News

Gourmet food on the fast-casual menu

February 22, 2006

According to a Simmons Market Research Bureau report, nearly 20 percent of adults try to eat gourmet food when possible. One thing is sure: the gourmet element in fast-casual menus has come, and it's likely here to stay.

"The consumers' palates are there," said Daniel Barash, Atlanta-based Raving Brands' director of new product development. No doubt the huge success of cable TV food shows and cooking shows has helped refine America's taste buds. "There's even the reality show, 'The Restaurant,' and Rachael Ray on the Food Network."

Yet as the Baby Boomers grow older, health and nutrition become ever more important. These issues also are interesting to younger customers, who have grown up in a world filled with better nutritional education.

The result is demand for "gourmet nutrition," foods that are innately healthy yet measure up to gourmet standards. Maintaining a healthful diet correlates with eating fresh, natural and, in some cases, organic. Above all, these new food-savvy customers demand gourmet taste, texture and appearance.

Jo Marie Scaglia, owner of The Mixx in Kansas City, Mo., and a leader in this fast-casual gourmet trend, said the status quo has to go. The Mixx spins fast casual differently, most notably in its high-end, trendy furnishings, clearly setting itself apart from other fast-casual concepts. The menu helps sell the upscale image, including wine offerings that incorporate four local wines, as well as local microbrews.

"The goal is to serve high-quality food, quickly, in a full-service ambiance," Scaglia said. The high-end perception is accomplished first visually by the display of fresh greens, use of china plates, cooks in chef attire and the overall trendy interior.

"I wanted to make the food super fresh and affordable for the diner. The show kitchen is for people who want to see their food cooked. With our restaurant, customers have so many options; they can create their own dishes, so having everything displayed is helpful for people to choose their ingredients. That's really what The Mixx is: you can build your own, create your own, make your own in terms of the menu."

All of the herbs used in The Mixx's recipes are organic, as are most of the vegetables.

"We're definitely using high-end product. All our food is prepared in house — our dressings, all the soups, the sauces, everything," Scaglia said.

Scaglia has created all of The Mixx's recipes, retaining a chef on staff for further menu development.

The Mixx's fast-casual gourmet model poses a special challenge in the food customization aspect, as the "chefs" behind the counter must possess masterful communication skills, especially during peaks in business. But Scaglia intentionally limited the menu complexity so that employees without a culinary-arts background could easily prepare the various items.

"The menu fits into the fast casual category with flair," Scaglia said. "One thing we do to separate ourselves from typical fast casual is introduce different products like dried cranberries and tofu; it may be a product of which the general population may not be aware of. So, it's important for the employee to be able to educate the customer."

When customers make their own salad, they choose among gourmet cheeses (i.e., Gouda, feta, Gorgonzola); grilled chicken, salmon, steak or other "mix-in"; fresh greens; snow peas; and a multitude of other fresh toppings.

Although the range of ingredients across the board reaches 300 items, the menu complexity still remains low, according to Scaglia, due to the various ways in which they are prepared.

"Three hundred items may seem like a lot," Scaglia said. "However, the menu is designed so that the product list can be used with different twists. One may be used in an Asian influence, another one in a more traditional California style."

Five suppliers make such a vast range of product viable including a local herb supplier and a large regional distributor. Produce is delivered daily.

Gourmet on the fly

Barash from Raving Brands seeks to instill gourmet elements, "full-service, fine-dining aspects," into Moe's Southwest Grill, Mama Fu's Asian House, Doc Green's Gourmet Salads and Boneheads Grilled Fish and Piri Piri Chicken.

"A fire-roasted salsa with fresh cilantro, or the fish taco with Chipotle ranch topped with vinaigrette, these things are found in more of a full-service, sit-down, high-end restaurant," he said.

At Mama Fu's, a new Pan-Asian concept that offers Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese selections, fresh, authentic, wok-cooked dishes and noodle bowls are prepared in an open kitchen environment without the use of microwaves. On the menu is a five-spice pork tenderloin, which would be difficult to find in what was once considered typical fast casual. Another example is a flat-iron steak, which is marinated in soy, fresh herbs and green onions.

"What we're tying to do is re-define the segment where you can have gourmet, which is really the flavor profiles and experience more than anything else," Barash said.

"Gourmet offerings have come about due to customer demand as well as our own experimentation," said Brian Curin, vice president of marketing for Raving Brands. "A lot of it comes from us, helping customers graduate through the menu. For instance, they may come into Moe's Southwest Grill for a Homewrecker Burrito or a fajita or a taco salad. But we're now testing in 44 locations a grilled fish taco. What happens is that they're used to our product and this new product in their minds is gourmet."

Quality

In January, Barash and his team rolled out a new product for Moe's Southwest Grill that includes ground Angus cooked in a proprietary recipe.

"You're not going to walk into Moe's for a taco and think you can get the same at Taco Bell," Barash said. "Our ground beef has fresh-cut jalapeños, fresh onions, fresh cilantro, the spice blend, it's not greasy, and we've pulled out the soy fillers."

There's also an ethnic-food tie to gourmet perception.

"The Asian segment is huge right now," Barash said. "The little Thai and Japanese restaurants are serving dishes like sushi which are really considered gourmet."

Curin said, "Healthy foods are also gourmet in the public mindset. All our concepts have healthy twists. When you look at Doc Green's, it's actually in its description, which is, 'Healthy as You Want to be.'"

Boneheads Grilled Fish and Piri Piri Chicken encapsulates the various elements of gourmet—fresh, exotic, healthy, made-to-order—to a tee. The menu pays homage to the piri piri pepper, a South-African spice with extensive sauce-making abilities. Customers have the choice of marinating their flame-grilled chicken entrées in Boneheads signature Piri Piri sauces: lemon and herb, medium, hot or extra hot. Entrées are freshly prepared to a customer's specifications; average ticket is $10. This concept, with just four locations open at press time, will be prime one to watch as the idea of "quick gourmet" heats up.