Apple Spice Junction

So, I have a raging case of Olympic fever.  I love them so much;  from the pomp of the opening ceremonies to the life stories of all the athletes to all of the actual events.  As a matter of fact, I am already wondering how I am going to survive the next thirteen days when I keep staying awake until 2 or 3 every night to watch the coverage.  I just can’t make myself turn the T.V. off.

Eight years ago the Olympics were held here in Salt Lake City, Utah and it had an amazing impact on Apple Spice Junction.  At first we thought that there would be no business because the city had planned to practically shut down during the games.  It turned out that while our regular customers did kind of hunker down and wait it out, we were inundated with other opportunities.  Apple Spice got a contract to deliver box lunches to all the red cross volunteer workers and to all the bus drivers from one company who were contracted to take people from the parking lots to the event venues.  We ended up doing about 350 box lunches a day for those two companies but the real kicker was that both of them needed all the lunches by 7 a.m. so that the people could get their lunches and then head to their venues.

We came in at 4 a.m. to make the lunches for 18 straight days and it was quite a test in endurance.  It wouldn’t have been so bad, but if you remember from the first paragraph, I like to watch the Olympics until 2 or 3 every morning.  I actually had the opportunity to attend 6 different events and they were all spectacular!  I had so much fun immersing myself in the spirit of the Olympics and enjoyed rubbing elbows with people from all over the world.  It was an amazing three weeks that I will never forget!

Recently we had an email from a wonderful customer in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts which said:

“I want to personally thank you and your staff for the most delicious catered luncheon we have had in quite some time.  The pork and beef were so flavorful, tender and moist!   Everything from the salad to the dessert was truly fantastic.  Your staff is so very professional and gracious.  They were prompt for set up to clean up – the execution was superb! I know for a fact that your establishment will be on our “permanent” contact list for our catering needs in the future.  We are all so thankful we discovered you and your team.”

What a wonderful letter for us to recieve.  This customer also continued on and asked us some questions about where we got our meat and what kind we used and how we cooked it, etc.  I thought I would give a tip to everyone about how to handle cooked meats.  All food cooks from the outside in which means that when something reaches its correct internal temperature and is pulled from the oven, the outside is actually hotter than the middle.  Because of this, all the juices of the meat are around the outer edges.  If you immediately cut into the meat to slice it, you will lose up to 50%  of these surface juices and your meat will end up being dry.  When meat is pulled from the oven it should be left sitting or “stabilizing” for up to 10 minutes before it is cut.  This 10 minutes allows the juices to be reabsorbed back througout the entire piece of meat which will leave it tender and moist for serving. 

Alison Ainge

Director of Training

It’s January 4th and another New Year is upon us.  Catering companies are typically pretty quiet between Christmas and New Years (especially those who specialize in catering business meetings) so we had some time off in the last two weeks.  I hope that you all got to take some time off and enjoy the holiday season as well.  We’re back at work now and geared up and ready to go for January. 

We’re adding a New Item to our catering menu this month called Sesame Chicken.  It is so yummy!  We created this meal at the request of one of our customers who wanted a Japanese style meal for a meeting.  We are always willing to do this for any group so if you ever don’t see something that you’re looking for on the menu, just ask us about it.  Chances are we know how to do it!  Our customers liked it so much and gave us such good feedback on the meal that we decided to add it to the  menu.   The meal consists of Sesame chicken with Japanese sticky rice and teriyaki sauce, steamed broccoli, mandarin orange salad, an egg roll, and of course, a fortune cookie.  Give it a try and let us know what you think.  We look forward to serving it to you.

Alison Ainge, Director of Training

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year to work in the catering business.  It gets so busy with everyone having their holiday parties and it all happens in about a two week time frame right before Dec. 25th.  It’s a lot of hard work and long hours but the thing I really get a kick out of is seeing what we can accomplish as a team on any given day.  I love to go through the planning process of deciding who is going to work where and take which jobs and what time do we have to come to work in the wee hours of the morning.  I love that we have to buy more dishes because of how many jobs we have.  I love that the big oven is lit from dawn till dusk and great food is cooking all day long.  I love that friends and family come to work with us those weeks and help us keep the dishes washed and the kitchen clean.   I love that we have to make so many rolls every day.  Every year I try and get as fast as Jose, our baker, but I just can’t match his speed.  He can also do two at a time (one in each hand) but  I just can’t do it no matter how hard I try!  Oh well, there’s always next year.   It’s just fun to be so busy!  December is awesome!

Today is Friday the 13th which is a day when people traditionally think about bad luck.  Any normal day if something bad happened we wouldn’t immediately blame the date, but on this day we generally nod our heads and say, “aaahhh…that’s because it’s Friday the 13th”.  I didn’t even realize what day it was until I got to the airport today and got my ticket and noticed the date.  Now I’m thinking back to see if anything unlucky happened to me that I can blame on Friday.  However, I’ve had a really great day.

I spent the last week working with a new manager at one of our locations and he was a great guy.  He was eager to learn and make sure that the Apple Spice was running at a high standard and that the food and service were both exceptional.  The staff was hard working and they had their first Holiday catering event while I was there where they did a Turkey dinner for 185 people.  It went really well and the training of the staff and the manager was successful.  As I was leaving today they had a nice little going away party for me.  That made me feel very good so now instead of thinking about bad luck, I’m spending my Friday the 13th thinking about how Lucky I am!  I get to associate with great employees of Apple Spice Junction all over the country.  I get to associate with great customers all over the country.  I work for a great company.  I hope your Friday the 13th has turned out lucky for you, also!

Alison Ainge/Director of Training and Operations

Every now and then you have experiences with service, both good & bad,  that make you ask yourself how those who cross our path walk away feeling.

 On a recent flight out of Atlanta, our plane had been delayed and was still at the gate 45 minutes after it was supposed to have taken off.  I could hear other passengers around me getting anxious and annoyed not only because of the delay, but the air conditioning was off and it was getting stuffy.  A few minutes later a pilot walked down the aisle and with a rather commanding voice asked for our attention.  He then introduced himself as Captain Geoff Jumper, proceeded to explain why the delay had occurred, apologized in very genuine way, offered to give direct contact information for the person at Delta who coordinates departures, and lastly, he sincerely thanked everyone on behalf of his family (calling his wife by name) that we had chosen Delta.  He then proceeded to let us know that he had a new flight plan that had been approved and that it would shave approximately 20 minutes off of the delay we were experiencing.  He also introduced the flight attendants, said how great they were and what a privilege it was to work with them today.  Needless to say, I was incredibly impressed…. (The only other time in all my travels I had experienced a face to face speech from the Captain was shortly after the horrible 911 events assuring us that our flight would be safe.)  That very same week, my family and I were leaving the movie theatre when we were asked how the show was, thanked for coming in, and invited to come back soon. Only this time it wasn’t the Captain or the manager. It was 3 young men holding brooms and mops.  It put the final touches on a nice experience at the movies and I left thinking I wanted to return and that my business was valued by the entire staff.  It seemed that even those who had been assigned the not so pleasant task of cleaning the theatre recognized the service didn’t stop when the movie was over.

 These are two examples of great service. One, however, was from the Captain, the other from the other end of the labor pool.  Both gave me the same feeling.  They valued our business and took the time to communicate it to me.

It’s my sincere hope that we leave our wonderful clients feeling that we truly value the opportunity to serve them. We operate in a very competitive industry and we understand the many choices facing each of you.  We hope that you will always take the opportunity to help us understand if we have come up short of your expectations.  Our ongoing goal, of course, is to exceed them.

Best wishes to all for a wonderful & safe holiday season.

Randy

Halloween this year falls on a Saturday which begs the question “Do we dress up at work on Friday or not?” I’m not sure what to do. We take Halloween very seriously at Apple Spice Junction and the whole team always dresses up. We’ve had some pretty interesting costumes over the years but one thing is certain….we really enjoy ourselves. My favorite costume so far has been “Little Dead Riding Hood”.  That was much easier than the year I came as a spider.  My eight legs kept getting in the way.  We also try to make it fun for our customers by making our bread bowls and our brownies orange for the day. I guess we will take our chances and do it on Friday and hope that the rest of the world follows along….. Happy Halloween!!

The month of October marks 21 years that Apple Spice Junction has been in business. Wow! It amazes me to think that we have been here that long…. This business sure has brought an incredible amount of satisfaction to me. I can honestly say that every day for the last 21 years I’ve been excited to get out of bed and come to work. That’s not to say that it hasn’t been challenging or difficult along the way. Believe me, we’ve had our share of trials and with the current economy the way it is, this past year has been no picnic (no pun intended). My heart goes out to all of the businesses who haven’t been able to weather the storm and the many families who have been affected as a result. We’re indeed grateful to those who have continued to support our business.

It truly is a privilege to serve you and we remain committed to the best service and the best quality of food that you have come to know and enjoy for the last two decades. As I mentioned in my blog a month ago or so, perhaps one of the greatest joys about being in the service industry and particularly in the catering business is being able to develop relationships that are long lasting. Just the other day, a friend of mine who works with the State Board of Education called to discuss some Holiday Catering. As we talked about what she needed, we also did a little reminiscing about how long we had known each other and how many different events we had worked on together. In this particular case, it goes all the way back to 1989. I really value this relationship and the privilege I’ve had to know her. I take great pride in the fact that we have managed to earn her business and that of her colleagues for so many years. Not only has she been instrumental in helping to support my family and the many families that work for Apple Spice Junction, I hope that we have provided great food and great service when she counted on us.

It’s my hope that when it comes to Box Lunches, Company Picnics, Holiday Parties, or when you crave a fresh lunch out of the office, you’ll think of Apple Spice Junction. Additionally, we hope that you will never be shy about how we can improve our service and quality. Please never hesitate to contact me directly at 801.359.8821 or e-mail me: randy@applespice.com  I’d love to hear you suggestions!

Randy Clegg

Here is a great recipe  that some Apple Spice Junction stores will be offering for the Fall/Winter season.  It is really yummey and easy to make.  It comes to us from the kitchen of Amy Clegg.  Enjoy!

Mediterranean Chicken Chili

 1 tsp olive oil

1 1/4 cups chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced, or 2 tsp bottled minced garlic

4 (4 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

2 (19 oz) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups coarsely chopped zucchini

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried basil

1 (4 oz) package crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, saute 3 minutes or just until tender. Add chicken; saute 5 minutes or until done. Add tomatoes and next 8 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Sprinkle feta cheese on individual serving bowls.

(I use precooked chicken breasts that I chop up and add after I sauté the onion and garlic.)

The feta cheese is a must – it adds so much to the flavor of the chili.  You don’t need a lot, but you need it.