Creating a Lent Menu that Will Hook Customers

Your seafood menu can satisfy their appetites this season and all year long

Is February 14 circled on your calendar? It should be. That’s Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent—a season that can jumpstart the slower period after the December holiday rush.

The time to start planning for Lent is now. Datassential says 26 percent of consumers observe Lent, and 41 percent of those consumers eat fish on Fridays instead of meat. Looking ahead a month or two means you’ll be menu-ready when Lent arrives. And that’s a good thing. Fish and shellfish sales jump by more than 20 percent during Lent, according to Datassential. Plus, an early start on your seafood menu will appeal to customers looking to eat lighter and healthier at the start of the new year, or those looking for a special treat on Valentine’s Day.

Because observing Lent is a priority for customers, a well thought out plan is important. Seafood sandwiches, fried fish, fish and chips, and shrimp dishes are customer favourites, according to Technomic Inc. These Lent staples may serve you well. But during this time, when diners are committed to eating seafood (especially on Fridays) as part of their Lenten observance, it’s a prime opportunity to expand the seafood menu. From Ash Wednesday until Easter (April 1), you don’t just want to serve your customers seafood, you want them to dine, offering them entrées they will look forward to during Lent and ask for again at other times of the year.

The leading fish dish at Top 500 restaurants is salmon, Technomic says, likely because of its familiarity and health benefits. But there are other fish varieties, preparation techniques, and cooking methods that will appeal to customers during Lent and beyond.

Six ways to make your Lent menu shine

Lent has everyone thinking fish, especially on Fridays. Standing out from the rest means offering options that go beyond the traditional fish baskets. Trident Seafoods suggests a number of inspirations that raise the fish and chips game:

1. Burgers. Golden on the outside, tender and flaky Pollock on the inside—a health-focused alternative to beef burgers. Other handhelds, such as wraps, sandwiches, and tacos add variety and appeal to on-the-go diners.
2. Seafood Cakes. Similar to crab cakes in appearance, breaded shrimp, salmon, and cod cakes feature favourite seafood flavours that can be customized with spicy seasonings or roasted vegetables.
3. Cod bites. Similar to popcorn shrimp in appearance, these can be served as a small plate or a sharing plate to satisfy the growing appetite for cod.
4. Ethnic presentations. Flavours from Latin America, Asia, and the Mediterranean—places where fish are a main part of the diet—add on-trend variety to many styles of fish.
5. Signature sauces and sides. Tartar sauce is traditional, but turn up the heat by adding spicy relish or crafting your own sriracha, gochujang, or raspberry chipotle sauce. As for side, Technomic recommends coleslaw as a trending favorite to accompany shellfish.
6. Go flavour-forward. The leading flavours for fish and shellfish are lemon, butter, garlic, and tomato, Technomic reports. Upward trending flavours for fish dishes include mustard, miso, and butter. For seafood, it’s bacon, spices, and onion.

Preparation and presentation makes perfect

Fried fish and shellfish preparations are most popular among entrées at Top 500 restaurants, Technomic reports. This includes comforting a craveable breaded, battered, or crusted fish. However, healthier preparations, such as baked fish or shellfish that has been steamed or grilled also are popular. Taking a page from the aggressive cooking styles popular on veg-centric menus, glazed, pan-seared, sautéed, wood-grilled, and smoked seafood can be a popular point of differentiation.

Crispy fried fish surrounded by a mound of french fries is a crave-worthy menu item, but Lent can also be a time to think outside the fish basket. Diners looking for alternatives during Lent can help determine lasting menu popularity. Try adding shrimp to pasta and rice dishes, soups, salads, or sandwiches. And don’t overlook indulgent classics like lobster, scallops, mussels, clams, and oysters. Although these items are declining on menus, fresh preparations like cioppino, a seafood boil, clambake, or crab beignets may appeal to diners for Lent and beyond.