2008-02-22 - FoodConnect
By: Claudia Kwan

The Feenie Effect

When and how it will manifest at Cactus Club

The hiring of celebrity chef Rob Feenie to be Cactus Club’s new ‘Food Concept Architect’ has certainly gained the casual fine dining chain a lot of attention, but how that will change the experience of the average restaurant-goer won’t be evident right away.

For starters, at the widely covered news conference immediately following the announcement, Canada’s Iron Chef said he would be taking the next few months simply to visit the different restaurants and to get a feel for what they’re doing.

But in an exclusive interview a short time earlier, Cactus Club president and founder Richard Jaffray revealed a little more about the inner workings of the chain, and by interpretation, why it could be months more before Feenie can make any changes, and why the changes themselves might be pretty limited. (After all, the chain seems to be doing pretty well as is--who says things need to be changed significantly?)

The occasion was the formal rollout of new menu items. Some, like a chocolate brownie sundae and mini bacon cheeseburgers, were on the retro side of things.

The mini-burgers have apparently been quite the success, providing the right opportunity for people to share in a small indulgence, but it wasn’t a hastily executed menu option. Careful analysis was done on the increased labour cost, logistical challenges, and wait times involved in producing three small burgers relative to one large one, and that was for a fairly small change to a dish.

Completely new products are evaluated on every level: what will be involved in re-training staff to make them or sell them to customers; can suppliers provide all of the desired ingredients; can the dishes be made consistently; should they be a short-term feature or a permanent addition. Then they’re test-marketed to customers at the chain’s Broadway and Ash location in Vancouver before they get approval for a company-wide rollout. ‘Shotgun’ menu items can be in place within six weeks, which is considered a very quick turnaround. Most new dishes take two or three months, and some items have stayed in the prototype phase for six months.

So that’s the time factor limiting the immediacy of the Feenie effect.

Simple availability of some ingredients could be another obstacle. Cactus already has 17 locations in the Lower Mainland, with another 2 slated to open here by this spring, and preparation underway for a location in Edmonton.

Jaffray admits sheer volume is an obstacle to philosophical ordering involving buying locally or sustainably. “That was one of our experiences using local mussels,” says Jaffray. “Our suppliers just couldn’t keep up to our volume once we launched the item, and we had to stop and let them catch up.”

Instead, the chain buys locally when possible, and then turns to alternative suppliers when necessary. He says they invest in long-term relationships with suppliers; consistent purchasing allows local companies to be more viable on a year-round basis, by guaranteeing a certain amount of revenue with which to extend future reach and capacity. They also try to be environmentally conscious in other areas, with cloth takeout bags, reusable takeout containers, and menus printed on eco-friendly paper.

Still, it shows Feenie won’t be able to throw in just any ingredient on a whim.

There were slightly more globally-influenced dishes at this presentation, like a BBQ duck spring roll and a Thai seafood curry served on banana leaf, but with the need to appeal to a wide customer base, the chain experiences restrictions on how culinarily explorative it can be, admits Jaffray.

“We’re doing about a million customer visits a year. The biggest challenge as a restaurateur is, every customer comes to the restaurant saying they want to try something new and adventurous, but they always order their favourites.”

Jaffray says he likes to push customers' boundaries, citing the example of Cactus' West Coast pockets. Initially customers didn't like the smoked salmon and seasoned rice in bean curd pouches, but with a little coaxing, the sushi-esque dish is now one of their bestsellers.

But if they have to cater to everyone’s tastes, how innovative or experimental will Feenie be allowed to be?

With cost-effectiveness and consistency the watchwords, and fairly rigid control measures in place, you have to wonder how much impact Feenie will have overall at Cactus Club. I also have to wonder what’s going to happen with Cactus Club’s two existing, and very capable, product development chefs.

Provided by FoodConnect.