congrats susie. which acme are you in? i'll have to stop by if i'm in the area. are all the acme's starting this, or is it just special to your store?

people mock because they are insecure and can't do what the other person is doing...i wouldn't take it to heart. will your customers be sampling the items you prepare or are these things for sale?

enjoy your new job!
maryanne

congratulations, susie--that's wonderful! the first thing i'm wondering about is the purpose of the pre-designed menu. my guess is that it's meant to push certain products and they asked for caesar salad so they got more people interested in romaine, and the chicken alfredo so they could sell more white meat etc. if my assumption is correct, would the store care that instead of endless caesar salads you used those products to do chicken salad roll-ups in romaine? it would let you do something different and feel more creative, i'll bet...

people mock what you are doing? really! i can't begin to imagine why anyone would do that--how really crummy and rude of them! i suppose it would be equally rude to tell them to take a flying leap so i won't suggest that. guess i'd tell them they don't have to try to memorize what you are saying and offer them a copy of the recipe card :)

and some folks are a little more stringent about food safety than others even if they don't "have" to be. since you are cooking in public and are sponsored by the store, are there state food regulations that govern what you do? even if not, perhaps it would be to your advantage to familiarize yourself with various food-safety handling laws so you can make an appropriate response and reassure them. anyway--sounds like a (mostly) fun challenge for you--hope you really get to enjoy it!

Gee Suzie-- sounds like fun-- congratulations.

As San said find out more of just what the idea behind the menu is then maybe you could expand it a bit-- Our Wegmans here does a feature item in their weekly circular that they have at a "tasting" station instore-- all the week.

As far as some of the "types" you'll have to put up with-- mostly just grin & bear it-- if it gets to the point it's abusive, even verbally,yell for security--- you shouldn't have to put up with that.

Sounds like a great job. Ignore the bozos! Congratulations, Susie
Clare

Act "stupid but cheerful".

When somebody heckles you and say for example asks a stupid question. "Hey lady, do you deliver?" (okay, I am a nerd. I can't think of a good heckle ROFL). You smile and say "No sir, I do not. But dinner is so quick and easy using XYZ product that you can whip up your own dinner faster than take out!".

If somebody is rude about safety, again, stupid and cheerful. "Is that chicken fully cooked?". "It certainly is. Food safety is very important here at XYZ company. When using raw chicken at home it is important to make sure it is fully cooked to 180 degrees, and that you carefully wash utensils blah blah blah". If you know a speechette about food safety, that is when to use it.

Another good example would be if somebody tasted something and was loudly disapproving of it. "My goodness, I am sorry you do not like my version. But the beauty of XYZ ingredients is that you can combine them according to your OWN taste to make it the way you like it at home".

Congratulations, and have fun!

Good for you Susie....congratulations for the new position!

What do you do with the cooked food? Is it passed around for tasting to your audience or do you get to take some of it home for your own family dinner?

As Dances suggests too I guess the "stupid but cheerful" response would be the best way to handle any hecklers.
I hope you don't get any of those though.

I bet by the time you've finished one set menu, preparing the same dishes over and over, you'll be able to whip them up at home with your eyes closed....at a later date, that is.

Good luck and please do keep us up to date on how you get along with this new endeavour.

SharonCb

Congrats... I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Do you have a wooden spoon handy to give hands a gentle bap if they try to take 9 samples?

I was a waitress for years and most people that are rude or obnoxious are looking to get attention so you do not want to make a big deal out of anything they say. Handle it with humor like Dances suggests.

But congratulations and have fun!! Keep us updated as to your recipes and experiences.

Michelle

How cool...I'd love a job like that!

I adore to ignore..idiots...

You guys crack me up....stupid but cheerful!!

Thanks for the advice!!

The menus will feature items that are on sale and will be available to be purchased as a bundle so to speak.
Instead of running the aisles, all the item used are on a "food pod" located in the front of the store. My cooking station is close to the pod.

Most of the menus so far feature a rotisserie chicken. Our chicken won some sort of taste test from Philadelphia Magazine "best of" issue 2 years in a row and quite frankly they really are great!!

My job is to gather an audience and escort them to the pod where I pick up the items, take them to the station and prepare them. All the meals take 15 minutes and cost less than $15 for a family of 4.

During the prep I am there to answer questions and generally chat with the customers.
Once complete I dish out tiny samples on a plate, hand out a menu/recipe card/coupon. Then I offer samples to other passers by.

As for safety I do wear my hair up or wrapped and some days I wear my chef hat and some days I wear a ballcap.
gloves are a must and I am always wiping with pre moistened wipes.

The mockers are funny really...asking stupid questions like "do you pour off the water before you add the sauce??"
I guess I have to keep in mind the audience and base my answers on their skill level not mine. Its still funny LOL.

One day I left the meal area to drain the pasta and came back to find some whacked out on something chick reaching her filthy hands in and shoveling the chicken strips into her mouth. I LOST IT!!
I said "what the hell do you think you re doing??"
I told her to leave the store but I used much more colorful terms. But what gets me is that no one thought enough to stop her and some even joined in picking up slices.

Needless to say I had to ditch thst demo due to circumstances beyond my control...geez!!

Oh I almost forgot the best part!!
I can bring in my own props!! So many items I have recieved in swaps will turn up!! I used the salad bowl Helene sent to display the sample salad and I'll use the colorful napkins Marie sent to line the table during the nacho demo!
(note to self-I should really take pics when I use my swap stuff!!)

Maryann...its a pilot program in only a few stores right now but boss told me so far its really taking off so look for it at an Acme near you!!

San, I like your idea about other ways to use the same ingredients. Perhaps we can set samples out on display or maybe offer a little card like "the chef also suggests".

Diane, we must of stole the idea from wegmans as they seem to be our closest competitor.

Clare, Thanks for the good wishes!!

Dances, I am going to print out your lines for when those people bug me LOL!!

Sharon, some folks asked me if we will have the meals ready to go, and some asked if I cater!!

Bobby, I recntly saw an enourmous wooden spoon at a flea market...I wish I had bought it now!!

Cheers!
Susie

Wow, that's so cool, Susie! Sounds like Acme is doing the Super Supper thing. I'd love to come by and see you in action. I wonder if all the Acme's are going to do this. I shop I one near where I work. It's a very big store, so they do have he space. The ones near my home are older stores with any space to spare.

Dances, you must be listening to Dr. Joy Brown. She seems to have coined "Stupid and Cheerful".

Susie, congratulations. Sounds like you have found the perfect job. Have fun.

Ann

Congrats on a fun job !

Everyone is a food critic, in my experience those who can't ... criticize :)

My DD is a Chocolatier, she sells at the local farmers market and has been invited to do an art show for December ... and I have heard people at her stand make stupid remarks, she just smiles and launches into a detailed and rambling explanation on her technique of chocolate infusion, usually they end up looking like they sound :)

That sounds like a great fit for you, congratulations. I'm sure you will be such a hit and once you perfect your routine and techniques, you can be the manager of the demos for all the stores.

I would find it challenging to deal with the rude and uncivilized behavior too. DIG has certainly shared some response worth incorporating into your routine.

How fun!

My daughter also does this at the grocery store she works for - Publix. They call it Aprons. She has to prepare a meal predetermined by the store and hand out samples. They hae a cooler with all the ingredients they use to make this meal so people can just grab what they need to make it, right there.

She has told me stories about the people too. The most rude ones are from a retirement community that are bussed there on certain days.

The biggest problem she had was people asking for more and more samples. Then one guy takes all the samples and others are left standing there and have to wait for another batch to be cooked up and then they may miss their bus back home. So she has to limit the samples to one to a person. They try all kinds of tricks, a) my wife is in the bakery, let me take it to her, b) my husband is in the car, c)it's not enough for me to know if I like it or not..... it goes on and on!

I hope you have fun with this. My daughter is quitting in May when she graduates college and she will go into teaching elementary school.

My guess is that she's gonna wish she was fighting off the old people again! hahahah!

Good Luck to you~

Susie, sounds like the perfect job for you! Good luck!

Good for you for having a sense of humor about the silly remarks from the peanut gallery. I am always impressed when someone handles that stuff with grace. I would probably hit 'em with that big wooden spoon you mentioned (and then get fired)(:\

That sounds like a lot of fun, Susie! Congratulations!

Linda

Shaun, Century Villagers by any chance??

Susie - congratulations - this is great news and I know you're perfect for this new job! As another Dr. Joy fan, stupid and cheerful is definitely the way to go, LOL, definitely! Good post, Dances :)

Susie - enjoy!

congratulations Susie - that does sound perfect!

I just saw someone like that at Wegmans a few weeks back and thought how fun. Of course, we don't have a big store to do something like that, near here - so I was particularly interested. So funny that she was being YOU!

Are you allowed to share recipes, techniques? That would be interesting!

LOl Shaun - probably she will.

you'll have to ask for a good digital for Christmas so we can all see the nice props you use!

Susie, congrats on the new job, sounds like fun.

There is a chef at the grocery store near my DM's. He's set up near the deli and along with handing out the samples and recipes, there is usually some of the finished items in the deli for those who don't cook. On his table there is usually a couple of bottles of wine that he recommends to go with the food. He's still doing it after a year so I guess the idea has paid for itself.

As for the stupid remarks that some think are so funny, you'll get the answers that work down pat in no time.

And for those who want multiple samples, just hand them the recipe or send them to the deli to buy some. We have a tasting table where I work and we found that a simple sign works best.

Nancy