Marketing

For Mom's Day, White Castle asks: 'Is life really too short to stuff a mushroom?'

While most busy moms may not have much time to stuff mushrooms, White Castle hopes some of their kids and partners will try that feat for them this Mother's Day.

White Castle's Slider-stuffed Mushrooms Parmingiana. (Photo: Provided)

May 8, 2020 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

"Life," as the author of "Superwoman," Shirley Conran, once famously said, "is too short to stuff a mushroom," as any mom/employee/wife/jack-of-all-trades will attest. But, on Mother's Day at least, White Castle is hoping at least a few families will honor their "woman of the house" by doing just that, and making slider-stuffed mushrooms for dear ol' mom, which is one of the brand's Top 10 Slider recipes released just in time for Mom's Day and also the National Hamburger Month of May.

The Columbus, Ohio-based brand is just one of the many QSRs doing a monumental "pivot" this Mother's Day to attract business, even when business can't dine in throughout much of the pandemic-locked-down nation. White Castle Head Chef and Director of Product Innovation Phillip Bach released the brand's first-ever list of "Top 10 Slider-Based Recipes," to honor the burger and the mom … 'er let's make that, the mom and the burger. 

The list of old and new formulas all can use either the brand's Sliders from the drive-thru or from grocery store freezer aisles, a news release said. 

"You can make some really hot and tasty meals using our Sliders," said Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle. "We have 50 amazing recipes on our website, and our in-house chef chose these Top 10 for their taste, simplicity and popularity among the Craver Nation."

In no particular order, the White Castle Top 10 List of Slider-Centric Recipes (beginning with those mushrooms we promised) include:  

• Stuffed Mushrooms Parmigiana: Includes mushrooms, pepperoni and bell pepper in addition to Sliders.
• Queen's Breakfast Casserole: Includes mushrooms, eggs, milk, onion and shredded cheese.
• White Castlerole: Combo of Sliders, cheese, milk, eggs and a little seasoning that's actually demonstrated on the brand's YouTube channel by the chef himself. 
• Castle Con Queso Dip: Includes Jalapeño Sliders, cheese, salsa and refried beans.
• White Castle Vidalia Dip – A whole lot of Vidalia onions are added to Sliders, mayo, Swiss cheese and bacon to create a delectable dip to serve on crackers.
• Loaded Mac & Cheese Sliders: Cheese Sliders with bacon, mac & cheese and avocado slices.
• Stuffed Peppers for a Crowd: Hollowed-out green peppers stuffed with Sliders, rice and tomato sauce.
• Hawaiian Castle Bake: A little rice, Macadamia nuts, teriyaki sauce, green bell pepper and crushed pineapple with Sliders.
• Ultimate Stuffed Pasta Shells: Sliders mixed with Italian sausage, cheese, sweet onion and a few other ingredients to make a pasta shell filling ad cover with spaghetti sauce. 
• Brazilian Bruschetta: Cheese Sliders mixed with chorizo sausage and avocado aioli. 

"We invite families everywhere to bring a White Castle Feast home for their Queen on Mother's Day, and our online and mobile app ordering makes that easier than ever," said White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson. 

Photo: Edible Brands

For those, whose Mom's Day wishes bend a bit more into the sweet range, Edible Brands is not only making fruit and other chocolate-covered goods available via delivery and carryout, but also adding some music to set the motherly mood for the day. 

The brand teamed with 12 different recording artists to create its "Songs for Mom" album, and included with two Edible Mother's Day gift bundles or as an add-on for $9.99. 

"We are continually exploring new ways to emotionally connect with our customers," said Edible President Cheikh Mboup. 

"From founder, Tariq Farid, to our franchisees, Edible's story is about achieving the American Dream by helping people celebrate," he said. "Artists are pursuing a similar dream and just as we have helped so many entrepreneurs through franchising, now we are giving artists a new venue to share their voice while also giving our franchisees one more way to help their customers celebrate special occasions."

He added that Edible plans to announce more relationships with recording artists both nationally as well as in individual Edible markets.

"I look forward to the day that our guests are sitting in an Edible store sharing a treat with a friend while listening to the music of a popular local artist," he said.

As listeners learned when Mboup was the featured guest on our recent QSRweb podcast, Edible Brands QSR, Edible Eats, is set to launch in Atlanta with its first store this fall. But, like many restaurant companies, Mother's Day is still a huge business day for the company's current properties, when Mboup told QSRweb the company would have 98% of its North American stores open for curbside pickup, so it was imperative they had something special for this year's unusually home-bound holiday. 

"Mother's Day is already the single busiest weekend of the year for the brand, and with our fleet of refrigerated vans that can access 75% of U.S. households, we anticipate that this Mother's Day will be the busiest in our company history," Mboup said. "The addition of music fits perfectly with our mission of celebrating life's most special moments, and I look forward to continuing having a music presence beyond this holiday."

But Edible and White Castle are, of course, far from the only brands doing something big for mamma this Sunday. And though we surely will not be able to mention as many as deserve, here are a few three that passed our desk in recent

Photo: California Pizza Kitchen

weeks, we are passing along to you:

• Fired Pie: The brand is offering $10 off $40 spent, as well as $5 off every $20 spent this Sunday with the code "TENOFF" or "FIVEOFF" respectively via online ordering only, but not for third-party delivery. 
• California Pizza Kitchen: The brand's Spring Meal kits are designed to give mom the day off of cooking, particularly if mom is usually the one who does that. Included in the kits are a choice of pan-roasted chicken, roasted salmon, or grilled ribeye with a side of spinach artichoke dip, sourdough baguette, caesar salad, fingerling potatoes, and butter cake with vanilla Haagen-Dazs ice cream, for between  $40 - $120 depending on the meat selection and whether ordering for two or four people.

• Photo: KFC

  Kentucky Fried Chicken: Every year the brand said in a news release that it doles out nearly 400,000 buckets of chicken. This year, it's also giving those who order the chance to send a personalized video chat dinner invitation to mom by visiting KFC's Facebook page to send mom and loved ones a custom invitation to share a Mother's Day meal together, virtually. 

Through Messenger, users can even interact with the (virtual) Colonel himself to coordinate a meal time, personalize the invitation, and receive reminders to connect with their moms via Messenger video chat on Mother's Day. Messenger offers visibility to eight users at a time, along with sticker selections and effects through a one-click video chat. 

The brand also has an LTO that offers free delivery on orders over $20 via Grubhub or by visiting kfc.com.

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.