By Mike Kostyo
Brad Bergaus
Four years of consumer research led the Taco John’s team to explore ways to improve the brand’s quesadilla options, focusing on a particular guest request: use premium cheeses. A lengthy product development and market testing process led to a bold menu item: the Four Cheese Steak Quesadilla. “It’s all about elevating what guests might expect from a Mexican quick-serve restaurant quesadilla,” says Brad Bergaus, Corporate Chef and Director of Innovation. “Quesadillas can be simple but still wonderfully flavorful.”
Applying customer feedback, the build combines four cheeses—melty asadero, rich queso blanco, classic Monterey Jack and all-natural cheddar—in a distinctive showcase of flavor. The cheese blend is combined with hand-cut sirloin steak, the brand’s most premium protein, and a chipotle-lime sauce, which stands out with creamy acidity and a touch of smoky heat. The ingredients are placed onto a soft fl our tortilla, which is folded, then grilled. The launch, featuring a “legendary cheese pull” in a TV ad, more than tripled quesadilla sales during the item’s promotional period, while the four-cheese blend has proven so effective that it’s now cross-utilized in a range of menu items.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Kostyo is the VP of Menu Matters, a private consultancy that works with foodservice professionals to analyze, understand and leverage food and beverage, industry and consumer trends. Kostyo has been a recurring guest on Fusion TV’s “The A.V. Club” show; has been featured on NBC News, CBS Radio and Gimlet Media’s “Why We Eat What We Eat” podcast; is regularly featured in newspapers and magazines; speaks at numerous conferences across the country; and was a judge on Food Network’s “Eating America.” For over a decade, he was the resident Trendologist and an Associate Director at Datassential, one of the food industry's leading insights companies. Kostyo has a master’s in Gastronomy from Boston University, plus certificates in the culinary arts, baking arts, wine and artisan cheese production. He is a regular contributor to Flavor & The Menu and can be reached at [email protected].
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