Blog

Because I cook so much at home, and because I have worked in upscale-casual restaurant concepts for a long time, going out to eat at chain establishments doesn’t excite me.

Operationally, I expect chains to receive most (or all) of their meats

Operationally, I expect chains to receive most (or all) of their meats by the truckload, frozen from big plants. Same goes for all the sauces; made in large batches from a company-chosen manufacturer. I expect it because I have seen it time and time again.

So, when I was invited for a media dinner at Outback Steakhouse, let’s just say, I was interested but not excited.

Outback Steakhouse was featuring their new wood fire grill options for all steaks, chicken and ribs. We tasted all of the options (lots of them!). And if you’re a seasoned barbeque master, you know that a wood fire grilled steak’s flavor is like no other.

Outback’s corporate executive chef, their top culinary trainers and best “service techs” (we called them server trainers in my day) were there to swoon us with their skills and service.

As I started to warm up to Outback, I was even more surprised that with hundreds of locations across the country, that Outback still makes all their sauces and dressing from scratch. This is very rare in chains as big as these. And yes, they’re only open for dinner, so some will argue that their prep cooks have more time to execute scratch-made sauces and dressings.

Nevertheless, this is a something consumers are looking for these days in large restaurant operations. Consumers want and are looking for places to eat that can give them the best quality for their hard-earned cash.

Besides their dressings and sauces, Outback’s corporate chef told us their meat comes in fresh and never frozen. Another key and important point to make to consumers who are looking for the best for their money.

*Pictures courtesy of Outback Steakhouse