission has two harvest tours scheduled for the harvest season this year, one in late September and one in early October. The September event is a blogger tour which is “a brand-new thing for us,” Mr. Odiorne said. “I have been very heavily involved with trying to start communications with the blogger community and have had, I think, excellent success. One of the outgrowths of that is we are having about a dozen bloggers come up to Idaho Falls” to see the potato harvest, tour packing facilities and visit the Idahoan Foods dehydrating plant.

“They have potentially such a great audience to share with us it is just amazing,” he said.

The comission has worked extensively with blogger Sara O’Donnell, whose website is AverageBetty.com. The commission has done about 10 different videos with her, Mr. Odiorne said. “I am having her do recipes that can be consumer or foodservice-based.”

The second tour, called “Best of Idaho,” will involve food editors and chefs. It is hosted jointly by Idaho Potatoes, Idaho-Eastern Oregon Onions and Clear Springs Trout. The tour will start in Parma in eastern Idaho and go across the state, ending up in Idaho Falls.