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natural · November 25, 2008

Here is my experience with sales to chefs

Pluses

Full retail prices

Guaranteed regular sales

Expanded sales (we have had many chefs tell their peers about us and then we gain 3 or 4 more restaurants with no effort on our part)

Minuses

It may be difficult to work in-week deliveries around a full-time job

We never had any issues until this past season. With the horrible economic conditions, a few restaurants slightly cut back on orders due to down sales. We simply added a few more restaurants to make up.

Here was my approach to restaurant sales:

My plan was to have something that no one else does. Then I would have no competition. So I planned to grow as much variety and as many color combinations as possible.

Next, I sought out chefs that I knew were as passionate about their food as I am about my tomatoes. These chefs have a great interest in flavor and presentation. They actually have more interest in the different varieties that many of my market customers.

For soliciting new sales, it is best to have actual product to showcase and sample.
If I am soliciting new chefs during the harvest season, I will bring a “sample tasting” box for the chef and at least one “restaurant sales” box. I always made an immediate sale of the restaurant box before leaving.

If I am soliciting new chefs outside of the harvest season, I would bring photos of my restaurant boxes and maybe tomato seed catalogues with pix.

As far as scheduling an interview with a chef, I found it difficult to strike up a new relationship with a chef over the phone DURING the harvest season. Around here there is no shortage of farmers (and now distributors) with heirloom tomatoes for sale ( though none with the variety we have). So, I started “showing up” at restaurants during off-peak hours with a sample chefs box. This may not be an approach that many are comfortable with, but having the chef actually SEE the tomatoes was the only way to convey to them that I had something that no on else had. This approach has been very successful for us.

Chef Interviews:

Every chef/restaurant is different. I would review the restaurant menu first. Then when I interviewed a chef I would ask the following questions:

What are you looking for?
What dishes would you like to make?
How do you prepare the tomatoes (Sliced, chopped, cooked etc)?

More specific questions are:

What size of tomato do you use? Do they need to all be the same size or can you use different sizes?
(This answer will give you your diameter range)

What colors of tomato would you like?

Are odd-shaped tomatoes okay? (Don’t just assume they are)
This is usually acceptable if they are chopping them.

How many lbs (of each category) do you need per week? How many lbs per delivery if more than 1 delivery per week?
We always need to supply more ripe tomatoes for Fri-Sun versus Mon-Thurs

How many delivery days per week would you like?
You would be surprised here. Some chefs tend to be very accommodating (too accommodating). Some would be happy with 1 delivery per week. If the tomatoes get too ripe before end of week, they throw them in the cooler. I personally find this unacceptable. I did not bust my butt for months only to have them “chill” my tomatoes. I would rather take the initiative and so 2 deliveries per week (even with the cost of gas). I try to schedule all restaurants on the same 2 days-of-week to minimize travel time.

Many chefs I deal with will use any and everything that I have. The will create dishes based on what I bring. Of course, it is not always this easy. I have received many different replies from chefs:

Here are some of my restaurant examples:

Only want baseball size to make a “stack” appetizer.
Only want large size for caprese salads.
Want all different sizes/colors for presentation.
Only want cherries of a specific size for skewers..
Want different size cherries.
Only want plum tomatoes (different colors) for pizzas or salads.
Want only white tomatoes for a sauce.
Want only small fruited for preserves.

Other thoughts:

Don’t over-commit to a chefs with regard to how many lbs per week and how many weeks you will have product. It’s hard to earn their trust but easy to lose it. You can always sell extra tomatoes at a local farmers market.

Never bring dirty, cracked, or overripe tomatoes to a chef. This may sound obvious, but it is more common than you might think.

We delivered in single layer 10# tomato boxes. We never stacked tomatoes in boxes.

We always asked for feedback.

Bill

November 25, 2008	#3
natural Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: North GA Posts: 530	Here is my experience with sales to chefs Pluses Full retail prices Guaranteed regular sales Expanded sales (we have had many chefs tell their peers about us and then we gain 3 or 4 more restaurants with no effort on our part) Minuses It may be difficult to work in-week deliveries around a full-time job We never had any issues until this past season. With the horrible economic conditions, a few restaurants slightly cut back on orders due to down sales. We simply added a few more restaurants to make up. Here was my approach to restaurant sales: My plan was to have something that no one else does. Then I would have no competition. So I planned to grow as much variety and as many color combinations as possible. Next, I sought out chefs that I knew were as passionate about their food as I am about my tomatoes. These chefs have a great interest in flavor and presentation. They actually have more interest in the different varieties that many of my market customers. For soliciting new sales, it is best to have actual product to showcase and sample. If I am soliciting new chefs during the harvest season, I will bring a “sample tasting” box for the chef and at least one “restaurant sales” box. I always made an immediate sale of the restaurant box before leaving. If I am soliciting new chefs outside of the harvest season, I would bring photos of my restaurant boxes and maybe tomato seed catalogues with pix. As far as scheduling an interview with a chef, I found it difficult to strike up a new relationship with a chef over the phone DURING the harvest season. Around here there is no shortage of farmers (and now distributors) with heirloom tomatoes for sale ( though none with the variety we have). So, I started “showing up” at restaurants during off-peak hours with a sample chefs box. This may not be an approach that many are comfortable with, but having the chef actually SEE the tomatoes was the only way to convey to them that I had something that no on else had. This approach has been very successful for us. Chef Interviews: Every chef/restaurant is different. I would review the restaurant menu first. Then when I interviewed a chef I would ask the following questions: What are you looking for? What dishes would you like to make? How do you prepare the tomatoes (Sliced, chopped, cooked etc)? More specific questions are: What size of tomato do you use? Do they need to all be the same size or can you use different sizes? (This answer will give you your diameter range) What colors of tomato would you like? Are odd-shaped tomatoes okay? (Don’t just assume they are) This is usually acceptable if they are chopping them. How many lbs (of each category) do you need per week? How many lbs per delivery if more than 1 delivery per week? We always need to supply more ripe tomatoes for Fri-Sun versus Mon-Thurs How many delivery days per week would you like? You would be surprised here. Some chefs tend to be very accommodating (too accommodating). Some would be happy with 1 delivery per week. If the tomatoes get too ripe before end of week, they throw them in the cooler. I personally find this unacceptable. I did not bust my butt for months only to have them “chill” my tomatoes. I would rather take the initiative and so 2 deliveries per week (even with the cost of gas). I try to schedule all restaurants on the same 2 days-of-week to minimize travel time. Many chefs I deal with will use any and everything that I have. The will create dishes based on what I bring. Of course, it is not always this easy. I have received many different replies from chefs: Here are some of my restaurant examples: Only want baseball size to make a “stack” appetizer. Only want large size for caprese salads. Want all different sizes/colors for presentation. Only want cherries of a specific size for skewers.. Want different size cherries. Only want plum tomatoes (different colors) for pizzas or salads. Want only white tomatoes for a sauce. Want only small fruited for preserves. Other thoughts: Don’t over-commit to a chefs with regard to how many lbs per week and how many weeks you will have product. It’s hard to earn their trust but easy to lose it. You can always sell extra tomatoes at a local farmers market. Never bring dirty, cracked, or overripe tomatoes to a chef. This may sound obvious, but it is more common than you might think. We delivered in single layer 10# tomato boxes. We never stacked tomatoes in boxes. We always asked for feedback. Bill