by Theis Bergstrom, Admin., Data, and Personnel Manager
We’ve got big news coming out of our deli! Since early June I’ve been working away like a wild-haired scientist in a 1940s monster movie, trying to revamp our Prepared Foods department. And, not to brag or anything, but I think I’ve figured some things out.
First I start with a slice of bread1. I take the slice and artfully arrange a number of ingredients atop it, both saucy and solid. At this juncture what we have is akin to a gigantic canapé. I then take a SECOND SLICE OF BREAD and deploy it as a sort of oversized garnish (or chapeau-de-bouffe, as I believe it’s called in French), resting it at the apex of the construction. This is the critical step, because it is at this point that the creation becomes bi-directional in its assembly: instead of being oriented solely to fight the intractable pull of gravity (like the humble canapé), this construct is capable of being flipped entirely upside down with no deleterious effect. While a canapé is usually able to remain structurally coherent around the Y axis, this item is robust enough in form that it is, with only a modest pinching pressure exerted by its user, able to also be rotated on the X or Z axis. I’m calling it the Sandwich™, and I think it’s going to be the greatest forward step since bread was wrapped.
That’s not the only thing that’s been happening over here in Prepared Foods. We’ve also been taking a hard look at everything else that’s come out of our kitchen and re-evaluating its purpose, ingredients, and flavor. It’s a time-consuming process, and while some areas have seen quite an overhaul, there are still a number of places where we’re figuring things out. New staffing, new vendors, new recipes; all of these things take time and attention to properly address. Rather than rushing ourselves simply to make a change, we’ve decided to take a more deliberate approach. After all, you don’t invent the Sandwich™ by cutting corners.
So while you’ll see that the variety and nature of the offerings in both of our deli coolers have been updated, please know that there are more changes coming. We’ve hit a ceiling on how much space we have to work with, and thus we are preparing to replace those deli coolers. I know absolutely none of us will be sorry to see these old ones go. The replacements we have coming in will allow us to continue growing our menu, adding excellent options made by our local partners, and branching into previous unexplored worlds.2
All in all, we’re tremendously excited about all the new things that we’re doing in Prepared Foods, and we hope to continue our long march towards innovation. It is my hope that the Sandwich™ is just the beginning.
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- I know what you’re thinking, “slice” of bread? How on earth did you manage that? Well let me tell you! It was actually in 1928 that the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri used the design of an Otto Rohwedder to sell commercially sliced bread. It was marketed as “The greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.” It’s taken some time for the idea to spread, but I’m happy to report that even out here in Central Vermont we’ve gotten our hands on the technology, and we at the Co-op are excited to embrace the innovation. ↩︎
- Or at least worlds we’ve under-discovered. Like the ocean, what’s really down there? Do they even have sandwiches? ↩︎