It would be a wonderful world indeed if you could obtain all the things you needed from one supplier. The savings on time spent phoning in orders and making sense of masses of paperwork from many organisations would equate to an extra week’s holiday for you every year. In addition you would only have to put up with the disruption of one delivery every day. You would also be spared the weekly trip to the cash and carry.

The reality is very different. You will probably be surprised at the number of suppliers you will need. Just consider a hypothetical order from one customer:

You: What can I get for you? Customer: Small carrot and coriander soup. You: And a sandwich? Customer: Yes please. Could I have parma ham with smoked cheese on ciabatta with tomato, lettuce and cucumber. You: Butter or margarine? Customer: Butter, please. You: Salt, pepper? Customer: Pepper but no salt. You: A little mayonnaise or creme fraiche? Customer: Er, a little crème fraiche please. Oh and could I have some prawns and capers as well? You (taking care not to show surprise or horror at the customer’s choice – they sometimes give you viable new ideas): Certainly. Anything else? Customer: Small cappuccino. Oh and I’ll take something for the afternoon break as well; Milky Way, a piece of carrot cake, a carton of orange juice and a half litre of milk. Oh and it’s such a warm day I think I’ll treat myself to an ice cream as well. You: I’ll put it all in a bag for you – and here’s a couple of napkins as well. Nice order! How many suppliers would it need? The answer could be anything up to a dozen or so.To be able to provide such a selection you will almost certainly have had to: In addition you may well have cooked some food in your own house. Let’s consider them in turn and the kinds of issues raised in each case.

Specialist Suppliers

Bread

In the bad old days customers might have been offered basic rolls or sliced white bread entirely devoid of flavour. Try this now and you won’t last long. People expect sandwich bars to offer them an interesting choice which includes some at least from the following list (which is by no means exhaustive):

brown and white rolls, with and without sesame seeds or poppy seeds

bagels

walnut bread

baguettes of various sizes, brown as well as white

subs

ciabatta

foccaccia

caramelised onion roll

naan bread

pain rustique

seeded gallego

organic sunflower bread

hazelnut and raisin boule

carcaca (Portuguese)

onion bread

apple and thyme rolls

baps

tomato bread

sliced bread: brown, white, rye, wholemeal.

You can even get chocolate bread! Assuming you want to offer, say, six or seven choices to your customers it is unlikely that you will find one bakery which can supply them all. This might be because they don’t do them all or can’t do them all to a high enough standard. We found it very frustrating that the people who could give us great sesame seed rolls made poor quality bagels or walnut bread.

It’s a question of trial and error and it is most unlikely that the group of suppliers you start with will be the same six months later. The good news is that a settled pattern will emerge after a while. Engaging with and trying out new suppliers is a necessary process during which you must keep your critical faculties working flat out.

This way you ensure that the selection you offer is of the best quality available in your area.

Suppliers will naturally be very keen to do business with you. Take advantage of this by obtaining free samples from as many of them as possible. Ask to visit their premises; only people with something to hide will refuse such requests. By doing these things and getting to know them you will soon get an idea of which ones will fit in with your scheme of things. If you end up with surplus bread samples, stick them in the freezer at home and use them later.

Quite a lot of places do this. That’s their choice. However, whilst it’s OK for the home the quality is not as good as fresh – and there are plenty of customers who will be able to tell the difference. If you find you regularly have a lot of bread left over, reduce the amount you order rather than freezing what’s left over to be sold the next day.

Remember also the benefits of a bake-off oven which I talked about in Chapter Five. It won’t meet all your bread needs but it will probably serve to cut out one or two suppliers. It will also result in more control, less waste and some saving financially. Having said this it is best and simplest for baking baguettes. We have tried a number of other items such as croissants and savoury snacks – all have been more fiddly and less consistent.