Slaw

I hear ya Smokin'. Slaw is one of those foods that has soooo many recipes and people have their own preferences. We just make our version and offer it up. We decided long ago that it would not be feasible to try to make different recipes. Recipes/tastes for slaw tend to be based on regional, generational and ethnicity segments.

Unless you want to offer 13+ different type of slaw. :mrgreen:

Potato Salad is the same way-----if it tastes like someones Grandma made----you are a genius------if it doesn't you are an idiot

it is impossible to make everyone happy

However---if the trashcans near your vending area are full of "slaw"-----you may need to make changes

When vending or catering remember---"Trash Cans Never Lie"

You will never be able to please everybody, our individual tastes are just too subjective. Sometimes when you are in a food service setting we have to put our personal tastes and likes aside and think of the medium of the customer base.

It doesn't mean your personal change to slaw isn't a great item. Some places draw crowds simply because they have something different, while some on the other hand non traditional foods can drive crowds away in droves.

Your point is to make it so a greater portion of the clientele will find it good food. You could take a day and run a taste test but this would be very hard in a vending environment unless it is buffet style and see which one disappears first. But again tastes are very subjective in every nature.

If you are finding a considerable amount of slaw thrown out, then you have to reevaluate the situation. If someone doesn't like the food, even a simple side dish, this could be the difference between someone choosing someone else for their event rather than you.

Iammadman said this...
"Sometimes when you are in a food service setting we have to put our personal tastes and likes aside and think of the medium of the customer base. "

You nailed it... I put my personal tastes aside and make a middle of the road recipes. When I'm talking with the customer I probe their general tastes and this gives me a good idea of my recipes. Some customers ask for certain kind off BBQ, like north carolina or georgia then I make recipes with those favors.

Slaw and potato salad are tough ones. I live in northwest, LA (Born in MS) and I love a good mustard based potato salad with my potatoes in chunks. Not here. It is light on the mustard (if any), more mayo and blended to be very smooth.

We see this at the restaurant a lot. Most all people love the slaw and say it is the best ever then a few will say it is awful. But it pleases the majority. The potato salad recipe is mine and is not traditional and we wondered how it would be received and even though it is different the folks really like it. I did have one person give a review and say the potato salad was, and I quote "An Abomination" :becky:. It made me laugh so hard. It tends to be the old folks that don't like it. Never bothers me.

But yeah if the majority don't like it change it and if it is just a few you will never please then don't worry.

fnbish said:

We see this at the restaurant a lot. Most all people love the slaw and say it is the best ever then a few will say it is awful. But it pleases the majority. The potato salad recipe is mine and is not traditional and we wondered how it would be received and even though it is different the folks really like it. I did have one person give a review and say the potato salad was, and I quote "An Abomination" :becky:. It made me laugh so hard. It tends to be the old folks that don't like it. Never bothers me.

But yeah if the majority don't like it change it and if it is just a few you will never please then don't worry.

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What's the name of your restaurant? Tenacious Q?

I have found that slaw tastes can be regional, but, in California, that does no good. Folks are from everywhere. Best you can do is tweak until you find one that most folks like.

Bamabuzzard said:

What's the name of your restaurant? Tenacious Q?

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Foggy Bottom BBQ & Cajun. A comp buddy of mine started it up and when I knew he was looking for help prior to opening I quite my corporate job to work with him. I run the kitchen/cook/do anything else they need me to do.

Maybe you could serve it one way for a period, gather data, and then switch. Gather data for the same period, and whichever is higher is where you need to be. Personal tastes sometimes get you when you are serving to other people. I love a traditional carolina mustard sauce. It is truly my favorite. Not everyone likes it. So i usually end up with a crap ton of mustard sauce left over when i cook, because everyone else loves my sweet with a little heat tomato based sauce. The bottles dont lie. I would experiment for about two weeks, and then switch. Maybe even switch back, and switch one more time to make sure you get the best data you can. I dont think there is a perfect answer here, but hope you get it lined out.