The Ultimate Wild Fork Summer Cookout 🔥 Ribeye, Picanha, Lobster & More

Summary

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Stay Tranquilo – "The Ultimate Wild Fork Summer Cookout 🔥 Ribeye, Picanha, Lobster & More"

Date: June 23, 2026
Host: Stay Tranquilo Network
Guest: Daniel Henderson, Head of Product Development at Wild Fork

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers a deep dive into building the “ultimate summer cookout” with chef and product innovation expert Daniel Henderson from Wild Fork. The discussion centers around Wild Fork’s unique approach to high-quality meats and seafood, their new global “World Cuts” campaign celebrating summer and the World Cup, and how food unites us. Daniel offers insights into food innovation, making exotic and everyday meats approachable, and enhancing the home cooking experience—from grilling classics to air fryer hacks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Meet Daniel Henderson & Wild Fork’s Mission

[01:18 – 02:32]

• Daniel, a career chef now with Wild Fork for 4.5 years, leads product innovation and quality.
• Wild Fork is exclusively meat and seafood, with over 800 products (“500 meat and seafood products alone… by far, the largest meat and seafood assortment under one roof” – Daniel Henderson, 03:02).
• Core mission: “Nourish a better life” through clean, high-quality proteins and memorable meal experiences.

2. What Sets Wild Fork Apart: Variety, Quality, and Innovation

[03:02 – 06:20]

• Wild Fork is not just about exotic meats (like ostrich or duck). Everyday essentials are equally central—chicken (5 programs), pork (60 items), ground meats (36 types), and seafood (120 types).
• “If you’re new… I always say keep it simple. Don’t go straight to the frog legs…” – Daniel Henderson [06:20]
• Frozen for freshness: “Frozen is fresher… we freeze at the peak of freshness.”
• Product innovation is fueled by staying ahead of trends, e.g., watching the restaurant scene, and by listening to customer requests for new flavors or products.

3. Making Protein And Seafood Accessible

[07:46 – 09:02]

• Wild Fork supports both busy weeknight cooks and weekend BBQ enthusiasts.
• Seafood selection—a huge local differentiator in South Florida—brings variety and more innovation, now with increased focus on seasoning and value-added options.

4. World Cup, “Food Unites Us” & The World Cuts Campaign

[09:02 – 13:38]

• Wild Fork’s summer campaign “Food Unites Us / World Cuts” celebrates the World Cup season by spotlighting global grilling traditions.
• Inspired by Miami’s diversity, Wild Fork sources products from over 25 countries.
• In-store initiatives include a “passport punch card” where customers collect stamps by trying cuts from eight different World Cup participant countries.
  • “Imagine you’re going to travel around the world… you will stamp your passport.” – Daniel Henderson [11:55]
• Celebrations extend to live store events: barbecues, watch parties, and more in every host city where Wild Fork operates.

5. The Joy And Connection of Cooking Together

[13:59 – 15:08]

• Food is a universal language—bringing people together, regardless of background.
  • “No matter where you are in the world … food on that table will bring us together.” – Daniel Henderson [10:54] & [14:43]
• Sharing food leads to memorable, meaningful connections.

6. Ultimate Wild Fork Barbecue Lineup: A World Tour of Flavors

[15:08 – 17:22]

• Daniel maps out a global barbecue menu:
  • U.S.: Burgers (“wide assortment”), hot dogs (“from Berkshire to grass-fed”), Tomahawk steaks
  • Argentina: Chimichurri skirt steak (“fan favorite”), bonbon sausage
  • Brazil: Picanha, grilling cheese, pão de queijo
  • France: Steak frites (bavette steak + air fryer fries), beignets, macarons
  • Germany/Poland: Bratwurst, kielbasa
  • Japan: A5 Wagyu, Wagyu burgers
  • Seafood: Abundant global selection

7. Cooking Simplicity & Air Fryer Revolution

[17:28 – 20:15]

• Daniel’s mantra: “Keep it simple. Let the product shine.”
  • Salt & pepper is usually all that’s needed, especially for quality cuts.
• Wild Fork is developing air fryer recipes—including steaks from frozen (“22 minutes, restaurant quality… never thought I’d see a cooked from frozen steak at this level…” – [18:57]).
• Wild Fork offers not just proteins, but also sides, fruits, vegetables, and desserts to “round out the plate.”

8. Customer Experience: In-Store, Online, and Personal Touch

[21:07 – 25:15]

• Wild Fork frames shopping as easy and personalized—shoppers are encouraged to come to stores, talk to knowledgeable, foodie “personal chefs,” and transition to online delivery/app after learning the ropes.
  • “I always recommend shop two or three times in the store to get a real feel.” – Daniel Henderson [22:46]
  • Orders via app delivered within three hours in most areas.
• The store model dispels intimidation and offers “meat candy store” curiosity and exploration.
• Associates all receive culinary training, learning not just about cuts but cooking techniques, making them true advisors to shoppers.
  • “We call our associates personal chefs… guiding you on that journey.” [27:27]

9. Company Values: Human Connection & Value

[24:43, 29:20 – 30:54]

• Human connection is central to the Wild Fork experience—store teams form bonds and foster curiosity among customers.
• Pricing: Sourced to be consistently low; the value proposition is crucial (“We have the capacity to be able to offer great low prices on an everyday basis.”).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Food is the language of the world.” – Daniel Henderson [00:30, 10:54]
• “Frozen is fresher, right? That is really what it is.” – Daniel Henderson [04:10]
• “If you’re new to Wild Fork… I always say keep it simple. Don’t go straight to the frog legs…” – Daniel Henderson [06:20]
• “It’s a symbiotic relationship… we want to make sure we have that innovation, that exciting product.” – Daniel Henderson [04:56]
• “Food unites us. This is living.” – Daniel Henderson [10:34]
• “Imagine you’re going to travel around the world… you will stamp your passport.” – Daniel Henderson [11:55]
• “Barbecue is our Christmas in the summertime.” – Daniel Henderson [02:40]
• “Keep it simple… salt and pepper, nine times out of ten, is all you need.” – Daniel Henderson [17:48]
• “The air fryer is becoming… a kitchen staple… 22 minutes, restaurant quality steak at home out of the air fryer from frozen.” – Daniel Henderson [18:56]
• “You could barbecue the same day!” – Daniel Henderson [21:53]
• “Man, this is like a meat candy store.” – Daniel Henderson citing customer feedback [24:43]
• “We call our associates personal chefs… it’s to your point, that guiding.” – Daniel Henderson [27:27]
• “If you’re a foodie, give me your resume!” – Daniel Henderson [25:29]

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Highlights & Timestamps

• Wild Fork’s Massive Assortment & Quality Approach – [03:02 – 05:51]
• Approachable Exotics & Essentials – [05:51 – 07:46]
• Seafood Diversity – [08:26 – 09:02]
• World Cup Campaign Details, Passport Card, Events – [09:02 – 13:38]
• Philosophy on Food Connecting People – [13:59 – 14:46]
• Dream World Cup Cookout: Menu by Country – [15:08 – 17:22]
• Keep BBQ/Cooking Simple – Air Fryer from Frozen – [17:44 – 19:28]
• Wild Fork Shopping Experience – In-store and App – [21:07 – 24:05]
• Personal Chef Service & Culinary Training – [24:43 – 27:53]
• What Makes Wild Fork Unique: Selection, Service, Value – [29:20 – 30:54]

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Tone and Language

The conversation is laid-back, friendly, and informative, with a strong emphasis on making food fun and accessible. Daniel’s passion for food and innovation comes through warmly and enthusiastically, and the host’s curiosity and relatability enhance the inviting, stress-less “Stay Tranquilo” vibe.

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

• You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how a specialty meat & seafood retailer balances innovation, global inspiration, and everyday practicality.
• Expect tips on making weeknight meals easier, inspiration for grilling season and watch parties, and a true sense of how food can bring people together—in the kitchen and around the world.

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Transcript

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[Daniel Henderson]

Being a chef my whole career, I always say, you know, food is the language of the world, right? We talked earlier before the show about all the different languages going on in Miami, right? And the reality is, no matter where you are in the country, wherever you are in the world, you can travel, you can go places. That one common thread is food, right? Food is the language of the world.

[Podcast Host]

All right, welcome back to another episode of Stay Tranquilo. Today we are joined by Daniel Henderson, head of product development at Wild Fork. Today we have a special episode around World cup, around Wild Fork and their products and just getting to know Wildfork behind the scenes. So, Daniel, appreciate the time and, and for being here with us.

[Daniel Henderson]

Thank you. Very nice to be here. Super exciting to talk to you all about Wildfork today.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, absolutely. We were talking offline a little bit before. I know we were talking about the, the variety of products obviously that you guys have to offer. I'm a huge Wild Fork fan myself, you know, always love shopping there. But before we get into anything, I want to one give the floor to you. Tell us a little bit about yourself. When did you start working at Wild Fork and kind of like the inspiration of being in this industry?

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah. Amazing. Well, look, I am Daniel Henderson. You're correct. I have been. Look, I've been a chef my whole career, so I've been around food from day one all the way up. And, you know, I've been with Wildfork here about four and a half years, so I'm their head of product development, specifically around innovation and quality. Those are my two kind of core functions in the business today. And look, with food, it's just the most exciting thing to work in, right? All day, every day. Just exciting. And so for me at Wildfork, really just focusing on continuing to bring the quality, the highest quality products to our customer is. Is really the focus. And so for now, it is getting ready for the summer. To your point, around World Cup. So tons to do and lots to talk about today with you.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, no, absolutely. Obviously Summertime's a big barbecue time as well. Whether World cup is going on or not, it just feels. It's like the perfect synergy, right?

[Daniel Henderson]

It's basically our Christmas. It's our Christmas in the summertime. Yeah. It's grilling season, and that's where we shine, right?

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. You mentioned the word innovation, right? That's something that you're in charge of. What does that innovation process look like? Like, what are guys looking at? What is kind of the research that you guys are putting into the marketplace to kind of understand how. How to kind of create somewhat of a competitive advantage in the space?

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, it's interesting. First, you know, first I got to tell you about Wild Fork, and then I can go into how we think about innovation, right? Basic, you know, the. The basic understanding of the business is important. So Wild Fork, we are a meat and seafood retailer, which is important, right? Our whole business is centered around meat and seafood, right? We're not just a meat and seafood department. It's the whole thing. So we're there. We're in the ring every day selling meat and seafood. I have 800 products in my assortment, right? I have 500 meat and seafood products alone. So by far, I'm the largest meat and seafood assortment under one roof. There's no question. So our assortment is vast. You know, when we talk about beef, there's 180 products in my beef assortment, seafood, 120 different products in our seafood assortment. So I like. I love to tell people about our ground meats. We have 36 different ground meats, right? So quite literally, if you were to go through my entire selection of ground meats, it would take you more than a month to get through it. You know, 16 different types of proteins within those 32 products. So when you think about the assortment, you know, we're there, and we shine all day. I also like to talk about our quality, right? We're a frozen food retailer, right? Which is unique. And for me, it's all about the quality. When we talk frozen, right? We freeze at the peak of freshness. So when you think about that product at home that you've purchased from us frozen, and you go to thaw and you go to cook, we say frozen is fresher, right? That is really what it is. And so at Wildfork, those are the key elements of what we do. We're frozen food retailer, meat and seafood, and that's really the basic description or explanation of the business. When we think innovation, the world is the oyster. There's no question about that. And that's where I have a lot of fun in the job and with the team. What I like to do is stay close to trends, stay close to what's happening in the market. We look very closely at the restaurant scene. Restaurants are where trends typically start. And it takes about close to eight months to a year for trends in the restaurant to hit the retail world, grocery stores and such. So we stay very close to what's happening with chefs. Being a chef myself, you know, I like to be close to the food that way. But ultimately, we listen to our customer, right? Nine times out of 10, if you think about innovation, you know, nine times out of 10, it comes from a customer request, right? Hey, what about a specific flavor profile on this chicken thigh? What if you could season this, you know, pork tenderloin for me this way? And really, it comes about, you know, from hearing our customer feedback back. And we love our customers. They love us. And it's. It's a symbiotic relationship, let's say, because, you know, to keep them coming back, we want to make sure we have that innovation, that exciting product. Right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, no, absolutely. Obviously, you mentioned just kind of the. The large variety that you have, right? And I think one thing in the marketplace is kind of the exotic meats that you guys have, but also letting people know that that's not just what you are. Right? So absolutely. Talk a little bit about that. Right. I think there's somewhat of a. I wouldn't say a stigma, but, hey, it is cool that you can maybe get ostrich and duck like we were talking about. But by the way, you can get pretty much every ordinary cut that exists out there, too.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, absolutely. Look, I mean, if you're new to Wild Fork, I always say keep it simple, right? Don't go straight to the frog legs, you know, because it's all about everyday essentials, right? If you think Monday to Friday and cooking dinner Monday to Friday, it's got to be quick. It's got to be easy, right? Some of us have kids at home. We got busy schedules, right. We need food on the table, and we got to nourish ourselves fast, right? So everyday essentials. I love to. We talked about the ground meats earlier. You know, we have all the chicken program. I got five different programs in chicken, right. You know, so chicken thighs, chicken breast all the way up to pasture. Raised organic products. Right? You know, pork tenderloin, tons of pork, 60 items in pork. So when you think about everyday essentials and getting fast dinners on the table, any meal of the Day, to be honest, not just dinner, but, you know, that's really where we shine. And I always tell people, if you're new to Wildfork, you come in one, talk to her, talk to our team in the store, right? They love talking to customers and really understanding what's bringing them in that day. How can they help? What are they looking for? We have personal, chef friendly butchers in the store. They love to guide customers around and help navigate these sort of 800 products. So can be overwhelming.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

If you're walking in on your own, kind of look at. You need help, right?

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Daniel Henderson]

And we're there to help. So I just love the fact that, you know, we can, we can help you on your, your Monday night or Tuesday night dinner, but at the same time, if you're looking for something a little more exciting on the weekends, man, we're your shop as well, right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

We got you covered on the barbecue too.

[Podcast Host]

Oh, it's great, right? I mean, you talk about kind of the lifestyle of the everyday folk, right, where you got to cook. I mean, even now, right, you're working from home, so you maybe don't have the luxury of doing lunch somewhere. It's like, I got to cook lunch at home, I got to cook dinner at home for the family. But how do you create that variety throughout the week? Seafood is also like a huge thing down here in South Florida. And you hear a lot of the consumers out there talking about, like, man, I can't find seafood. And you would think here, hey, we're in South Florida, it should be easy to find. So I think that's another unique option, obviously, that, that you guys have as well, that provides just such diversity of what the menu can look like in a week.

[Daniel Henderson]

Man, I, I talk to customers every week about our seafood and seafood is one of these, you know, categories that we play in that, you know, is never, it will never end. Right. Because we have so many different varieties, fin fish, shellfish, exotic, you know, all the way up to octopuses. And it's non stop. So you can get, you know, really creative in that space. And that's one of the areas where we really, we churn out a lot of innovation. Right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

And we're getting into more seasoning, we're getting into more value added products and seafood. It's just, it's a really fun category for us.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. No, it's, it's incredible to see what you guys have been able to accomplish over the years and kind of the innovation over time. So it's great to See, but obviously we got. We mentioned summer World cup around. Yes. And you guys are launching this campaign, Food Unites Us, World Cuts. Talk to us a little bit about what that campaign looks like, what it means to you guys as a company.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah. Wow. Where do we start?

[Podcast Host]

It's a lot.

[Daniel Henderson]

No, look, I'll talk a little bit about World Cup, I mean, Miami soccer and. And, you know, grilling. It kind of just all works, right? So when. When we look back a few months ago, we said, okay, World cup is coming. You know, how are we going to play? Because this is a very unique time, not only here for South Florida, but across the entire United States. We have a lot going on. So really we say food unites us, Right? And I want to talk about that a little bit, because we have a mission, a wild fork. And that mission is to nourish a better life. That's what we say every day. We say we nourish a better life. I mentioned the 500 proteins, right? Clean proteins, right? We're talking single ingredient proteins, right? There's no preservatives, there's no additives, right? These are very clean proteins. And what we pride ourselves in is really helping our customers nourish a better life, right? Human beings, we need protein. And it's an obvious fit, consuming protein and wild fork there to support that. So when we talk food unites us, it really starts with that mission, right? Nourishing a better life. Then when we think food unites us, for me, it's this warm, fuzzy feeling of the driveway's full on a Sunday afternoon. The family's around the table, and really, food at the table is bringing us together. We're celebrating, we're sharing what's going on in our lives. We're having a laugh. This is living. Food unites us. This is living. And, you know, being a chef my whole career, I always say, you know, food is the language of the world, right? We talked earlier before the show about all the different languages going on in Miami, right? And, you know, the reality is, no matter where you are in the country, wherever you are in the world, you can travel, you can go places. That one common thread is food, right? Food is the language of the world, right? You and I could be sitting down in Japan with folks that do not speak English and we don't speak Japanese, but food on that table will bring us together.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Daniel Henderson]

No question about that. So, you know, that is what we think when we say, you know, food unites us. World cuts, right? Is, you know, our fun play on. What's happening this summer.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Daniel Henderson]

The cuts is. Is really what we're all about. You know, when you think about all the different proteins we're selling and, you know, how we can come to the table and be a part of the conversation around World Cup. I want to show you a couple things, right? Because we did some fun, you know, activities in the store for our customers. So we have this little punch card here we source from.

[Podcast Host]

That's cool.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, it's really fun. We source from over 25 different countries at Wildfork, Right. And so what this is, this will play on a passport. So imagine you're going to travel around the world. You're going to check out all the different products that we sell, you know, around the 25 different countries that we buy from. And here you have eight countries that we selected carefully, you know, products throughout the store around these eight countries that are playing in the World cup, of course. And the idea is you buy one of the products that we've selected from that country and you will stamp your passport.

[Podcast Host]

That's awesome.

[Daniel Henderson]

And so it's kind of a fun play, you know, to kind of, you know, travel around the world, have some fun with that. And then we have these beautiful tote bags, right? So if you fill your punch card, you know, you get this nice tote bag, right? And we've got eight different countries.

[Podcast Host]

Very nice. Here, I'll grab. I'll grab.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, grab one of those. You can keep these. And basically here, it's just a fun shopping bag that, you know, you can. You can take with you after you've gone around the world with us, so.

[Podcast Host]

Very cool.

[Daniel Henderson]

That's really kind of what's happening at the store. And then, of course, I mean, all summer, throughout the stores, we're gonna have barbecues and, you know, live watch parties. And, man, there's a whole.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Daniel Henderson]

There's a whole host of different events happening. Funny enough, when you look at our business in the US And Canada, we do. We do business. We have stores in all the regions where we have host cities. Right. So it pairs up really well, you know, here in South Florida, Miami, obviously. Dallas, Louisiana.

[Podcast Host]

Seattle.

[Daniel Henderson]

Seattle. We're not in Seattle, unfortunately. But yeah, and we're in Chicago, but we don't have any games in Chicago. And then the Northeast, and then we have four stores in Canada, in Toronto. Right. So wherever we are, there's soccer games. Right. So we're gonna do a lot of fun watch parties and. And cookouts. Right.

[Podcast Host]

I love it. That's awesome. Yeah, I mean, I Think the, the. The huge component of all of this, right. Is that that aspect of that food does really unite us. Right. And it, it made me think, as you were saying, that I'm like, probably some of the best moments in my life have always been like, either in the kitchen or around the barbecue with a variety of different people. Right?

[Daniel Henderson]

100%.

[Podcast Host]

Whether that's family, whether that's friends, strangers. Right. Somebody that's just happens to be around the same area and you're just like, hey, what are you cooking over there? Or, hey, can I. Can I try a piece? You know, it just, it really does bring people together. And I think it's unique too, right? Because you have such differentiation of where your product comes from too. So that adds like a whole other element where it's like, you're not necessarily, maybe in this country, but you actually can try what a cut looks like from there. Right. And I think that to me is. Is cool because, shoot, I want to go to Japan, but, you know, it's kind of a little, logistically, you know, tough to go to Japan or wherever that may be. Right? But now here I am able to try some of that food, which I think is really, really cool.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, no, it's true. And, and look, food is one of the easiest things to talk about.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

Right. Let's be honest. And. And when you get the people around the table, it's right there, right?

[Podcast Host]

No, it's awesome. So obviously, World cup what, what you talked a little bit about some of the campaigns that stores watch, parties. What does like a World cup lineup look like for. For the barbecue? What should people be grabbing? Yeah. What does a barbecue day look like?

[Daniel Henderson]

Well, look, this is, I mean, this is for wild.

[Home Depot Announcer]

For shots.

[Daniel Henderson]

So, you know, quite literally, we can go around the world, right? Yeah. What I would do probably look, to showcase the best of the best here, I would start with the U.S. right? U.S. and I would go in with the burgers and the hot dogs, a wide assortment of different hamburger. I have a wide assortment of different hot dogs from Berkshire to grass fed. Just your basic, you know, burgers and dogs. But, you know, you can elevate and we can do, you know, we can even go into the Tomahawk steaks, right? Prime choice Tomahawk steaks, US Cattle. Right. So I would start there. I'd probably take you to Argentina next. Right. We have a chimichurri skirt steak, which is by far our fan favorite. Number one. Hard to not keep selling that one. It's flying off the shelf. But we do A bonbon sausage, which is incredible fan favorite as well. And you know, I might take next to Brazil, right? We're in the South Americas. Let's go there. We got the picanhas, right? Selection of pecanias. That works really well for, for a barbecue, right. But then we also have, you know, the grilling cheese from Brazil, the panake, so the cheese bread, you know, so these are things we can be snacking on on the grill at the same time. You know, we can go to France, right? We do a fun play in this campaign right now on, on the steak fritz, right? So we've got the fries going, which work really well in the air fryer. I love cooking all of our, all our products in the air fryer. We'll talk about that.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

And then we do the bavette steak, right? The flap steak. And so that's a key product. Outside of the grill. I have beautiful beignets. I have beautiful macaron from France, Belgian waffles. You know, we go all the way up to Germany there, the bratwurst sausages, right. We have the kildasa from Poland. I go up to Japan, right? We got the A5 Wagyu. Of course, I got the wagyu burgers, you know, and man, around the world, we do all the seafood from, from all over the place. So I would say for me, you know, when you think about World cup and World cuts specifically, you can really have fun with it, right. And go all over and like I said, 25 countries to choose from.

[Podcast Host]

It's impressive.

[Daniel Henderson]

So the, the, the options are endless. Really? Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And making me hungry just, just having this conversation.

[Daniel Henderson]

Barbecue.

[Podcast Host]

I know, for real. So you said you're, you're, you know, you like to cook. You're a chef yourself. So you talked obviously about the variety. But how, how do you go about the process of cooking this? Right? Are you using kind of like the pan? Are you losing the barbecue? You using the air fryer?

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

What's the approach in the kitchen? And maybe the out or the outdoor kitchen?

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, look, I learned over the years, keep it simple. Yeah, I like to be easy. I don't want to over complicate. If I'm a host and I always tell my customers, I'm talking to the customers in the store, keep it simple, right? I mean, the quality, like we talked to quality earlier, we freeze at the peak of freshness, right? So the product speaks for itself. Salt and pepper, nine times out of ten is all you need now. It depends, right? So if we're going to say you know, let's bring a choice skirt steak to the table all over, all day, I'm saying, salt, pepper, keep it easy. But then you get into products like chicken thighs, chicken breasts, and folks like to put seasonings and flavors. That's not a problem. But keeping it simple is the key right now. Letting the product shine, letting the product speak for itself. You mentioned the air fryer. We talked about the air fryer. We're doing a lot of work with, you know, the air fryer these days. And it's because our customers are coming to us saying. They walk in the store and say, what can I cook in the air fryer? Like, what is it? You know? And so now we're really starting to. We're developing recipes around cooking from frozen. And so we've actually done some work to air fry a steak from frozen in the air fryer 22 minutes or so.

[Podcast Host]

Okay.

[Daniel Henderson]

We're gonna post this on our site. And so the, you know, we can all see the. The full procedure, but 22 minutes quality, restaurant quality steak at home out of the air fryer from frozen. It's unbelievable. I never thought in all my years cooking, right. You know, almost 25 years, I never thought I would see a cooked from frozen steak at this level of quality. Medium rare, you know, beautiful, beautiful restaurant quality at home. So the air fryer is becoming, you know, this. This staple, you know, call it kitchen appliance.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Daniel Henderson]

And so for us, we're there. We want to play in that big time. And then I have all kinds of frozen products outside of the meat and seafood that complement. Right. So when you think about fruits and vegetables, right. I have over 30 fruits and vegetables, again, frozen at peak freshness. Right. You know, ripe pineapples, mangoes ready to go. Right. Just thaw and make smoothies, whatever you want to do. All the sides that I carry, right? The potatoes, the mashed potatoes. We just launched these beautiful corn ribs for the summertime that are flavored like barbecue Tex Mex. So at the end of the day, you can really build a plate at Wild Fork. Right? And we really try to promote our customers to really think about, you know, we always think about protein as our first step in planning a meal. Right. But we can help you really round the plate.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

And I think, you know, that's really what I. What I try to kind of guide our customers to think about is, okay, great, we got the, you know, we got the chicken covered. What else?

[Podcast Host]

Right, Exactly.

[Daniel Henderson]

All the way up to dessert. We got a wide range of desserts. So that's kind of the fun part of the, of the business, right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, you said you guys lead with protein. I'm thinking of my, my grandmother. She's like, no dish is done without some sort of protein on the plate, you know, so it, it is, it is essential to, to the whole, to the whole experience. Right. And I think that's really, I'm just thinking here, right? It's, it's the whole experience that you guys bring to the table. Like, no pun intended. No pun intended, right. You guys really do offer what a whole day to day experience looks like in the, in the kitchen. And I think that's not only convenient, but it's also effective of what the process could look like for, for a home at this time.

[Daniel Henderson]

And what we like to do is we like to really frame the shopping experience of Wall Fork as easy, right? It, it's all about, you know, ensuring that you're, how you're, you know, you're being helped in the store to really get to the point of, okay, what do I need on the plate? You know, build that, you know, build that plan at home very simply. And then, man, we didn't even talk about how to shop. But at the end of the day in store, right? You can buy online. We have the app super, you know, easy and really quick to use. We'll deliver to you how I shop personally now. I get my Wild Fork delivered to me. It's beautiful. I can four minutes, have my order done on the app. It's on my doorstep within three hours. So quite literally, you could barbecue the same day.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Daniel Henderson]

Right? In the morning, I buy barbecue that afternoon.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Daniel Henderson]

But it's easy. That's what, that's, that's how we frame it to the customers.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, I mean, I do want to touch on that app experience. The delivery aspect is huge. Now most people are obviously using whether whatever service it may be, but people are relying on the fact that they can get that delivered to the door. Talk to us, can you walk us through what that experience looks like?

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, look. What's really great about Wild Fork, I always tell people, if you're new to the business 100% your first time, you got to come to the store, right? You got to, you got to really understand the store and navigate and let our team walk you through.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Daniel Henderson]

Our team loves to give tours, right. They're going to show you every category, every bunker, what the products are, what stands out, you know, what are the basics, the everyday essentials. And really, you know, I, I Always recommend shop two or three times in the store to get a real feel.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

To really see and, and, and understand the breadth. Right. And then of course, to your point, every day we're seeing more and more adoption of online ordering. Right. It's just becoming the norm.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Daniel Henderson]

And so we launched our app last year and since it's been live, the functionality of how easy it is to use is really what sets it apart. And once you understand the business, you've shopped with us a few times, the app is there always ready, waiting for you. And it's, it's incredibly simple. And like I said, delivery to your door within hours. Right. If you're within like a 10 mile radius of our store, it's, it's within hours. Right. And so I, I like to use that as the evolution. Right?

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Daniel Henderson]

What I tell, what I guide people that are new to the business is shop with us, you know, let us, let us help, you know, hand in hand. And then by all means, let's migrate to, to the app because for sure, it's just so simple.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. You want people to experience what it is that Wild Fork really is. Yes. Maybe educate yourself about everything that you have and then maybe once, you know, hey, I love this, I'm just going to go to the app and be able to order it on a consistent basis. But I personally am one of those people that shopping in stores always like, it's like therapeutic to me. I don't know what it is. I like it. Yeah, I like it.

[Daniel Henderson]

I'm with you. I'm a big fan of just being able to see the products touch and feel and you know, the different sizes and cuts that we, that we do. It's just a really fun experience in Wild Fork, to be honest. Right. And, and there's this element of, you know, being curious and, and really at the end of the day, I think if you're confident in the kitchen, even if you're not confident in the kitchen, being curious about food, I think, I think we all have a little touch of that. But for those of us that have a big touch of curiosity, you know, Wild Fork is really the spot. Right. And you can you people call it, I've heard customers tell me like, they come in, they say, man, this is like a meat candy store. And it's so true, right?

[Podcast Host]

So true. Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

You have all this a great way to put it, the candy. So I started to say that the candy store, but no, really, really, it's, it's about, I just love that. I think the other piece that we didn't touch was this element of human connection. Right. And, you know, so if we can talk about food together and my people in the store can talk to you about food, you know, there's that moment of connection. Right. And I think that's just so critical and so, so important these days. Hard to find that experience in your normal grocery store, to be honest.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Daniel Henderson]

And I think, you know, what sets us apart is our. Is our. Our teams in the store. I can't say enough about our teams in the store. They do such an awesome job. They love, man, we hire foodies. That's it. Right. If you're a foodie, give me your resume.

[Podcast Host]

Let's go.

[Daniel Henderson]

Right. We will talk, and we'll get in to the store, because it's. It's the number one trait we look for is if. If you're a foodie and you're passionate about it, you're gonna love to talk and work a wild fork, right?

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. I mean, when you go into the store, right. There's, like, you kind of mentioned there's maybe some sort of intimidation factor right here. You're cooking for the first time. You don't really know what you should even be looking for. Having someone there to, like, kind of guide you and walk you through that process and just feel. Help you feel more comfortable. Because a lot of people are curious but may not even know where to begin having someone there. When you walk into other places, you're kind of, like, overwhelmed, and you're like, I don't even know what to get. I'm not going to get anything.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, no, it's. It's really cool.

[Home Depot Announcer]

We.

[Daniel Henderson]

We, you know, we have a training program, a Wild Fork, and we train our teams. And I love. This is one of the reasons I joined the business, to be honest with you. It is. We do culinary training for all of our teammates.

[Podcast Host]

Wow.

[Daniel Henderson]

So they come to the store to get hired at Wild Fork, and one of the first things they do is they step out of the store, which is. Which is unique, Right. Normally, you know, most retailers, grocery stores, you hire an individual man. They're in the store to work in their stocking shelves. You know, day one, they're in the job, right? We say, no, let's take them out. Let's do some culinary training. We really want to make sure that, you know, our associates really understand all the different ways to cook the products that we sell. You know, you look at beef. Oh, my gosh. Right. All the different cuts of the animal. Right. The. The Middles, right. All the steaks, cuts, Right. So you want a high heat grill. You want to cook that medium rare, medium, most. You have all the hip cuts. Right. We're talking stewing, braising. You have the osso buco, slow and low. Right. The brisket. Right. So you really need to understand if some, you know, someone's coming in to talk to you about brisket. Okay, well, here's what we're doing, right? We're not cooking in two hours, right?

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. It's gonna take some time.

[Daniel Henderson]

You gotta invest it.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

So outcome of, of this training is, you know, we call our associates personal chefs, and it's to your point, that guiding of. Okay, well, I, I've never cooked a brisket before.

[Podcast Host]

What do I do?

[Daniel Henderson]

Well, step one, we'll help you, right? We'll guide you. And I just love that component of the business. I've never seen it anywhere in my time of working in hospitality and in retail. So it's just such a unique opportunity and it really just breaks down this, call it fear of cooking. Right. You can come in, have a conversation with us. It's fluid, it's easy. And maybe brisket's not the first thing you're going to do.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Daniel Henderson]

Maybe you're going to start with, you know, some other simple cuts and will help you work your way up. Right. So over the course of three to four or five visits, we're guiding you that journey. Right? So there's that element of the business that I think a lot of people don't understand that, you know, we are that personal chef. And when people shop with us, by the time they six visit, I mean, we hear it, we hear it all the time, people. Man, I'm hooked. Right?

[Podcast Host]

Addicting.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, it is, right?

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Daniel Henderson]

You just always have a grill on a Saturday ready to go.

[Podcast Host]

So what am I going to put on exactly?

[Daniel Henderson]

Wild fork. Let's go.

[Podcast Host]

My, my wheels are already spinning. I'm like, I just want to go over there and just start cooking a bunch of stuff. It's funny, a couple years ago, we actually did a whole lamb from you guys in, in the Kajachina, which is like what we use down here to cook the pigs. And that was like a very. Because I've cooked the pig my whole, not my whole life, but Since I was 18 years old, I took it upon myself to do it. And one year we're like, let's do a whole lamb. And. And we did it and it came out great. But it was a learning experience because it cooks. Obviously Very different than pork does. So seasoning was a little bit different and just the cooking process as a whole. So I love just to get creative and have some fun with it.

[Daniel Henderson]

You're my target audience. I love it.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely, absolutely. So before we kind of wrap up here and get into the rapid fire questions, just in a synopsis, right, you. You touched on a lot of great points of what Wild Fork offers the campaign that you guys have going on. But really in your eyes, what is it that just makes you so unique in the space?

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah, look, one, I think you're gonna see that assortment every day. And it's growing nonstop, right? We don't stop growing the assortment. Part of my role is to make sure we're just continuing to bring new products, innovative products. So one, the uniqueness at Wildfork is all about how deep we go and means if you again, the largest assortment under one roof. Right. It's, it's there. We talked about, you know, the quality and I firmly believe that the quality of our product frozen, we freeze for quality. We don't freeze for anything else. It's 100%. The second piece. I always talk to folks about, when we think about the uniqueness we touched about the customer service, right. And that the element of human connection and the guidance and the personal chef, you know, hard to find that experience in the retail world today. I love that as a major point of differentiation for us. Last thing you know, I'll say on this, and we didn't talk about it really at all yet, is the value, right? When you think about price and value, we're there, right? We have, you know, we say price to be low. That's what it is that we talk about to our customers all the time. And so we keep a consistent price at the low end all times. And that's really what we're about, right? We carefully sourcing. We're freezing. So we have the capacity to be able to offer great low prices on an everyday basis. So really the value is there. And I love that about our business.

[Podcast Host]

Amazing. I love it. So we're gonna get into some fun rapid fire now. Let's go a couple quick, quick, quick questions, but are you chicken wings or burger on the barbecue? Burger. Burger. Same, same.

[Daniel Henderson]

Burger, Burger guy. I mean, no. Nothing to get wings?

[Podcast Host]

Nothing. No, absolutely not. I can crush wings, no problem. But I am, I'm a burger guy.

[Daniel Henderson]

We're talk burgers.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah. Are you barbecue by the pool or kind of like fireplace? Late night cooking by the fireplace.

[Daniel Henderson]

It really depends on the day. But I. I'll go pool. Right. Personally, just a quick story, but I do have the three cues at home. Right. So you got the propane for the quick Tuesday night charcoal for that. If I'm sous vide or the reverse sear, I got the charcoal there always. And then the smoker for those long, slow smoker.

[Podcast Host]

That's my next. That's my next investment as I want to get a smoker.

[Daniel Henderson]

That's it.

[Podcast Host]

I like it. I like it. And then, of course, World Cup. Who are you rooting for?

[Daniel Henderson]

I mean, my hometown from Canada. So I gotta say, Canada, okay. I don't know. They're very far, so. But look, at the end of the day, the beautiful thing about the World cup is it is an event worldwide that we can all get behind. And I'm just excited to see the. The tournament, to be honest. We have all these products that play really well in the space and we're gonna have some fun with it. Right. So when those teams are playing, we're going to bring out the Argentine, we're going to bring out the Brazilian products. It's going to be fun.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely.

[Daniel Henderson]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

Well, Daniel, appreciate the time today. We will actually be doing a barbecue for the USA game on Friday. Next week. I'll bring all Wild Fork products over here. So it'll be, it'll be a good time.

[Daniel Henderson]

Very nice.

[Podcast Host]

Awesome. Well, thanks so much for the time and congrats on all the success at Wild Fork and we're excited for the connection, continuous innovation and an amazing summer ahead.

[Daniel Henderson]

Thank you for having me.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. All right, guys, well, thank you so much for tuning in. We will see you guys on the next episode of State Rankino. Cheers.