The value a vendor offers to their chef customers has long been: consistent availability, delivery and quality. Quality should be basic table stakes, unless premium ingredients are "not on the menu". But how does a food supplier go further?
The answer most recently has been organic and local. These are great product features, as consumers want transparency as to what they are eating and they want to "do their part" by supporting local food systems that are environmentally conscious. Local means shorter distance from farm to plate, maximizing freshness and minimizing carbon footprints. But there could be more value that food suppliers can provide to the restaurants, caterers, clubs, hotels and corporate dining that they serve. Four Star Mushrooms recognized the added value they could provide as a bedrock beacon in their four corporate values of - Innovation, Sustainability, Transparency and Quality.
Quality
The quality of Four Star Mushrooms' specialty mushrooms is unmatched. Consistently, chefs boast the visual beauty of Four Star Mushrooms to anyone who will listen. Specialty mushrooms really have not been on the menu in North American up until say 2020, so curiosity takes over when a novice spots them. The days of a chef's reliance on the old button, cremini and portabella mushroom can be gone now that specialty mushrooms are available. The visual appearance, culinary versatility, health benefits and umami are unmatched. Four Star Mushrooms even replaced flowers at a recent wedding in the Chicago area and were featured in an exhibit at The Chicago Botanical Garden (picture below).
The Four Star Mushrooms' brand is pervasive in the Chicagoland area with both chefs and consumers. The mission and brand values are well communicated and for that reason restaurants are proud to list Four Star Mushrooms by name on their applicable menu items. It tells clientele that this establishment cares about every aspect of the meal.
Collaboration
Four Star Mushrooms believes it's role as a supplier is to help drive consumers to these amazing dining establishments - to sample the Four Star Mushrooms product being prepared by talented chefs. In fact, Four Star Mushrooms can boast that most Michelin starred restaurants and James Beard award/nominated chefs are customers. The leading photo on this blog post is of Smyth Chicago (3 Star Michelin), where they posted how they collaborate with Four Star Mushrooms. "Chef John Shields reached out to the Four Star Mushrooms team with a special request: to let a selection of enoki caps fully develop, which isn't typically done. The result is a more substantial texture and a visually striking mushroom, and we've been serving them this way ever since." It's requirements like Smyth's, that exemplifies how Innovation is front and center in collaboration with chefs at Four Star Mushrooms.
Further collaboration happens in the following ways:
Team Tours
On a regular basis, entire restaurant teams (front and back of house) will tour the Four Star Mushrooms indoor controlled environment facility to see where the food is made and learn the sustainable practices involved. When the front of house can tell customers what it really means to source local, high quality ingredients it adds so much to the brand value of an establishment. Further, it is the "story" that customers will repeat paired with the memorable meal they just enjoyed.
Social media collaboration
Four Star Mushrooms dedicates enormous content creation to promoting our customers. It may be social media posts or video of food preparation. Often it is forwarding customers' content on to Four Star Mushrooms' audience via socials. Finally, the Four Star Mushrooms mascot, a vintage 1964 Volkswagen Samba is always a crowd pleaser and gatherer at Happy Hours, Grand Openings, Special Events and more. Just ask and it will show up - except in winter and rainy days!
Special Events
Mushrooms can often be the star of the show - or meal. And no where are they more impactful than in events. Four Star Mushrooms has numerous clubs, corporate dining and senior living centers that regularly host dietary speakers or special culinary events. Four Star Mushrooms founder, Joe Weber, will often provide a keynote or similar address on the topic of mushrooms. Accompanied by a fantastic meal featuring mushrooms, you have the ingredients for a dynamic and unique event, which is an added value to Four Star Mushrooms' customers' customers.
Below: Sous chef preparing a medley of Four Star Mushrooms at Medinah Country Club's Annual Member Classic Golf Tournament
The final piece to the value of Four Star Mushrooms partnership is with its values centered around sustainability and regenerative farming. You can learn about those in the blog post, "Restoring Soil in Chicago Gardens".
