I got over the word artisan a long time ago and am watching avocados, cruciferous vegetables and ancient whole grains on restaurant menus. But I’m seeing that there’s plenty of life left in artisan, even if (and perhaps because) there is no standard definition for it.
Let’s make our own educated embellished definition. Artisan means hand-crafted and implies thoughtful, sleep-deprived dedication. Of the nearly 1,200 current artisan menu mentions in the restaurants tracked by research firm Mintel, cheese is the menu item most often described as artisan, followed closely by bread.
Now that we’re all equal experts on this, let me ask you, is it okay to pass off tacos as artisan? I ask because Tropical Smoothie Café recently came out with a limited-time offer of artisan tacos. Should we cry foul? The taco types are soft-shell roasted chipotle chicken; Korean BBQ steak; and mojo fish. Tropical Smoothie’s website says this of its taco trio: “Our artisan tacos are unexpectedly different. Fresh new flavor blends of signature sauces and hand-made toppings that take tacos to a whole new place.”
El Pollo Loco also ascribes artisan to one of its newest items: Carne Asada Taco with avocado, pico, cheese, cabbage, poblano cream and soft artisan tortillas.
I guess all is fair in naming and marketing. If hand-crafted is at the center of what it means to be artisan, then the hand-made toppings on Tropical Smoothie’s tacos qualifies the term for the tacos. Maybe for a fast-food operator, any hand-made ingredient is a big artisan deal. If so, I say to all you fine-dining restaurants out there, get busy renaming things. Your appetizers, salads, relishes, garnishes, sauces, entrees, sides and soups surely have a hand-crafted element.
Anyway. We’re done toying with that. But no less than McDonald’s is freshly on the artisan bandwagon with its recently added Bacon Clubhouse Burger and the Bacon Clubhouse Chicken sandwich—both “served on our artisan roll.” Hmm. Is someone coming in at 3 a.m. to hand-make those rolls? I don’t think so. Maybe we’re cheapening the term just a tad.
Other chains may be a bit more believable when they describe their bread as artisanal. Consider Jason’s Deli’s 9-Grain Artisan Bread, Panera Bread’s Artisan French Bread and perhaps Quizno’s Artisan Wheat Bread.
For artisan to work for anyone, I think it has to be coupled with another a-word. Authentic. If the term artisan doesn’t seem authentic to the customer, who is going to believe it.
Let’s bring Chipotle Mexican Grill into the conversation. I’d say it’s a master at authentic. So when it tosses out the word artisan, customers are likely to believe it, because Chipotle will be authentic about it.
In fact, Chipotle is putting faces to the term. This year, it is conducting three Cultivate Festivals. One happened in San Francisco on June 7. It has a Minneapolis and a Dallas-Fort Worth festival to go in which it is sponsoring free events featuring cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs, live music, local food artisans, breweries, wineries, and other activities, according to an article on Fast Casual.com. Those who attend one of those festivals will have the opportunity to see real local food artisans. As they watch artisan in action, they will be better judges of the authenticity of the term on menus.
Tell me what you think.
Jody
