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(415) 497-7861
Deli ops 101 Seminar
San Francisco
Sept. 13-15, 2022
The essential aspects of foodservice operations excellence in a dynamic 3-day seminar
Who’s this Seminar For?
Co-op and Independent Natural Foods Grocers
Owners & General Managers who want to
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Better lead, develop and support their foodservice leaders
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Develop greater clarity about operating your store’s most complicated sales department
Foodservice & Kitchen Leaders who want to
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Develop new ideas for growing sales and margin
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Implement critical systems to plan, track and analyze your operation’s production and labor
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Create more effective merchandising displays
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Return with fresh eyes, renewed spirit and specific plans for achieving your operation’s potential
REGISTRATION INCLUDES
Organic Lunches & Snacks Galore
You'll enjoy exquisitely delicious, all-organic catering from our host store, Good Earth Natural Foods.
Lodging at Seminar Hotel
You'll enjoy 4 nights of stylish comfort with hot breakfast and espresso bar at our waterfront hotel.
2 Store Tours
You'll gain ideas and insights at best-in-class operations, with an exclusive behind-the-scenes kitchen tour at Good Earth Natural Foods.
Wine & Cheese
Receptions
Network and relax with colleagues each evening with nibbles and cheer from local producers.
An Amazing Dinner
You'll lick your flavor-packed plate of ethnic confusions, family-made in an open kitchen with organic, local ingredients.
Workbook & Digital Documents
Your 240-page workbook is packed with key systems, forms and documents, and a year of access to download more than 50 digital docs.
3 Phone
Consultations
We'll use your data and a pre-seminar consultation to share personalized feedback during the seminar, and in two calls thereafter.
AGENDA
Day 1 – Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020
9:00 Your Power, Potential & Opportunity as a Prepared Foods Leader
You’ll engage in a small-group project to assess your department’s priorities and get your mind around a fuller vision for your operation’s potential and opportunities.
9:45 Labor: Structuring For Success
Using your own department’s data, we’ll explore a range of options for organizing responsibilities among department leaders and staff to determine your operation’s optimal, right-sized structure.
11:45 Fresh Ideas & Trends
Is your operation ripe for some fresh product ideas? We'll explore a variety of ideas and strategies for inspiring your product development plans to help you quickly make exciting changes. You'll leave inspired and confident of being able to develop new high-margin products that add homemade flair and cross-merchandising pizazz!
12:30 Catered Hot Lunch
Dining al fresco, on the bay.
1:30 Developing Successful New Products
From that “Eureka!” idea moment to sales of that first perfected batch, recipe costing is just one of 20 steps on this checklist for guiding your new product development process -- and ensuring new items are successful.
3:00 Essential Systems for Production Planning & Analysis
Systems for optimal production planning and analysis, “Margin Master,” and many more tools and documents for improving your operation.
5:00 Wine & Cheese Reception / Evening Break
Relax with colleagues at Acqua Hotel’s wine and cheese reception. Or, hop on a free bike for a ride along the adjacent waterfront path.
6:00 Dinner & Store Tour
At Whole Foods Market’s nearby store, one of the company’s oldest and smallest, with a tightly-merchandised and impeccably serviced deli.
Day 2 – Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020
9:00 Recipe Costing & Margin Pricing
Costing “beginners” will explore a variety of recipe costing procedures, discuss tips and tribulations and play a super-fun costing game to ensure everyone leaves clear, confident and capable. Advanced participants will review costing system pro tips and explore variable margin pricing techniques and strategies.
10:45 Foodservice Financials
Working through a prepared foods case study we’ll deepen your financial skills and give you tools to better teach your team about sales, margin and labor. Plus, systems for effective margin pricing and improving labor productivity.
12:30 Catered Hot Lunch
Dining al fresco, on the bay.
1:30 Snappy Sandwiches
Strategies and pro tips for developing menus and products for renowned sandwich programs.
3:20 Happening Hot Foods
From menu planning, plan-o-grams and merchandising, to food prep and production plans, we’ll cover the gambit of what it takes to make your hot foods program a destination for your customers.
5:00 Wine & Cheese Reception / Evening Break
6:00 Dinner & Store Tour
Enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour through the bustling prepared foods operation at Good Earth Natural & Organic Foods. This best-in-class operation features a vast array of all-organic prepared foods programs
Day 3 – Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020
9:00 Making Grab & Go, GO!
Explode your sales with a full exploration of this critical and versatile program. We’ll dig deep into the nuts, bolts and nuances -- from product category plans and product plan-o-grams to portioning, garnishing, packaging and pricing -- to help you create and keep up with an awesomely successful Grab & Go program.
11:45 This & That, Etc.: Customer Service, Merchandising, Dept. Leadership Team Meetings, Staff Huddles
Ideas for creating merchandising magic, upgrading your service mojo, and other juicy systems, docs and tidbits.
12:30 Small Group Break-Out Sessions with Catered Lunch
Dining al fresco, on the bay. Choose from any of several conversations, with topics nominated by participants.
1:45 50 Ways to Grow Sales by $50 a Day
Easy ideas for incrementally growing and improving any prepared foods operation.
3:30 Plans For Change
Breakthrough strategies to help you identify priorities -- from which you’ll develop an agenda, timeline and plans for making the most of your seminar experience.
4:45 Endings & Evaluations
Final thoughts and evaluations.
5:00 Wine & Cheese Reception / Evening Break
6:00 Dinner At Avatar’s
Your tastebuds will dance on flavor-packed Indian-Caribbean fusion sensations, made with organic and local ingredients.
Updated 2/14/20
Allen Seidner
Principal, Thought For Food Consulting
Allen provides prepared foods design and consulting services exclusively for organic and natural foods retailers. Since 1993 he's worked for scores of co-ops and independents, and led high-performing teams at Good Earth Natural Foods, Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Market.
Michelle O' Connor
Associate, Thought For Food Consulting
Michelle is an organic farmer and chef, customer service expert and deli operations maven. She managed the exploding growth of a fantastic co-op deli for a decade and now shares the wisdom of her experience with consulting clients.
Joe McGarry
Prepared Foods Director, Good Earth
Joe leads a 2-store staff of more than 100 in a pair of all-organic kitchens that generate intense loyalty and an outsized share of store sales.
Joe worked with Bon Appetit for 14 years, including as Executive Chef and General Manager.
TESTIMONIALS
Deziree Ferrin
Kitchen Manager,
BriarPatch Food Co-op, Grass Valley, CA
DeliOps gives you the tools you need to grow and build an effective production kitchen. This is a wonderful thing you’re teaching people and the systems are amazing. I don’t know how we ever ran our kitchen without them.
Noah Argeanas
Deli Team Leader
La Montañita Food Co-op, Albuquerque, NM
I attended DeliOps a year ago and came back with tools, plans and valuable ideas for restructuring into a positive, well-balanced and successful operation. Since then we’ve made many changes and improvements which have grown our sales 20 percent and improved margin by 10 points
Toby Massey
Former Cooperative Retail Officer
La Montañita Co-op Food Market, NM
DeliOps is incredible, and a game changer -- the Masters Class on prepared foods systems, the state of the industry and real world practices. It speaks to staff on the whole spectrum of experience, from a new supervisor to a veteran General Manager. The content was invaluable. I've run prepared foods departments in large co-ops as well as Fortune 50 companies for 22 years. The ROI on this training will be paid back in months, not years.
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