Meat, poultry and eggs are staple foods for many Americans and most restaurants wouldn't be successful without serving those items. In order to supply consumers with the highest quality foods, it's important to work with reputable meat and poultry distributors and to use the freshest possible eggs. Another point to keep in mind is that offering organic selections on your menu may help increase profits and visibility within the community.
If you're working with a meat distributor who doesn't offer a specific product or service that you need, don't hesitate to talk to them about it. Many suppliers are happy to work with you to ensure that you and your customers are happy with their products.
It's also important to remember the following when purchasing meat, poultry and eggs for your restaurant:
1. Serve high quality beef to enhance your customers' dining experience.
2. Stock your restaurant with a variety of poultry choices to stand apart from the competition.
3. Offer a number of high quality egg products to round out your menu.
4. Offer organic meat, poultry and egg selections on your menu.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Buy beef from reputable meat distributors
Although all meat processors must pass minimum state and federal safety and quality standards, some use higher quality animals, meat processing equipment and storage and transportation methods than others. Japanese styles of meat are known for being of the highest quality and USDA prime is the highest grade of American beef available. Both are sure to be a hit with your customers.
I recommend: Silverwind Ranch offers Kobe beef and
Lobel's of New York sells USDA prime beef cuts.
Purchase poultry from a diversified distributor
There are a lot of high quality poultry distributors to choose from, many of which offer both plain and premarinated birds, both whole and precut. This diversity allows you to create your own poultry recipes or use recipes provided by the distributor.
I recommend: Luv-A-Duck sells many ready-to-cook duck products.
Capital Meats, Incorporated offers discounts on bulk orders of plain and premarinated chicken.
Mayflower Poultry Company specializes in distributing freshly killed birds to restaurants at wholesale prices. In addition to fulfilling custom orders, they offer a wide poultry selection, including Cornish hens and whole chickens of various sizes.
Keep a variety of eggs from a high quality dairy farm on hand
If you offer both regular and brown eggs to your customers, you can give them added value for their dining dollar without significantly increasing your overall expenses.
I recommend: Smith Brothers Farm Incorporated sells wholesale regular and brown eggs.
Sauders Quality Eggs has a lot of different wholesale eggs to choose from.
Add organic selections to your menu
The meat industry is increasingly well-equipped to handle the growing demand for organic meat, and it's not hard to find a meat company, poultry or egg distributor that can supply you with the organic foods that your customers will appreciate.
I recommend: Diamond Organics, Inc. can provide you with almost every cut of organic, grass-bed beef imaginable, while
Wise Kosher Natural Poultry, Inc. has everything from organic whole chickens to ground organic chicken legs.
Farmer's Organic Foods International features cage free shell eggs, and a variety of liquid, frozen and dry egg products to supply your restaurant.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Keep in mind that if you serve both organic and regular meats in your restaurant, you'll need to store and cook them separately.
The official source of Meat, Poultry and Eggs is
the Meat, Poultry and Eggs page at Business.com
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