When Red Lobster launched its expanded Fresh Fish menu, the key goal was for guests to realize the fish is never frozen, said Kent Wilson, senior vice president of marketing.
“We offer fresh seafood and high-quality seafood, because I think fresh – especially for seafood – is synonymous for quality,” he says.
Driving the “fresh” concept home at each of the Orlando, Fla.-based chain’s 680 restaurants is a daily printed sheet that lists the Fresh Fish menu of the day. It accompanies the main menu and is the first thing that servers are instructed to talk about with their customers.
At the Red Lobster restaurant in Joliet, Ill., general manager Nick Kapellas says: “We’ve always had fresh fish but never really got the credit for it. Now every guest who comes through the door hears about the fresh fish both from the host and the server.”
Catering to local tastes Increasing the impact of the Fresh Fish menu is an expanded list of different fish species that individual restaurant operators can order based on the seafood preferences of their guests. “Customers in the Great Lakes area may want walleye, which is a favorite in some parts of the Midwest,”Wilson says.“However, walleye isn’t well known and necessarily well liked in Florida. They want grouper.” The daily Fresh Fish menu lets operators select from a list of 16 approved fresh-fish species, ranging from Atlantic salmon to Arctic char to whitefish. “What they’re getting is fresh, never frozen,” says John Fadool, the chain’s senior vice president of culinary and beverage. “Just the logistics of getting fresh fish to all of our restaurants every day is quite a feat for us, particularly when some of our restaurants are landlocked.” Adds Kapellas: “We have a much wider array of fish to choose from now. Yellow lake perch is popular here, and we also have a pretty big calling for mahi mahi, although salmon and tilapia are still the best sellers.” Red Lobster, which is owned by Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants Inc., leaves little to chance. “When we decide to add a species to our approved list, the first thing we do is work with it here in our culinary center,” says senior executive chef Michael LaDuke. “We set the specs and the quality guidelines to make sure it can be handled in the kitchen.” “It’s not willy-nilly,” Fadool adds. “A restaurant can’t just have any fresh fish on their menu. It has to be qualified at the culinary center and through the distribution chain to make sure that what they get is outstanding quality.” More is more, sometimes The Fresh Fish menu also gives customers a choice of how their fish is cooked. PROGRAM: Fresh Fish menuROLLOUT: systemwide to the public, January 2007COMPANY: Red LobsterHEADQUARTERS: Orlando, Fla.UNITS: 680 in 44 states and CanadaAPPROVED FRESH-FISH SPECIES: Arctic char, Atlantic salmon, cod, grouper, haddock, halibut, lake perch, mahi mahi, rainbow trout, red rockfish, red snapper, sole, tilapia, wahoo, walleye and white-fishMENU DEVELOPERS: John Fadool, senior vice president, culinary and beverage; Michael LaDuke, senior executive chef “You can have it blackened, roasted or grilled,” LaDuke says. “Or you can have it grilled with a sweet-and-spicy sauce as well. But the customer selects the species and how he or she wants it prepared. That is certainly more than what we previously offered.” Spreading the word Rock Island Stuffed Tilapia, $15.50 Grilled Arctic Char with Sweet and Spicy Glaze, $20.99 full portion, $14.75 half portion Blackened Rainbow Trout, $15.50 full portion, $10.50 half portion Roasted Tilapia in a Bag, $16.25 full portion, $11.25 half portion Salmon New Orleans, $18.50 full portion, $13.50 half portion Maui Luau Shrimp and Salmon, $15.99 Server training was another key component of the Red Lobster plan. The chain’s previous menus featuring fresh fish weren’t registering with the guest, Fadool says. “Having recipes that chef LaDuke and his team develop helps our servers get excited,” he says. “If we are going to demonstrate to our guests that we have fresh fish, you really need servers who are excited about it.” To introduce Red Lobster’s menu nationwide and deliver fresh fish to all restaurants every day took close coordination between the company’s teams, including finance, purchasing, marketing, operations, service and culinary. “We did research before we launched, a month after launch, and then eight months later,” Wilson says. “We have seen a significant increase in the guests’ perception that Red Lobster offers fresh seafood.” Back in Illinois, Kapellas says guests have really taken to the new menu. “This is fresh seafood coming right from the water to us, and it’s amazing how the guests react to it,” he says. “They say, ‘Wow, I have all these fresh fish to choose from. I didn’t know Red Lobster had fresh fish.’”