Cauliflower, your moment has arrived.
For years, the cruciferous vegetable has been a supporting player on people's plates, but never the star attraction.
Mark Twain, one of the greatest American writers, declared that "cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education."
But now it's cauliflower's time to shine. Chick-fil-A said that starting on Feb. 23 it would test its cauliflower sandwich in Denver, Charleston, S.C., and North Carolina’s Greensboro-Triad region.
The Atlanta restaurant chain said that, like its signature chicken sandwich, the cauliflower offering is marinated, breaded with seasoning, pressure-cooked, and served on a bun with two dill-pickle chips.
"Cauliflower is the hero of our new sandwich, and it was inspired by our original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich,” Leslie Neslage, director of menu and packaging at Chick-fil-A, said in a statement.
“Guests told us they wanted to add more vegetables into their diets, and they wanted a plant-forward entrée that tasted uniquely Chick-fil-A."
The company's first plant-forward entree was four years in the making.
Stuart Tracy, culinary developer of the cauliflower sandwich, said in a blog post that he created the first iteration of the sandwich in October 2018, “after research showed our customers wanted a way to incorporate more vegetables into their diets.”
“I’ve always loved cauliflower and cooked with it in my restaurants in Charleston and Atlanta before coming to Chick-fil-A.” he said. “It has a mild flavor, making it a great alternative to chicken.”
Twitter Crowd Not Impressed
While most people think of a plant-based sandwich as a patty molded from chopped vegetables, Tracy said, "this sandwich is what you could call a cauliflower steak."
Chick-Fil-A may have to work hard to win over customers if recent social-media comments are any indication.
"NO. as a side dish, yes, but not as a main course," one person said on Twitter.
"Nah I’m good," another commenter said. "If people want more veggies then add more to the sandwich, or the option to swap out fries for veggie sticks. Don’t get rid of the chicken."
Another person asked "Early April Fool's joke???" and included a vomit emoji.
"Wait, is Chick-fil-a “woke” now?" another tweet asked and featured a smiley emoji.
Plant-Based Attempts
McDonald's (MCD) and Burger King have both tried introducing plant-based burgers with limited results.
The McDonald's McPlant offering, created in partnership with Beyond Meat (BYND), saw weak sales in the U.S.
McDonald's told media outlets that its tests of the McPlant had "concluded as planned” and it did not make the peas, rice and potato combination a permanent menu item.
But demand for the sandwich is still strong in international locations.
Following a trial run that went much more successfully than it did in the U.S., the regular McPlant became permanent in the U.K in January 2022 while the Double McPlant joined the roster a year later.
