Catering to Sophistication

The ever faster pace of life today makes grab-and-go prepared salads a growing part of foodservice business at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, a downtown New York City law firm.

Carlos Rivera, director of dining services for CulinArt at this account, launched a new 500-calorie club card promotion this year for National Nutrition Month, giving employees whose cards are punched six times a free item such as a composed grab-and-go salad.

The program meets customer desires for fresh, healthy and convenient take-away foods. “We started it last year with amazing reception,” says Rivera, noting that traditional and premium salads are also available. Upscale salad offerings include such items as sesame noodles with sliced London broil, Mandarin chicken salad or grilled salmon salad with mango salsa.

Successfully moving the salads requires neat, smart packaging, Rivera says. “They look very interesting, and the 500-calorie program is supported with nutritional information. To-go composed salads are a very important component of our business.” The prepared salads are featured in what Rivera calls “12 feet of spinning salad space,” a large case that displays the to-go items.

“There’s a challenge in offering quality fresh food to go,” Rivera says. “It can be a dangerous thing if not done properly. There are certain foods that sit well in a hot bain-marie but may not do as well in a refrigerated unit. Temperature is important.

“We meet with the chef once a week and visit our competitors,” he adds. “It’s important to understand what trends are hot and what works. My executive chef, sous chef and I also meet regularly to look at customer feedback.”

Customer satisfaction is extremely important, and Rivera likes to hear what his customers want, whether it be whole grains, tofu or vegan fare. “We want to hear from the vegans, the comfort-food lovers, everybody,” he says. The lawyers favor salads such as grilled chicken Caesar, spring salad with tuna, sesame and mandarin oranges and Thai salad.

“Our challenge is to have interesting foods that can move well. Once we get into full swing with spring, our customers will want to grab their salads and go outside and get some sun and fresh air."