John's Gourmet , Inc.

Simply stated, John's Gourmet is a program not a product. As a deli chef and caterer 15 years ago, John Benedetto saw a need for high quality freshly prepared salads and entrees at delis and by caterers all over New York City. He developed a special method for grilling chicken and created a salad menu. The Pick-A-Bagel chain, and Broadway Farms were early customers. John provided signage and demos with those first orders. Business grew as the word got out. A handfull of accounts in Manhattan has grown to more than 800 today and now includes custom programs for such upscale heavyweights as Gourmet Garage, King's Supermarkets, and Fairway. The menu has grown from a dozen items to more than 250. In addition to chicken, pasta and seafood salads, specialties include fresh wraps and burrito, freshly made vegetable and turkey burgers and crab cakes. John's Gourmet bought a USDA-approved plant on Commerce Street in Red hook Brooklyn in 1995. This rigorously inspected 12,500 square foot facility has allowed the product line to expand greatly. Production is carefully segemented into special areas within the plant. A detailed HACCP plan is implemented throughout the process. Grilled chicken is John's Gourmet signature item. Only the freshest farm-raised chicken breast is used, which are hand butterflied, marinated for 90 minutes to insure moisture and cooked on custom- built grills at 900 degrees. For special programs, more than 250 different John's Gourmet salads and entrees are specially packed, using state of the art Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) and no preservative, to insure a 21 day shelf life. An important part of John's Gourmet's sucess is its delivery capability. Eleven radio-dispatched refrigerated trucks leave the Brooklyn plant daily en route through the boroughs of New York,Nassua, Westchester County, Fairfield County CT,and New Jersey. John's truck also travel as far as Boston and Virginia.