Selling @ Farmers Markets & Smoke Control. Help, please

Hoosier Chef

Hoosier Chef

Got Wood.
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Hey All,

I just scored a great gig at a large farmers market. 25 Saturdays at a market that had 60k visitors last year. I get a 20x40 space.

They have concerns about smoke from my rig. I have a 12'x30" Cookers and Grills Trailer. Does anyone have any solutions to minimize smoke....outside of the rig, of course....:wink:. I thought maybe extending the stack would help.....don't know. Thinking outside the box.

Here is my rig......

http://www.hoosierculinarysharpening.com/images/shb/DSCN5200.JPG

All advice and ideas are welcome. Please help me solve this, as it will be a big score for my fledgling catering biz.

Have a good one.
 
make sure you have a clean burning fire and there shouldnt be much of an issue. Where is the market, im about an hour south in columbus, I might have to make it up there one day.
 
Now that's a nice rig!

You might want to hit up Big Mista. He's the farmer's market bbq star in Southern California.
 
Sometime smoke can be good for business. Maybe precook and have a small fire to keep it warm
 
indianagriller said:
make sure you have a clean burning fire and there shouldnt be much of an issue. Where is the market, im about an hour south in columbus, I might have to make it up there one day.
Click to expand...

Carmel Farmers Market, starting May 21st. Come see me.

gtr said:
Now that's a nice rig!

You might want to hit up Big Mista. He's the farmer's market bbq star in Southern California.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll look for him.

jestridge said:
Sometime smoke can be good for business. Maybe precook and have a small fire to keep it warm
Click to expand...

They are mainly concerned about other vendors. This is an upscale market.....all organic and local. I'm guessing the vendors would revolt if they are being covered in my smoke. I don't think it will be an issue, but I need to try to minimize it....or at least look like I am trying to minimize it.

I hope the customers can see and smell my smoke before they get out of their cars.....:wink:....it is the other vendors that will be next to me that they are concerned about.

It probably isn't even an issue, but these people have never even seen a rig like mine, let alone let it into their market. I don't blame them for having concerns. I just wanted to see if there was an easy solution from you farkers....:becky:
 
If I was you i would precook and put in cooler but have your smoker there for looks and maybe a little fire in it in other words fake it they never know the difference
 
If I were you I would tell the vender next to you that boy is he ever in luck that as soon as people smell that Q cooking they're gonna be beatin feet to find where it's coming from and they're are going to see alot more traffic next to you.
Positive marketing!!
Ed
 
Beautiful rig you have there, and I'm gathering it takes a good amount of fuel to heat it up, so I'm with the pre cooking everything and just warming with a small fire. Or maybe you could put a gas assist in the fire box for heat, and a small charcoal basket for a small amount of smoke. It's all about the show.
 
jestridge said:
If I was you i would precook and put in cooler but have your smoker there for looks and maybe a little fire in it in other words fake it they never know the difference
Click to expand...

Faking it is not in my DNA.....:becky:

Grafixgibbs said:
Or ask the vendors next to you if it will bother them
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that is giving them the power to say it bothers them and then overblow the issue. I don't know them personally. They may just think I am an uncultured pig cooker that they can get rid of with a smoke excuse.....lol.

I guess I was hoping for a magic solution. I am probably overthinking this. Chances are that it isn't even going to be a problem. I just wanted advice from others that may have been in my shoes.

Thanks, all.
 
ModelMaker said:
If I were you I would tell the vender next to you that boy is he ever in luck that as soon as people smell that Q cooking they're gonna be beatin feet to find where it's coming from and they're are going to see alot more traffic next to you.
Positive marketing!!
Ed
Click to expand...

Nice way to spin it. I like that.

BBQ PD said:
Beautiful rig you have there, and I'm gathering it takes a good amount of fuel to heat it up, so I'm with the pre cooking everything and just warming with a small fire. Or maybe you could put a gas assist in the fire box for heat, and a small charcoal basket for a small amount of smoke. It's all about the show.
Click to expand...

I was considering showing up extremely early...like the night before...and do most of the smoking. I could then just keep most items warm for serving. Do you know of any resources on how long you can keep Q warmed before it degrades in quality? That would help.

It already has a propane ignition in the firebox. That is an option.
 
For the first Saturday there, cook like you normally would. If the neigboring vendors complain then have backup plans like take extra pipe to extend your smoke stack up higher, etc...
Good Luck & nice rig you have there.
 
BamaRambler said:
For the first Saturday there, cook like you normally would. If the neigboring vendors complain then have backup plans like take extra pipe to extend your smoke stack up higher, etc...
Good Luck & nice rig you have there.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Extending the stack was my initial thought. Have you done this or seen anyone talk about this? I'll do some searching. I always like to see the experience and mistakes of others. It shortens the learning curve...:wink:
 
you will get complaints from the food vendors... especially those not doing well because you stlole their lunch biz. LOL. The vendor that is in best with the org sponsoring it... thats the one that will make your life miserable.

best thing is burn hot and clean and say... what smoke? People will still smell the smoke.
 
extending the stack if done right will also help increase air draft therefore make a cleaner fire and get it up... in fact, since smoke often goes ahead and blows back DOWN as it cools I think the taller stack helps more in increasing draft and thereby making cleaner smoke than simply bringing it higher.
 
Give the booths downwind some of that Q & they will be feeling great about being next to you. Fed people tend to be happier people. Plus use the more traffic angle.

I agree with BamaRambler. Go for normal the first Saturday and be ready with a backup plan if need be. As you stated most of the cooking would be done prior to the market opening so you'd be toward teh end of the cook which is minimal smoke and lots of great food smell.
 
Now some people hate the smell of wood smoke my wife for instance LOL But having your smoker on site is a selling tool BTW you have a very nice rigs, I have heard that Carmel is a ritzy place
 
We did a 1 year stint at two smaller farmers markets in California. We ran Traeger pellet grills on a trailer. I understand your concerns as I shared them we we got started.

These items were on my checklist:

1. Be the FIRST to the market for set-up so others don't see the "dirty work"
2. Clean any residual grease that may create unnecessary smoke.
3. Light the fire WAY before anyone else shows up and get it burning clean. Cook things a bit hotter than you otherwise might to ensure this...plus you may need to speed up the on site cooking process if you're popular.
4. Make sure to have something that smells good on the cooker as other vendors set up. People naturally find it hard to complain if things smell great!
5. Offer samples and food to the other vendors - they all get questioned by the customers asking "Is the BBQ any good?" you want them to be able to say yes!
6. Look and act professional - sharing your process with both customers & vendors.
7. If it is a Organic & Local market, minimize disposable items as your effort in sustainability.

As always, just my .02
 
Talking outta my arse here, but if you can use something like a Stoker to push air in, couldn't you use something like a computer fan to pull air out. I'm thinking along the lines of the high powered exhast fans you see in restaurants, but on a smaller scale. Maybe a small fan on top of a lenth of tube would help pull the smoke up and then out and up. Those fans could run for hours off of a Car Start battery pack.
I know we tossed this idea around in another thread where someone washaving probs with a neighbor, but don't know if the idea has ever been tried.

Bob
 
OakPit said:
We did a 1 year stint at two smaller farmers markets in California. We ran Traeger pellet grills on a trailer. I understand your concerns as I shared them we we got started.

These items were on my checklist:

1. Be the FIRST to the market for set-up so others don't see the "dirty work"
2. Clean any residual grease that may create unnecessary smoke.
3. Light the fire WAY before anyone else shows up and get it burning clean. Cook things a bit hotter than you otherwise might to ensure this...plus you may need to speed up the on site cooking process if you're popular.
4. Make sure to have something that smells good on the cooker as other vendors set up. People naturally find it hard to complain if things smell great!
5. Offer samples and food to the other vendors - they all get questioned by the customers asking "Is the BBQ any good?" you want them to be able to say yes!
6. Look and act professional - sharing your process with both customers & vendors.
7. If it is a Organic & Local market, minimize disposable items as your effort in sustainability.

As always, just my .02
Click to expand...

Along these lines, a few years back at a wine festival we went to, I started up a conversation with one of the vendors. All of his product had been pre cooked and was in warming trays. I asked him what he had cooking in the pit. He said, nothing. Just a small fire and onion peels. The smell was very nice. He claimed that was what brought him business. I've done this at home with the ends and skins, it DOES make for some very appetizing smoke.
 
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