- Chick-fil-a tests items extensively before they hit the main menu.
- Many items tested never make it to to the full menu or even a limited rollout before being axed.
- A Cranberry Orange Bagel, Rosemary Garlic Flatbread Wrap, Chicken Quesadilla, and Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls are not coming to a restaurant near you — ever.
Chick-fil-a tests may different items in its kitchens in the pursuit of making something that customers will shell out hard earned money for.
In a blog post on its company news feed, the company revealed four items that the chain tested but were found wanting: cranberry orange bagel, chicken quesadilla, biscuit cinnamon rolls, and Rosemary Garlic Flatbread Wrap
Christy Cook and Shona Jonson, Chick-fil-a chefs in charge of the menu, each described just how the creations fell short of the hallowed spot on the chain's regular menu.
One was good, but too weird. Another took too long to make. Still one more seemed like a good idea, but was harder to implement in practice.
Chicken Quesadilla
A mainstay of the Chick-fil-a "secret menu," the quesadilla is chicken nuggets, cheese, and the tortilla from the breakfast burrito.
Chick-fil-a explored adding the item to the full menu.
"We have certain criteria every potential menu item must meet before it’s added to our menu," says Jonson.
Read: the quesadilla didn't meet it. They took too long to cook.
Rosemary Garlic Flatbread Wrap
Before the Grilled Cool Wrap became a Chick-fil-a menu mainstay, there were earlier incarnations.
They were tested in Memphis, Orlando, and Myrtle Beach without customers knowing Chick-fil-A was behind it. Reviews were mixed.
"It was very polarizing," Jonson said. "There were lovers and there were haters."
The Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap has a multigrain wrap.
Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls
Though a cinnamon roll made with biscuit sounds like a good idea, it turns out it was too hard to make.
"Even though the recipe was simple, it was surprisingly complex to make across all our restaurants," Cook said. "Customers loved how it tasted, but because we couldn’t prepare it fresh in our restaurant kitchens each morning and get it right every time, we cut it."
Chick-fil-a had different cinnamon roll item, the Cinnamon Roll Cluster, which was on the menu from 2005 to 2016.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider