Buca Inc.’s president John Bettin not only tracks food trends, he may be setting a culinary trend himself. He is one of the first former R&D executives hired as president of a large restaurant chain.
Last year Bettin took the reins of the Minneapolis-based company, which owns and operates close to 100 Buca di Beppo restaurants best known for serving large platters of retro Italian-American fare in kitschy settings sporting plastic fountains, black-and-white Sinatra photos and bunches of artificial grapes.
“I never regretted my days in culinary because it’s all about the food,” says Bettin, who cut his teeth on the culinary side at Houlihan’s and then spent close to a decade in restaurant R&D before climbing the corporate ladder. “If you’re not intimidated to go into the kitchen, you can mix it up with the chefs. You know what’s great and what’s not.”
His kitchen staff enjoys the benefit of having a culinary specialist running the company. “He is nothing but supportive, which is awesome,” says Carron Harris, who leads Buca’s culinary team as vice president of food and beverage. “Sometimes when you have a wacky idea, it is great to have someone who you can bounce something off.”
Besides talking food, Harris and the other Buca executives literally consume the competition. The R&D team, including Bettin, when he’s available, track trends and scoop up specific dish ideas during tasting trips where they visit as many as 12 restaurants a day.
Among the trends spotted during a recent foray in San Francisco was an increased use of herb-infused vodkas and syrups. “I had a couple rosemary infused martinis,” Harris says.
She also noticed an abundance of basil-and cucumber-flavored beverages. The infusions “transcend beverages,” and enhance flavors in dishes of all kinds, Harris notes. In general, “people are looking for bold, full-flavored food,” she says.
On the same trip Bettin noticed more grilled and roasted foods in the restaurants visited. He says that diners seek out roasted fare in restaurants because they don’t roast at home a whole lot. Additionally, both roasting and grilling methods are perceived as healthier than other cooking methods such as frying, he adds.
Bettin admits, however, that Buca’s new line of grilled items didn’t sell as well as expected. But their new smaller portions, dubbed “Buca Mio,” were a hit.
“We did some market research that found our guests would dine more frequently if we had single portions,” he says.
But the big platters Buca di Beppo built a reputation on remain firmly planted on the concepts’ paper placemat menus.
“We’re just trying to provide our guests with lots of choices,” Bettin says. “I see concepts like Cheesecake and Claim Jumper that are still successful with large portions. People will tell you they like to eat less. But when they go out, they eat a lot of food.”
While Harris expects healthful eating to emerge as a significant trend, she doesn’t think the industry has reached that point yet.
“They’d rather have fettuccine,” Harris adds, and those diners prefer that particular pasta topped with a rich Alfredo sauce. In fact, Harris says, few people order the whole-wheat pasta option she offers.
Carryout, however, is a big hit.
“We made a big push about a year and a half ago to make our food more accessible to go,” Bettin says.
More curbside service was added along with camera-monitored areas allowing customers to stay in their vehicles while servers bring the orders out carside.
“Our to-go sales doubled,” Bettin says. “It was 5 percent to 6 percent of total sales. Now it’s 10 percent to 11 percent.”
Much of those sales, he says, were incremental rather than cannibalized from in-store dining.
Regardless of where they are eating, “people want to be temporarily transported to another place,” by their food, Bettin adds. To meet the demand for palate exploration he sees “a trend of blending of cuisines finding its way into casual dining.”
To meet such demands Buca introduced such dishes as a chicken pizza with Alfredo sauce, corn, thyme and house-made potato chips, as well as a porchetta with balsamic vinegar, blueberries and hazelnuts.
Perhaps due to exposure to more global tastes, diners also now embrace more heat on the plate. “People are looking for something that has a little bit of a kick,” Harris says.
8trends for ’08 FULL FLAVOR ROASTING GRILLING SPICINESS BLENDING OF CUISINES HERB INFUSIONS—PARTICULARLY FOR BEVERAGES HEIGHTENED ALLERGY AWARENESS SMALLER INDULGENCES, ESPECIALLY FOR DESSERT FAD ABOUT TO FLOP? LOW CARB
When it comes to younger folks, they’re following adults. “I see more kids eating what their parents are eating,” Harris adds.
Harris also hears more requests for foods specifically designed around people’s increasingly common allergies these days, and she predicts that special requests, especially for allergy sensitivities, will mushroom in the near future. However, at the end of the meal, diners seek smaller indulgences.
BUCA INC. HEADQUARTERS: Minneapolis UNITS: 91 REGION: 25 states and the District of Columbia PRICES: appetizers, $7.99-$22.99; main courses, $14.99-$33.99; and desserts, $7.99-$11.99; prices vary by location LATEST MENU ROLLOUT: Pizza Angelo, with Alfredo sauce, mozzarella, sliced chicken breast, roasted corn, fresh thyme and house-made Roman potato chips, $12.99-$18.99; Shrimp and Scallops Fra Diavolo with “fiery red” sauce, $19.99-$29.99; Penne Campofiore, a vegetarian dish with zucchini, artichoke hearts, escarole and vegetable broth, $15.99-$24.99, all introduced spring 2007 BEST-SELLING APPETIZER: Garlic Bread with Mozzarella, $7.99-$12.99, introduced 14 years ago on the opening menu BEST-SELLING PASTA: Spaghetti Meatballs, $16.99-$25.99, which debuted 14 years ago BEST-SELLING MAIN COURSE: Chicken Parmigiana, $17.99-$26.99, introduced 14 years ago SLOWEST SELLER: Roasted Tuscan Chicken with rosemary, $14.99–$28.99, in 2005 in limited markets
“I think it’s because people love dessert,” Bettin says. “But most desserts are too big and most people want just a little taste.”