Cut fried foods without disappointing diners
Like a delicious, craveable movie villain, fried foods cannot be killed. Even with growing health consciousness, many operators report their grill, fryer or comfort food stations to be some of their most popular offerings. Here are a few tips from operators who’ve lost their fryers without losing revenue.
Strategize first
Kaiser Permanente, a health system with hospitals across the country, finished removing all fryers from its operations in 2016. When Kaiser first embarked on this process, one location pulled its fryer without giving guests a heads-up. “Well, of course people get upset when there is something they are used to and it’s suddenly taken away,” says Kathy Gerwig, environmental stewardship officer and vice president of employee safety, health and wellness. “That’s when we decided to take a step back, think about the context and make a plan.”
The first step, says Gerwig, is to create a big-picture strategic vision. Removing a fryer should be wrapped up in broader health goals. Eradicating Kaiser’s fryers came along with increased nutritional labeling and fewer sugar-sweetened beverages. It helps give guests a framework and employees something to point toward when customers look for answers.
Activate employees
When John Miller, system director of culinary wellness at Henry Ford Health System in metro Detroit, started devising a plan for nixing fried items, he knew it would require a broader buy-in. In department meetings and daily huddles, Miller would take the time to discuss new nonfried recipes and make sure staff get the philosophy behind the change. “It’s extremely important to me that our staff had the ability to talk about this and work through the changes,” he says.
Repeal and replace
When Miller expressed his plans to remove the fryer, people told him the policy would lose money. “I said that loss of business was in our control,” he says. Small investments such as a tossed-to-order salad station and induction cookers for global fare helped draw health-conscious brown baggers and save the system $30,000 annually in deep-fryer shortening.
At St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood, Colo., the nutrition services team knew discontinuing their fried top-sellers, such as chicken fingers and fries, would dissatisfy customers. To change the conversation, the department installed a churrasco grill the same day they removed the fryers. Instead of chicken tenders, the cafeteria grills chicken shawarma and pork souvlaki. Michael Conroy, director of nutrition services, says he hasn’t heard one complaint about the fryer removal.
