What to do when a chef asks for a crop you don’t grow
This can also include if a chef asks you for a variety you don’t enjoy growing too!
During the first couple of years of my microgreens business, chefs, restaurant and cafe owners were my sole customer base. I don’t advise only having one customer base by the way, but I’ll address this in a future blog post.
Any custom’s good custom right? You always want to be saying yes to whatever customers want? Yes, by all means be flexible in your business and definitely make it as easy as possible for customers to work with you, but my view is you should never feel obliged to say yes to a request. Here’s why…
You might end up compromising on your product quality and customer service which may ultimately harm your farm’s reputation. At the very least, it will definitely stress you out if you can’t deliver on your promise.
If a chef asks you for a crop variety that you don’t already grow and have available, you have two options:
Start growing it and supplying it to them.
Say you don't currently grow that crop.
Obviously it's up to you what you'd like to do but if you're wondering, I'd highly recommend option number 2, and especially if you're just getting going with your business and starting to work with chefs for the first time.
If you already have a number of crops that you can grow well and consistently and know how to price them, create a Chef’s Microgreens Menu from these and send that to your chef to show them what you can supply right now.
Going with this option doesn’t mean to say you’ll never grow and supply that variety in the future, but I’ll always advise to make sure you can grow it well before commiting to an order.
Before you start supplying a restaurant regularly, you'll need to be good at growing the crops they've ordered. That way you'll be able to:
Offer a consistent, high standard product (which is much more likely to result in regular orders for you).
Be able to deliver when you say you're going to deliver it, ie you know it's going to be ready for a certain day.
That's why I always recommend doing your trials of what you fancy growing first (before you even approach chefs).
Then when you:
1. Have a crop you like, that grows well in your grow room
2. Can source quality seed at a good price
3. Know exactly how long that crop takes to grow in your space from seed to harvest
4. Know that the crop's consistently profitable
.....THEN add it to your crop list for chefs. You'll have much fewer headaches this way round.
When you start progressing with your business, by all means start experimenting or even asking what chefs would like from you and give it a go, but make sure you have a steady revenue coming from your trusted varieties first.
Just something to think about. Especially if you're new to growing, and/or new to working with the restaurant industry, and want to establish a great quality, consistent and scalable supply of microgreens to chefs.
Now practice those grows and start selling!
My 14-page Mini UK Microgreens Business Guide will teach you the 4 main benefits of selling your microgreens to chefs, as well as exactly how to do it!
You’ll also get:
5 great reasons for starting a microgreens business in the UK right now
A basic equipment list
A step-by-step guide to growing and harvesting radish shoots and pea shoots, including UK pricing suggestions and profit margins.
A how-to guide to selling your microgreens to chefs, restaurants and your local community.