Ann Arbor, MI. "When a customer walks in the door, you never know what the end will be. It's up to the retailer to make it a happy one". So comments Ari Weinzweig, one of today's masters of food retail. With partner Paul Saginaw, he has created Zingerman's, a delicatessen, roadhouse restaurant, and mail-order business. This is just a beginning, Also clustering in Ann Arbor, and associated with the Zingerman's organization, I found bakehouse, pastry shop, and creamery making a variety of cow and goat cheeses as well as gelato, all in the best artisan tradition.

     At the bakehouse, managing partner Frank Carollo explains why his farm bread has a dark crust (it keeps crispness and flavor longer), and why he insists on long, slow rising (better taste, even texture, longer storage). He even gives classes in making bread at home so customers appreciate just what makes a fine loaf.

     Next door in the creamery, the same open ambiance prevails. I catch John Loomis eyeballing his double-cream little cow cheeses that are being readied for draining. They are named Manchester for the location of the creamery, a deliberate choice to foster a sense of place and intimacy. A bloomy-rind log is named Lincoln, for another local town, while the rind of the baton-shaped Detroit Street Brick cheese mimics the color and shape of the paving bricks of Detroit Street, location of Zingerman's deli.  

     "Be really nice to customers, smile, and get them what they want – enthusiastically, energetically, and accurately", says Ari Weinzweig. It sounds so simple but we all know how hard it is to do. I live in France for half the year and the French concept of service can be, let's say, contrary. Our shoe mender does wonderful work, but it can take two weeks for simple soles and heels. The local supermarket refuses to bag purchases and at 12 noon on the dot staff on the check-out down tools for lunch.  

     Happily there are exceptions to this work-to-rule mentality. Our baker is always willing to help, cheerfully baking special orders and delivering them warm and crusty just in time for lunch. The butcher, in a village of less than 1000 inhabitants, hands out animal diagrams with verbal advice on how best to cook a gigot. Good for him, I think each time when the complexities of French meat cuts confound me. At Zingerman's, house leaflets, recipes, and newsletters are scattered for anyone with the smallest curiosity about their purchases. Information passes almost subliminally, and waiting time is less irritating.

     The more people understand quality, the more they appreciate and are prepared to pay for the best says Ari Weinzweig. Personally speaking, it's hard to resist a bit of free cheese on a stick, and it it's good, I buy more. Happy customers make servers feel good, but it is not all altruism. Statistics show that it costs five times as much to gain a new customer as to keep an existing client. We've all walked into a department store where staff are filing their nails, chatting with friends, too busy to bother to speak to a customer, and we've all watched as the store gradually declines. Contrast that with the welcome at Nordstroms where service has been a watchword for generations. Even modern chains like the Gap insist on rigorous training for service staff

     "Always go the extra mile" is one of Weinzweig's maxims. Who forgets those rare instances of outstanding service and caring for the customer? I still have a vivid recollection of the Mexican bakery in downtown Los Angeles that personalizes a message on top of each Tres Leches cake, no matter how small. I think of our French butcher that stays open late just to sell me a few sausages, saying "It's no problem, I live over the store." His sausages are nothing special, but his personal service brings me back again and again. Creating such service does not just happen, it is an art, and a passion too. Ari Weinzweig seems to hold some of the keys.

For information on Zingerman's products, and Ari Weinzweig's new book "Guide to Giving Great Service", visit www.zingermans.com. Here are a couple of Ari's favorite quick recipes for a snack or condiment.

MARINATED KALAMATA OLIVES

• 1 pound kalamata olives (about 4 cups)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, preferably Greek
• 4 teaspoons grated orange zest
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1. Put coriander seeds in a dry frying pan and toast them over medium heat, stirring often until they are very fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Take care not to let them scorch. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool. Toast fennel seeds in the same way. Put cooled seeds in a plastic bag and crush them with a mallet or rolling pin.
2. Put olives, olive oil, zest, garlic, and crushed seeds in a bowl and stir until olives are  coated. Transfer to a jar, cover and refrigerate 3 to 4 weeks. Serve at room temperature. Makes 4 cups olives.

STUFFED PIQUILLO PEPPERS

• 2 jars (12 ounces each) Spanish Piquillo peppers, drained
• 1 5-ounce round fresh goat cheese, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, preferably Catalan
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• Coarse sea salt to taste
• Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

1. With your fingers, gently open stem end of one of the peppers, taking care not to poke through the flesh. With you fingers, carefully stuff about 1/2 teaspoon goat cheese inside. It should fill the pepper's cavity but not be falling out. Repeat with remaining peppers.
2. Heat broiler to high. Arrange pepper in a single layer in a glass baking dish. Pour over 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with garlic. Broil 7-10 minutes, or until cheese is soft and bubbly. Serve hot for 4-6.

© 2005, Anne Willan. Distributed by Tribune Media Services International.

^ Top