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Nov 19 2021
0

Thanksgiving Hours

By | Holiday

What Chefs Want will be closed Thanksgiving Day. No deliveries or will calls. Our offices will be closed.

We will resume deliveries on Friday, November 26. If your restaurant is restricted for deliveries on Fridays, please order ahead to get you through until your next delivery day.

Will calls on Wednesday, November 25 will need to be placed by 11:00 AM local time and picked up by noon local time. All will call offices will close at noon local time on Wednesday, November 25.

Our Butchery, Seafood Processing, and Prep Kitchen will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and will resume Friday, November 26.

Please order what you need ahead of time to get you through Friday lunch service as we cannot guarantee early deliveries on Friday, November 26.

For Colorado customers, orders placed for Friday delivery will need to be placed by Wednesday at 5:00 PM MST. All orders placed between 5:00 PM MST Wednesday and 5:00 PM MST Friday will be delivered on Saturday or your next available delivery day.

Our WOW Center will close at 5:00 PM Wednesday, November 24. All voicemails, texts, and emails will be monitored over the holiday and orders will be entered for Friday delivery.

What Chefs Want would like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. May you be able to spend time with your friends and family on this holiday.

Nov 04 2021
0

Scallop Market Alert!

By | Seafood

From the Bluefin Seafood Team:

I’m sure you’re all experiencing pricing increases on everything in your establishment. Labor, fuel and supply chain issues have all contributed to the increases. Hopefully you are adjusting and making changes as they happen.

Message from the dock of our scallop supplier:

“In what seems to be a trend across all facets of our industry, pricing for raw materials continues to climb at a drastic pace. It has become very difficult to increase pricing gradually as there doesn’t seem to be a plateau in pricing. With the demand for scallops still being high and “days at sea” being limited, companies are stock piling product in an attempt to carry one’s customers through the winter. The fear of running out is the driving force behind these increases. As I’ve said numerous times in the past, running out is not an option for us. We will always have product to offer our customers and are sure to ALWAYS secure the highest quality product available to us but unfortunately must secure product at these high numbers.”

There is also talk of the number of days at sea and quotas being cut more in 2022. A lot of the smaller boats tried taking advantage of the higher prices and have already maximized their days at sea. The new count doesn’t start until May. Many scallop suppliers also loaded up on their frozen and have sold them out with the fresh prices so high. Now they’re trying to restock and having the same issues as everyone else.

I hope this helps explain some of what’s going on. We’re all making less at these higher prices and just trying to keep it going.

Thanks

Joe

Oct 29 2021
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Iceberg and Romaine Alert!

By | Produce Market Report, Uncategorized

Iceberg and Romaine Lettuce Alert!

Extreme rain in the growing areas has caused delays in harvesting iceberg and romaine lettuces. Farmers are unable to harvest when it is raining and the heavy rains led to very muddy fields. You can see in the pic below how the equipment has left deep ruts in the fields due to the muddy conditions.

lettuce fields 2.jpg

We will be extremely tight on all processed lettuce products. 
This includes:
Chopped and shredded romaine
Chopped and shredded iceberg
Tossed salad mix

We will also be tight on whole heads of both iceberg and romaine. If you have the ability to substitute spring mix or spinach for these products, we strongly advise you to do so as your orders will be allocated or shorted as we will not have product to sell. 

We expect this situation to continue for up to 3 weeks. Our orders will continue to be cut, allocated, or delayed meaning your orders will be cut or allocated as well.

We sincerely appreciate your patience and continued business. 

What Chefs Want team

Oct 22 2021
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Iceberg Lettuce Alert

By | Product Alert!

Iceberg Lettuce Alert     

Iceberg lettuce is going to be in extreme market conditions over the next few weeks.  This will affect whole iceberg heads as well as all processed iceberg including shredded, chopped, and tossed salad mixes.

Our orders are currently being cut to 15-20% of what has been ordered. 

Extreme weather patterns recently including extreme heat followed by a cold snap, winds, and heavy rain are causing lower crop yields. 

We expect this shortage to continue for about 4 weeks.

We strongly encourage substituting spinach or spring mix for iceberg lettuce products.

Thank you for your patience and continued business,

What Chefs Want team

Oct 22 2021
5

Our Latest Produce Market Report: October 22, 2021

By | Chef's Feed, Produce, Produce Market Report, Products, What Chefs Want

Produce Market Report for October 22, 2021

Peeled Garlic Alert! Supply issues domestically and import issues are causing an extreme market for peeled garlic. Expect to see high prices (around $150/case) in the week ahead. Shorts and prorates are likely.

Mushrooms: Extreme market for all mushrooms, esp. cremini and oyster. Expect shortages through the end of the year.

  • Apples: Steady
  • Asparagus: Coming down
  • Avocados: Steady
  • Bananas: Steady
  • Broccoli: Remains very high, shorts and lower quality continues
  • Cauliflower: Up $6
  • Celery: Steady
  • Corn: Remains tight and higher price
  • Cucumbers: Steady
  • Grapes: Steady
  • Lemons: Steady
  • Lettuce: All lettuce products are way up in price!
  • Limes: Steady
  • Melons: Honeydew remain higher
  • Onions: Steady. We are NOT affected by the current onion recall.
  • Peppers: Red peppers remain stronger
  • Potatoes: Stabilizing
  • Shallots: Very high
  • Squash: Steady
  • Strawberries: Steady
  • Tomatoes: Remain higher
Oct 20 2021
1

Mushroom Alert!

By | Produce, Produce Market Report, Product Alert!

We are beginning to see shortages in mushrooms. Our suppliers are currently cutting our orders by 10 – 100%.

The top reasons for the shortages from our vendors are:

  • Continued labor shortages, particularly for harvesting
  • Production reduced to match labor on hand
  • Shortage of raw materials to grow mushrooms
  • Weather changes

Unfortunately, our vendors do not expect this situation to improve before January, 2022.

Currently the hardest hit mushrooms are crimini and oyster, but all mushrooms are affected by the shortages and the shortages will continue.

There have been cuts on sliced mushrooms as well as different sizes of white mushrooms.

Your mushroom orders may be subbed, shorted, or allocated. If you have the option of subbing a different type of mushroom that may be in stock, please do so. Our WOW Center can help you determine which mushrooms are in stock. Text them at 502-587-9012.

We are doing all we can to procure as many mushrooms and varieties as we can. We appreciate your patience and continued business.

What Chefs Want Team

Oct 08 2021
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Alert! Broccoli Florets

By | Produce

Quality of broccoli out of California has been poor for a few weeks now. This is due to wet mornings followed by hot sun causing pin rot (browning of the stems) to progress rapidly.

Mexico has had a lot of rain in their growing region, which has caused delays in harvesting. Both factors have caused heavy allocations from the shippers and the product that is coming in is marginal in quality.

Expect high prices, shorts, and lower quality for the next month.