Louisiana Legends
Chef Billy Jacob is quick to tip his toque to Joe Scafido when it comes to the creation of Louisiana Legends, this year's winner of the MenuMasters Award for Best Menu/Line Extension.
"It was Joe's brainchild," says Jacob, executive chef of research and development for Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. "He said, 'Let's create some legends using Louisiana heritage products.' "
Scafido, the chain's vice president of concept and menu development, adds that, "Legends really started three years ago with a limited-time offer promotion -- Sausage Jambalaya -- that flew out the door."
That promotion got the Popeyes' team thinking that the concept might have legs. "We began working on a whole line of products from New Orleans and South Louisiana." says Scafido.
Buoyed by a $2 million advertising campaign, the resulting menu extension was one of the biggest product rollouts in the 26-year history of the Atlanta-based chain. The goal was to broaden Popeyes' concept and increase customer frequency by providing an alternative to the brand's traditional bone-in fried chicken offerings.
When Popeyes tackled the project, they couldn't help remembering the naysayers who scoffed at the introduction of red beans and rice many years earlier. "People said, 'You can't do this north of the Mason-Dixon line,' " recalls Scafido. "Today it's our number-one-selling item. Louisiana Legends has that potential."
Among the Legend boosters was noted chef John Folse, who heads John Folse and Co. and consults for Popeyes. "They asked me to work on the Legends because I'm from Louisiana like Billy Jacob. We know each other well and think about food the same way."
During brainstorming Folse visited Popeyes' research and development center. Jacob and his team also traveled to Folse's technical center near Baton Rouge. "We'd kick our feet back and think about all these great dishes that would excite people," Folse says.
According to Jacob, it's not uncommon for Popeyes to reach out to top area chefs like Folse and Paul Prudhomme to help create authentic Louisiana dishes: "We rely on them a lot."
The first of the Legends to hit the market last fall were Creole Chicken Etouffee and Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya. Popeyes etouffee stew includes celery, onion, garlic, bell peppers, okra, tomatoes and boneless chicken over a bed of red rice.
In the Popeyes version, Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, a hallmark of Cajun cuisine, combines red rice with boneless chicken and Cajun sausage.
These products feature Louisiana's famed one-pot cooking technique. According to Jacob, it's a very basic process: "People didn't component-cook down here -- putting one thing here and another thing there. This is salt-of-the-earth cooking. Everything goes in a pot and, boom, you've got something."
Like Jacob, Popeyes has Louisiana roots, having been founded in 1972 by New Orleans restaurateur Al Copeland. His New Orleans-style chicken continues as the signature product for this 1,300 unit, $982 million division of AFC Enterprises.
Recalling last fall's launch, Scafido says the biggest challenge was communications. "Would people on either coast and in the Midwest understand Jambalayas, etouffees and other dishes? We found that once customers put the product in their mouth, it was all over. They just continued to buy it."
Popeyes plans on introducing more than 20 Louisiana Legend products over the next few years. "It's been well received by our franchisees," says Scafido, noting that 95 percent of the system now offers Legends. "And these products are easy to execute. Franchisees already produce a lot of rice. We were simply asking them to heat sauces and proteins and add that to the rice."
In Folse's opinion the Legend rollout has been successful because Popeyes has stayed true to its roots. "They went with authenticity, and now the public is saying 'Hey, if they did it, it's Louisiana and I'm willing to give it a shot.' "
