Fresh is so yesterday on menus. The menu descriptor artisan is where it’s at today. I think it’s because artisan conjures images of just what it is, hand-made by an artist. Of course it implies fresh, but it also breaths local, careful and hand-crafted. Consider these recent menu additions:
- Blimpie Subs added several new subs on artisan bread, including Onion Poppy Ciabatta Artisan Bread.
- Olive Garden added asiago cheese-filled artisanal ravioli tossed with chicken, peppers, mushrooms and caramelized onions in a creamy white wine sauce.
- Jimmy Vs Steakhouse and Tavern now has Local Artisan Lettuces Salad.
- Camille’s Sidewalk Café just rolled out Artisan Flatbread Pizza to all its locations, replacing its gourmet pizzas.
- Burgerville, for a limited time, has Echo Mountain Blue Burger “inspired by artisan cheese maker Ignazio Vella from Rogue Creamery,” a Burgerville partner since 2005.
According to the February 2011 Mintel Menu Insights report “Breaking More Bread,” the number of artisan mentions as a bread ingredient marketing claim increased 75% from 2007 to 2010. Meanwhile, fresh was down 1%; crunchy was down 14%; signature was down 3%; and classic was down 7%.
I would be remiss if I limited the artisan conversation to just a “menu mentions” focus. Here’s to all the artisans out there who are really doing artisanal bread, pasta, cheese, etc. Good for you, and keep it up. Don’t be discouraged that what you view as a livelihood, others think of as a great PR term.
I wrote an article on artisanal cheese for the recently released spring issue of Sizzle magazine (see “Cheese Culture” to the right). One of the chefs I interviewed took issue with the current pop-word treatment, citing Starbucks, which launched grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches on oven-toasted artisan rolls. This chef commiserated that there isn’t an official definition for artisan. “Hand-made equals oddly shaped bread at Starbucks.”
An owner of an artisan cheese shop that added on a restaurant later told me “In my mind, the word has been abused of late. It’s gotten into fast-food locations where they promote sandwiches on artisan bread, like Subway or Dunkin Donuts that don’t even make artisan bread,” he said.
But I wouldn’t worry. Many people do understand that artisanal means hand-crafted in small batches. And for those who don’t, the vast PR from the fast-food chains that have a budget to blazon the word artisan can only help the small companies that actually do the work but don’t have the bucks to promote the idea.
Tell me what you think.
Jody
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