side dishes

i'm sure they are probably out there, but why dont you just buy them by the tub and portion them youself? its really not that much of a bother. the pre-made slaw and potato salad will have a better shelf life than home-made, and will be more consistant and less costly. just buy styrofoam squats and lids from your supplier, and fill em and lid em. one squat and lid should run about 3 cents.. beans are a little more involved. always get 'bushes best' heat in a steam table and add a little onion, bbq sauce, and a little chopped bbq. then portion and cool.
microwave to order. easy as pie....

Sherpa are you sure SYSCO doesn't carry bulk potato salad or cole slaw? I find that hard to believe given the fact they're the #1 foodservice supplier in the USA. Check around for US Foodservice...they're right behind SYSCO in volume.

I'd go with Coffeebluff's idea...if you're not able to produve your own sides, doctor up the bulk pacs and repackage. Personally, I think "homemade" is worth the effort, as it sets you apart from the commercial "sameness" of pre-made stuff. That being said, I can appreciate the inventory/labor overhead of making your own.

As for portion control sides, you might check with a local wholesale produce vendor. They might have access to something along those lines.

I checked Sysco's website and I didn't see any potato salad or slaw but I was thinking the same thing: they're huge, they have to have them.

I definitely want to make my own sides, but that would require satisfying the next level of health codes. Right now, with a deli clearance, I can cook and serve anything USDA approved or prepared in a USDA-approved kitchen, just can't "make" my own stuff.

I'll check into the bulk stuff. thanks for the advice and info.

Your best bet is to speak with a sales rep. I just did a search on their website for tomatoes, and got back 8 hits. Now I know for a fact that they carry dozens & dozens of tomato products.

Good luck!

i use both us foods and sysco. tuesday of next week i will ask my reps to check it out for ya. if they come up with any product numbers i will let you know. personally, i love sysco's homestyle potato salad. we just portion it and sprinkle on a little paprika.
its good stuff, at only 1.06 per pound. for slaw, we buy the bags of shredded mix at sams
and add mayo sugar and pepper. taste good and cost less than the potato salad...

I'm not sure what your exact code requirements are, but if you can repackage bulk sides, I guarantee that Sysco or any other broad line supplier will have products you can use. There's also a pretty good chance they offer individual serving "PC" packs. Use that Sysco website to get in touch with a sales rep. The products they list on the site in no way represent the vast number of products they stock. Also, their offerings will vary depending on what part of the country you are in, as they have distribution centers all over the country.

Another thought... If you have a particular brand of ready to serve product that you like, see if they have a website. A request for infomation from them will probably get you an e-mail or visit from a food broker. Food brokers represent different brands and are the ones that make the deals between the producers and the suppliers. They can let you know what suppliers in your area carry the brands that they represent, along with giving you some limites technical support on their products.

I've tried to find detailed info on the web before about specific food products, and it is a little frustrating that there isn't more information out there. Plenty on equipment and such, but not so much on the food itself. WHile the online info isn't very good, it isn't very difficult to get a sales rep to come see you, so I guess it all works out.

Good luck to you!

One more quick thought... While there are many good pre-prepped sides out there, I've yet to find a really good slaw, so we make our own.

hey matt, i agree with the slaw dilema. i have tried a ton of different kinds and still not satisfied. my wife makes it now, but i still think it can be better( doont tell her that).. if any body has a really good slaw recipie care to share with the rest of us?????

Hi! Our clientel consists solely of film production crews (movies, commercials, infomercials, etc.) and they are really picky about their food. Here's the recipe that we use and they love it.
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1Tbs celery seed
s & p to taste
We buy finely shredded pre-cut bags of coleslaw w/carrots because it's less labor intensive and is cost effective. We refrigerate the dressing o'night to let the celery seed kick in. It works for us!

chateaubeyond, thank you sooooo much for posting the recipie. unfortunately, using vinegar is illegal in this part of the world.
however, you gave me the missing part of our slaw. i never thought of using celery seed. i ust happened to see some for sale and scooped it up. it was the bomb! just a little bit goes a long way. we have been using it in our slaw just one short weekend, and have gotten a ton of compliments on it!
thank you so much.......
cb

It's illegal to use vinegar in coleslaw in Savannah???

Is it just illegal to use vinegar in coleslaw or is vinegar illegal period!? I can't immagine such a thing. Is there vinegar cops?
Bill

haha hoho heehee... i reckon its just a low country thing, i dont know for sure. but one day i was gonna use apple cider vinegar and as i was about to pour, i heard these sirens...........but to my suprise, it was for the lady next door doing the same thing. saw them dragging and kicking her, yelling and screaming at her 'never use vinegar in low country slaw!' then i woke up in a sweat........

sherpa, after searching with my rep from sysco, no single units available for slaw and pot sal. at least not in this area. you still might want to ask your local rep. some items are regional.

Try this www.texaskitchensalads.com

wow! great looking stuff. thanks, kingfish.