Design Menus Seasonally
"We've got our priorities wrong," says Michel Nischan. "We think we should be able to have a BLT 365 days a year. The bottom line is that it tastes best in the middle of August. We need to celebrate, truly celebrate the individual season of every vegetable. It helps from an excitement standpoint and from a food-cost standpoint."
That's exactly the thinking behind Seasons 52, a new concept from Darden Restaurants. Opened in Orlando in February 2003 and primed for expansion, Seasons 52 bills itself as a "fresh grill and wine bar." Despite the challenges of incorporating seasonal produce in a menu designed for multi-state operations, Chef Clifford Pleau believes it can work.
"Initially we were changing the menu every week," says Pleau, "but we thought we better come up with a longer-term strategy that could be multi-unit." Currently, a side section of the menu—a couple of soups, the fish selection, and the featured vegetable accompaniment—changes weekly. Every quarter, the menu gets a seasonal color change and at least six line items move off.
A hearty winter quail dish might give way to spring lamb, while soba noodles with shrimp and spring peas replace saffron pappardelle. Core items like spinach salad with pine nuts and blue cheese remain, but the fruit component changes—from winter pears to berries, peaches, and apples as the seasons progress. The weekly changing side menu allows highly seasonal items like local corn or asparagus to make an appearance. "I think we're going to be very veggie-driven," predicts the chef.
All this change means added training for kitchen and dining room staff, but Pleau says that's not a negative. "I think (change) is a motivator. Culinarians can't wait to see something new, and servers can't wait to sell something new." Every season Pleau and his kitchen crew create a DVD for the dining room staff, demonstrating all the new dishes. They do a live demo, too, so staffers can taste the offerings.
Every item on the menu has a written recipe stored electronically. Servers carry hand-held computers that can provide nutritional information on every dish and the list of ingredients for diners with allergies.
A big challenge in growing the concept is projecting produce needs. Last fall, Pleau ran short of baby white turnips. He's already told his produce supplier that he'll need 15,000 of them next October, and he's got Southern California farmers on board to grow mountains of carrots. "And they better be the same size," jokes Pleau, "because the recipe says 20 minutes at 375°F."