Frat Chefs Can Earn Supermarkets High Grades for Prepared Foods

Lately, more frat house members have been chipping in to hire professional chefs as full-time cooks

The saying that adults learn from children could be especially true for supermarket operators in college towns – because fraternity brothers on campus are among the most resourceful individuals at finding good meals at affordable prices.

Lately, more frat house members have been chipping in to hire professional chefs as full-time cooks to ensure a steady food pipeline that beats the cafeterias and fast-feeders on campus. This works out for the chefs because hours are more regular than in restaurants and they can have a family life without burning their careers. It’s obviously great for the students, who get better-tasting food and nutrition than if left to their own resources.

Within these relationships lie numerous insights about how supermarkets could develop prepared foods that appeal to younger shoppers. Consider the potential new business and referrals once word spread that a store created recipes for the college-age palate.

The Lempert Report urges supermarkets to reach out to these fraternity chefs as a resource for mining these concentrated markets. Stores could even turn chefs into local celebrities, give them special nights to show off their skills and publicize these as traffic-drawing events, especially if branded as every Tuesday this month, our supermarket features prepared meals from the kitchen of Chef Al of a specific fraternity on a specific campus. He or she could rotate meals; the more diversity, the more consumer interest.

We see these events could become high-energy gatherings where dozens of fraternity members come in support of their chef, and pull many more student peers along to buy the food. This could trigger some friendly competition and rivalries too. All in all, a lot of fun, enthusiasm and potential additional business.