Next week, ABC’s take-out table will undergo a major makeover.
Riihimäki ABC’s restaurant world is one of the chain’s largest. Eeva Paljakka
The buffet of the soon-to-be 30-year-old ABC chain is the product development manager Teemu Vehnäinen according to the concept. More than four million diners choose the buffet each year.
Next week, there will be a big shake-up of its food supply. On May 4, a renewed buffet is available.
– Now the buffet table has been renewed more than ever, says ABC’s director of restaurant and marketing operations Jaana Matikainen.
At the beginning of May, the buffet will undergo the biggest renovation in its history. The last time the offer of the buffet was modified in 2021, when a daily hot vegetarian option was introduced to the buffet.
So what is changing?
According to Matikainen, customers expect a rich salad table and more hot food, familiar flavors, affordable prices and speed from the takeout table.
The salad table and three hot dishes will remain.
In connection with the renewal, more fresh and warm vegetables will be offered. At the same time, about 30 foods will be removed from the selection and, accordingly, about 30 new foods will be replaced.
Marry me chicken is one of the novelties on the buffet table. Eeva Paljakka
The world of flavors expands and lighter and healthier dishes are added to the selection.
Chicken wings, baked omelette and Asian chicken noodle wok are among others that are leaving.
For example, marry me chicken, fried halloumi, cold-smoked lattice lasagna, smoked cabbage roast and Thai curry will be replaced.
ABC restaurant’s product development manager Tommi Laakso also highlights potato gnocchi, which is rarely used at takeout tables, which is combined with béarnaise sauce and cold-smoked salmon.
– We closely monitor what customers choose for their plate and what flavors they are interested in right now. Along with the familiar emotional foods, we hope for new flavors, variety and more vegetarian options that promote well-being, says Vehniäinen.
Tommi Laakso says that the development of the new dishes started in early autumn. Eeva Paljakka
But one dish is guaranteed to remain on the buffet menu. It is the most popular raw material on the buffet table, 130,000 kilos of which are consumed annually. Of course, it’s about meatballs.
After the renovation, meatballs are available every weekend, although other dishes have a four-week cycle. Weekends are intended to make everyday life more festive, when whole meat is offered, for example.
In addition to meatballs, customers’ favorites are also oven sausage and lasagna.
According to Matikainen, the reform took into account general food trends and feedback from customers.
Domestic meat will continue to be available. Vehniäinen emphasizes that beef, pork and chicken are always 100% Finnish.
– It is not a matter of course at a take-out table, Vehniäinen says.