Friday, June 29, 2007
Food
Battering the Big Easy
Kirk Waisner is the vice president of menu development at Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits...
Kirk Waisner, the man behind the new offerings on Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits’ menu.
CREDIT: Kirk Waisner, the man behind the new offerings on Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits’ menu. |
By Suzanne Wright
Kirk Waisner is the vice president of menu development at Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits. The Sunday Paper recently spoke to him about expanding the fast food franchise into the Middle East and collaborating with New Orleans-based chefs on new menu items.
When did you join the company?
Two years ago. It was a newly created position. In the past, R&D and culinary have been separate, functional groups; this [position] brings them together. I have both culinary training and a technical degree. I held a similar position at Cinnabon, a sister company.
Tell us about your job.
In the broadest sense, I have everything to do with the menu. My team of four is charged with coming up with new ideas and rolling them out to the restaurants, creating new products to bring the customer in. We work with a lot of different sources; we brainstorm with in-house chefs, our suppliers and chefs from New Orleans to get fresh ideas for the menu. We collect the ideas from wherever we can and put them in the hopper. We want to keep the menu current.
Any chefs we would know?
Chef Paul Prudhomme and members of his team have worked with us. Our uniqueness is our tie to Cajun food and New Orleans, both in food and advertising. We’re also working with chef Donald Link of Cochon [restaurant]. He’s doing a nice job of blending traditional with new twists—it gets our franchisees excited.
Globally, Popeyes has nearly 1,900 restaurants in the U.S. and 24 countries. Where are you looking to expand?
The Middle East is very strong for us.
Really?
We have a franchise operator that operates Popeyes on military bases, domestically and internationally, in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re looking at contiguous regional expansion, which is easier from a distribution and supply chain standpoint. We’re being very strategic.
Do biscuits play in Dubai?
We make adjustments to our sides, maybe pasta [instead of] rice and beans. It depends on the taste profile and what appeals to the consumer.
How do you test new products?
With a limited time offer. We have a couple of those every quarter, for about a month. We test them in different markets across the country—Atlanta, Kansas City, Texas, California—and see how they perform. If they do well, they become a full-time menu item.
Give us an example.
Buffalo nuggets were our national promotion in May. We took our traditional nuggets, which are made from chicken tenders, and infused them with buffalo flavor. Normally, you would have to dip them into a sauce to get that flavor, but we infuse the flavor in by marinating and breading. It’s been a strong performer.
You recently introduced a new concept, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
It’s a fast-casual hybrid. We have two locations—in Fayetteville and Norcross—and another will open in Memphis by the end of the year. We expanded the traditional core menu of Popeyes with more variety: barbecue ribs, barbecue shrimp, blackened catfish, red beans and rice with Louisiana sausage, updated po’boy sandwiches, all entrée-style dishes. You place your order at the counter, and they bring your meal to your table. And we have a sauce bar—we’re known for our great sauces.
What else are you working on?
The jalapeño cheddar chicken poppers are a play on bar food. We also tested those in May, and they did very well in Atlanta. They’re going to be showing up nationwide very soon.
Whet my appetite: What’s next?
We have tons of products in the pipeline. We’re looking back at things we stopped doing and seeing if we can bring them back. We’re doing an onion ring promotion paired with handmade chicken strips [Strips and Rings], which we were famous for in the past. It’s a nostalgia thing. And we’re bringing out buffalo shrimp. Popeyes is known for bold, full flavor.