The ubiquitous theme park churro found throughout Disneyland and Disney California Adventure serves as the perfect flavor delivery vehicle for telling sweet, savory and sometimes even scary Disney stories this Halloween season through food and drinks.
How does Disneyland make Halloween food scary?
By making it spicy with the strawberry and ghost pepper flavored Pain Churro or a Pistachio-Cherry Churro that comes with a side of ghost pepper grape sauce.
“There’s a level of fear or maybe fright when it comes to heat,” Disneyland Resort culinary director Jeremiah Balogh said. “Am I going to try this or not? This is going to be scary. I’m not sure what to expect.”
Disneyland chefs use seasonal events like Halloween Time and Oogie Boogie Bash as an opportunity to experiment with new flavors and test new foods.
Disneyland’s culinary team spiced up the menu this Halloween season with ghost peppers — once ranked as the world’s hottest chili pepper — on everything from nachos and potato bites to pastrami sandwiches and Michelada beer cocktails.
“We’ve been categorized as ‘Disney spicy’ in the past,” Balogh said during an interview at Disney California Adventure. “I think we’ve gotten away from that.”
How hot are the ghost pepper menu items at Disneyland?
“It will burn,” Balogh said. “How much will it burn? Hopefully you can trust me on that.”
Ultimately, the objective is to take Disneyland visitors on a culinary adventure that introduces them to new foods and flavors without terrifying their taste buds.
“Our guests are not going to be happy walking away with their tongues on fire for the next 20 or 30 minutes,” Balogh said. “We’re not overly aggressive with the ghost pepper. It’s just the right balance. But how awesome is it that we can be the ones getting an ingredient in front of people that they may not have otherwise tried?”
The two new ghost pepper churros are among 10 hot, sour, sweet and savory fried dough flavors available at Disneyland, DCA and Downtown Disney during Halloween Time. The Pain (strawberry and ghost pepper flavored) and Panic (raspberry flavored) churros — named for the “Hercules” demonic duo — are only available during Oogie Boogie Bash at DCA.
Disney chefs don’t cook up their new culinary ideas in a secret backstage tasting lab, but instead dream up new recipes in unused kitchen corners surrounded by everyone from line cooks and bakers to waiters and dishwashers.
“Everybody has an opportunity to participate, whether it’s just with the idea or it’s throughout the entire process,” Balogh said. “All of us come to the kitchen with ideas, suggestions and experiences. When we collaborate together, we craft that original idea and put it to work so that our guests can enjoy it.”
Storytelling is a key ingredient in every food served at Disneyland and DCA. Sometimes that story is told with colors and flavors like the Pain and Panic churros. Other times a regional cuisine, eatery’s menu or chef’s cultural heritage drive the culinary narrative like during the DCA Food & Wine Festival. Every once in a while the Disneyland food development team intentionally swerves off course with a familiar item like a corn dog — tossing in some lobster or a Monte Cristo twist. On rare occasions, the story doesn’t come across until you taste the food.
“It’s not perfect the first time out of the gate. It takes a little bit of time,” Balogh said. “We taste something and think, ‘Maybe we need to add a little bit of this. Maybe we need to take away some of that.’ It happens naturally.”
The final step in the Disneyland food development process is the ultimate taste test by the Anaheim theme park’s visitors who determine the winners and losers.
“We’re rebranding the culinary, candy and bakery items that theme parks are known for today. Our guests have allowed us to do that,” Balogh said. “We’re driving what we’re doing, but we’re doing it based on feedback and performance of those items.”
In the end, the Disneyland culinary team’s goal is to create excitement around new menu items and persuade visitors to treat every restaurant, food stand and vending cart at the parks like a must-eat destination.
“People are waiting for the next big thing,” Balogh said. “We can’t just continue to offer the same things over and over again. We try to offer a variety of flavors that more guests might be curious to try.”
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