Cava offers the Glazed Salmon in three chef-curated bowls, but it can also be added to any build-your-own item. | Photo courtesy of Cava|
For years, guests have been flooding Cava’s inboxes with requests to add seafood as a protein choice on the menu. In April, their wish was granted, when the Washington, D.C.-based fast casual launched Glazed Salmon nationwide.
“Finally the stars aligned and we were able to bring forth a product that we’re super passionate and proud of,” said Reed Armstrong, Cava’s senior director of culinary innovation. “Seafood is a foundational pillars of the Mediterranean diet and the new menu item remains true to our Mediterranean roots.”
It took a lot of research to line up sourcing and develop the flavor profile. “We paid a lot of attention to our commitment to sustainability, antibiotic-free, and flavor and performance attributes,” said Armstrong. “Plus we had to ensure we could get the quantity and quality we required.”
Cava is sourcing farm-raised salmon primarily from Norway and Iceland, with a small amount coming from Chile. The chain works with several suppliers to provide product for all 459 locations. The salmon comes in frozen in individual 4-ounce fillet portions that make it easier to prep in the back-of-house.
“We’re working with our suppliers to meet our portion targets,” said Armstrong. “We don’t want to put more complexity on our teams … we’re not hiring fishmongers to help process and break down fillets.” As a bonus, the portion sizing assures consistency systemwide and avoids waste — making the menu addition as sustainable as possible.
The R&D journey
In developing the recipe, the goal was to look at the procedures through an operational lens as well as a flavor perspective. “We asked, ‘what’s a marinade that makes sense, and how are we going to handle this back of house?’ The entire process took some time for us to roll up the entire package,” said Armstrong. “Our team ate a lot of salmon!”
The marinade has a couple of components, but “the magic comes from pomegranate molasses,” he said. He’s referring to the pomegranate molasses from Just Date, a product made from just two ingredients: organic pomegranate juice and organic dates. It was created by Dr. Sylvie Royston, a physician, mother, and food lover, as an alternative to refined sugar. Pomegranate molasses also aligns with Cava’s Mediterranean and Levantine direction; it’s widely used in Turkey and the Levant (Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.)
For the salmon marinade, the molasses is mixed with a little vinegar and a couple of other ingredients. “It offers a beautiful brightness, sweetness, and depth with just a little bit of acidity that ties it all together,” said Armstrong. “When it’s roasted in the oven, you get this beautiful caramelization and glaze.”
When Cava first started developing the glazed salmon, the team tested many flavor combinations. Dry rubs, sweet heat, and several spice blends were tried, “but some of these concepts were better on paper. When we actually put them through the system, we felt they didn’t hold up the way we wanted them to,” he said. “The pomegranate-molasses glaze not only offers great caramelization, it helps insulate and protect the fish.”
Cava uses Turbochef ovens, already in house, to roast the fish. The ovens are preprogrammed with cook and time settings to make it easy for the BOH teams to execute. “Once we load the salmon into the oven, the equipment does all the heavy lifting to ensure we get a consistent product each and every day across all our restaurants,” Armstrong explained.
Since this is Cava’s first seafood item, it did take some training to get the teams acclimated to the defrosting, handling, and cooking of the fish, but the pre-portioning and programmed oven settings smoothed the way.
From back-of-house to bowl
The Glazed Salmon is available as a protein choice in any custom bowl or pita for an upcharge of $3-$4. It’s considered a premium protein, like grilled steak and braised lamb, which have similar upcharges. But Armstrong and his team created several chef-curated bowls as well.
The salmon filets come into the kitchen in 4-ounce portions.
Currently running is the Salmon + Yogurt Dill Bowl featuring the salmon over arugula and saffron rice, accompanied by hummus, Cava’s signature Crazy Feta, fire-roasted corn, tomato + onion, cucumbers, and yogurt dill dressing. And to pair with this season’s special dressing, there’s the Salmon + Strawberry Sesame Bowl. It includes the Glazed Salmon and tzatziki over brown rice and spinach, with roasted red pepper hummus, cucumbers, feta, tomato + onion, and sumac cabbage slaw, all enhanced with summer’s tart strawberry-sesame dressing.
Also on offer is a digital exclusive Pomegranate Glazed Salmon Bowl with basmati rice, Crazy Feta, hummus, avocado, pickled onions, fiery broccoli, tomato, and cucumber drizzled with Greek vinaigrette. Prices for the bowls range from around $15 to $19, depending on location.
The salmon has been well-received as Cava’s first seafood offering, with guests saying that they love the bold, vibrant flavors characteristic of Mediterranean cuisine that the protein brings to the menu, according to a spokesperson. It also works well for Cava’s operators and teams, added Armstrong.
The fast casual hasn’t yet decided if Glazed Salmon will end up on the permanent menu, but there is still strong demand for seafood. Cava rolled out Garlic Roasted Shrimp in select markets after a successful test and experimented with other species of fish during the R&D process before going with salmon.
What’s next
“I think we saw, with the ubiquity of salmon and the success we’ve seen with shrimp, we’ve got a lot of uncharted territory, even with those two species in and of themselves,” said Armstrong, adding that there are different flavor profiles to explore within Mediterranean cuisine.
Although he can’t divulge specifics, seasonal updates are in store for fall. “We’re less interested in novelty and more on longevity,” said Armstrong, “always hyper-focused on how we bring more flavors of Greece and the Levant to our guests. That comes through in many different formats … through dressings, entrées, or toppings. We’re constantly exploring different flavor combinations.”
