Where to start with produce?

I was recently laid off from my computer programming job and wanting to make a career change into growing specialty produce for chefs. The problem is.... how do you get connected into that market? I love growing stuff but I don't know what is needed by chefs, or what is hard for them to find. Bottom line....I don't know where to start and I am hoping someone knows.

[shroomgirl]

First off where are you in Texas?
There are many farmers doing very well, the ones that do the best spend time marketing and evaluating what will give them the best return. I can line you up with specific info on how to market both to upscale restaurants as well as on line. What are you growing now? Organic? sustainable?
Do you have connections with the dept of ag in Tex.?

[Devotay]

Here are the notes from a talk I gave at a conference last winter. Perhaps they will help you.

Selling to Restaurants
Guidelines for Local Producers
By Chef Kurt Michael Friese, Owner
Devotay, Inc.
6th Annual Iowa Local Food System Conference
27 January, 2001

Selling produce to restaurants can be a rewarding and mutually beneficial enterprise, but it is one with its share of pitfalls as well. Those who have a true passion for what they do, producers and restaurateurs alike, are the ones who will have the most success converting local produce to plated entrees.


What Makes a Good Supplier?

From the start, you should know that we Chefs are, for the most part, an ornery, high-strung, egotistical and stubborn lot. We will often expect you, as the supplier, to know what we are looking for before we tell you, and if you don't, we tend to stare, somewhat bewildered, at you and wonder why you are occupying our precious time. It's not that we're bad people. We're not evil. It's just that our profession requires a great deal of focused adrenaline, and we can't quite understand those who have actual lives. Here are a few ways to avoid getting your head bitten, albeit undeservedly, off.

1) Do your research. It is a waste of your time and the restaurant owners', to approach places that would not be interested in the first place. The obvious non-starters are the fast food places. Also unlikely to buy local produce are large institutional places (like schools & hospitals) and restaurants owned by massive corporations. Your are a local producer, look for local restaurants. Then read the menu, eat the food, and be aware of what they are trying to sell so that you don't end up in the unenviable position of trying to sell pork to a vegetarian Chef.

2) Make an appointment. Restaurant people hate cold-calls. Do not call during meal times. Every restaurant keeps its own hours, but as a rule, you should not call between the hours of 11am-3pm, or from 5pm on. If the place also serves breakfast, then avoid the 6am-9am hours too. It is a good idea to know the name of the Chef beforehand, and ask to speak directly to him/her. Explain very briefly who you are, what you have, and ask to arrange a time when you could talk about and show some of your product (we Chefs love samples).

3) Be prepared for the questions. Assuming that your product is of the quality the Chef is seeking (and you must believe that, else don't bother), you will then be peppered with questions: How much do you want for it? How much do you have? How long is the season? How much is on hand? How much did you plant? Who else are you selling to? Is it organic? Can you deliver? How regularly?

4) Offer to call. From experience I can tell you that the local producers that I buy from regularly are the ones who either set up a regular delivery (i.e. James Nisely brings me 2 lbs. of sprouts every week automatically) or who call once a week to check if I need something (like Neil @ Mushroom Delights does).


How Important is Competitive Pricing?

On this I suppose I cannot speak for my whole industry, but cost is not the biggest thing. In my experience, many of the locally produced items I have purchased have been far less expensive than the commercial versions, probably because of the lack of massive shipping costs and middle-men. Some have been more expensive, but they've been worth it, for the most part.

It is unlikely that you can compete with the big California farms on things like onions, carrots and potatoes. Specialty products like baby vegetables and greens, unusual varieties, edible flowers, and seasonal items like strawberries and sweet corn will be more desirable. As for how to price these, I don't know if other Chefs will tell you what they pay on the open market for these things, but I will.

The Producer/Chef Relationship

Competition is fierce in the food industry, but most Chefs live by the old "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" idea. That is to say, if I'm buying lettuce from Farmer Bill and Farmer Brenda brings me similar quality, I'm not going to switch unless the price break is unbelievable. Even then, I will wonder what's making it possible for Brenda to offer the better price, and can she offer me the same service Bill was.

I have seen examples of local farmers trying to undercut other local farmers, and I find it unfortunate, but I also understand the capitalist system. We're all in this to make a living (among other reasons), but personally I'll take cooperation over competition any day.

How can producers and buyers support continued education of the consumer about local food?

This is simple. Speak up! Urge others to support what you are doing. Include in your marketing information about why buying locally is important. Write to congress people in Des Moines and Washington and pester the heck out of them. Especially write to your local school boards and explain the importance of real nutrition and taste education.

I know some people are not the activist type, but whether you are or not, there are organizations out there whose sole purpose is to help support exactly these ideas. The two I personally work with are the Chef's Collaborative and Slow Food. Any of you who are interested in learning more about these organizations can contact me at the numbers below.

Where are we and where are we going?

Carol Hunt has done a marvelous job of organizing our local network. We all owe her a debt of gratitude for helping to improve the quality of food in restaurants in the area. But what is the purpose of conferences like this one except to move to the next level. It is vital not only to continue on the path we have been following, but also to educate and inform everyone why this type of food is better than mass-produced, standardized, flavorless fast food, both at home and in the restaurants.


Got Something to Sell?

If you would like to talk to me further about any of this, especially if you are interested in Slow Food, please feel free to contact me at any of the numbers below.

Peace,
kmf

I am located about 90 miles from Fort Worth, Waco, & Temple. The name of the little town is Gustine and there are a lot of farmers that are growing melons. We have about 40 acres to play with right now. The acres used to be used for raising hay for our cows but we had to sell our cows last year due to the drought and the land would not qualify for true organic for several years due to the weed killer used several years ago.

[Pastachef]

What a wonderful post, Devotay! I know that I give all of my vendors a really hard time because of all of the reasons you mentioned. The thing is, I was a shy, quiet person, but this business changed all that. My college girls laugh at me and say, "Gosh, you take better care of us than our own mothers. They would just tell us to live with it." LOL!

[shroomgirl]

Thanks for notes on your talk Devotay~ mind if I use them for my talk at the Small farmer's conference in Nov. I was asked to talk on chefs at the market and a second talk on selling to restaurants. You hit the majority of the points head on. Knowing who serves lunch is important because if the restaurant is only serving dinner you can call during the early afternoon.
Setting up a delivery route and knowing again who has lunch and who does not really matters with deliveries...
Getting the kitchen phone number or e-mail is important also.
If you have beat up arugula that would make a good pesto, mark it down and tell chef that you have not pretty but good stuff for a bargain.
Talk to the chefs about special grows...
Know that successful farmers (financially) market as much as farm....it's reality guys.
Sell the freshness component....your stuff will last longer because you deliver the day it's picked or the day after...stuff being shipped from Cal or Fla takes days of travel.
from farmer to broker to truck to broker to chef.
I spoke on the radio Tuesday evening about the "real cost" of food. How huge mega farms only push for $1 profit on each pig. How surreal is that? If you have 100,000's piggies in a confinement barn that never see the light of day or touch the ground you can sell to make that $1 profit. How do the small farmer's compete with that? It's important that people connect with your farm....have pics, talk sustainable practices....Waco, Tx....I'll check to see if there are any members of Chef's Collaborative in your area...