During the Catholic Church’s 40 days of Lenten sacrifice, I broke all the rules. I gained weight, ate out more, and indulged in a new guilty pleasure as I went on a quest to find the fast food industry’s best fish sandwich.
According to a survey by Christianity Today, fast food placed ninth on a list of things Americans gave up for Lent last year. Unlike many of my fellow Catholics, I took a hard pass on that sacrifice.
Every Lenten season, 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide engage in fasting and prayer to prepare for Easter. Part of this observance involves fasting from snacks and avoiding the consumption of meat every Friday, with the exception of fish.
Faith and free markets are often seen as being at odds with each other. But the ocean of fish fillet choices offered during lent is an example of the market accommodating a group instead of trying to push their other products on them. McDonald’s and other fast food chains are, in a way, creating a sense of community amongst Catholics during the Easter season.
When the Catholic Church limits more than a billion Catholics’ diets to seafood for six Fridays a year, it doesn’t restrict the fast food industry’s ability to market, it actually fuels it.
It started in 1962. A McDonald’s franchisee from Cincinnati noticed how his sales decreased during the Lent. So he created an alternative to the hamburger in the form of the Fillet-O-Fish sandwich.
This not only generated new revenue, but new meal offerings and advertisements for the fast-food industry. Now, fast-food restaurants advertise their fish-fillet sandwiches heavily, and many chains put them on the menu only for the two-month Lenten season.
I couldn’t resist the temptation to sample the fast food-fish. Every year during Lent, the seafood offerings at different chain restaurants grow, like the multiplication of loaves and fishes. As a hungry Catholic, I felt like Jonah being swallowed helplessly into the belly of corporate advertisers.
While the result of this targeted advertising led me to gain a few pounds and lose money from my pocket, it most noticeably garnered significant profits for fast-food chains worldwide every year.
“During Lent, we see 25 percent to 40 percent increases in our weekly unit volumes,” Long John Silver’s chief marketing officer, Charles St. Clair, told Quick Service Restaurant, an industry magazine. “The awareness that gets generated this time of year helps throughout the year.”
I took the bait and decided to try the biggest contenders, starting with chains that keep the fish sandwich on their menu all year long: Burger King, Long John Silver’s, and McDonald’s.
Even though these three chains offered the best price overall — usually in the form of the “two for $5” good Catholic special — the quantity surpassed the quality, giving me even more calories to regret. They managed to place four, five, and six on the list respectively.
Oddly enough, restaurants that sell the fish sandwich only during the Lenten season had better taste and creativity.
Arby’s rolled out the “King’s Hawaiian Fish Deluxe sandwich,” advertising a “wild caught, breaded Alaskan Pollock” on a sweet Hawaiian roll. Alaska and Hawaii couldn’t differ more geographically speaking, but the sandwich managed to land a number three spot on the list for its ingenuity.
Carl’s Jr. unveiled its newest fish sandwich this season, complete with a “Redhook Ale beer-battered crust.” While the $7 price tag was steep, it was also the most flavorful. The taste and crispiness of the sandwich was reminiscent of a local parish fish fry without the need to schmooze with that one obnoxious Sunday-school pal from seventh grade.
Ultimately, the Wendy’s “Premium Cod Fillet Sandwich” came in first. It managed the affordability of the chains that carry the sandwich year round without compromising the taste. The light panko breading, dill pickles, and minimal amount of tartar sauce made for a more guilt-free Catholic observance.
In the book of Matthew, Christ said to his disciples, “Come with me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Perhaps fast food America took this passage literally, calling upon billions of Catholics yearly to indulge in their new products in the name of their faith.
While the fast-food industry’s motive may have been profit driven, they meet the need of a community of Catholics, and make my jeans fit less comfortably.