COOKING UP SALES 1999

ROSEANNE HARPER

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Two leading supermarket chains in this area -- Wegmans and Tops -- are luring consumers into their stores with a promise: they'll show them how to cook something interesting.

That may seem ironic since today's time-starved consumers hardly have time to decide what they want to eat for dinner, let alone cook. But Tops' cooking classes here are filled up weeks in advance and Wegmans' probably would be, too, if more people knew about them, said a local observer.

The observer, a Buffalo-area consumer who attended classes at both chains, explained that Wegmans doesn't publicize its classes to the extent Tops does. Wegmans posts upcoming classes on a board in-store, while Tops distributes a bimonthly cooking school newsletter with a lengthy roster of classes.

The observer described the two classes in detail and said both experiences were so positive, she would sign up for more.

"I'm disappointed that Tops' classes I wanted to take are full for the next six months. Wegmans' classes must be the best-kept secret around, but I'm glad because the class was small and informal. We gathered right up around the cooktop. I'm telling people about how good both were," she said.

Other chains as well as Tops have found their customers eager for cooking instruction. Indeed, officials from several supermarkets have told SN that their customers rush to sign up for cooking classes.

Why such an interest in cooking from scratch? One consultant maintains that today's fast-paced lifestyles have given rise to "recreational cooking."

"People used to look forward to the weekend because they would go out to a restaurant to eat. Now they eat out or eat takeout all week, so they look forward to the weekend because they'll have time to cook," said Howard Solganik, president of Solganik & Associates, a Dayton, Ohio, consulting firm.

Other industry sources theorize that people today look upon cooking as one of those activities that pleasantly recalls a less-hectic era. It provides a bit of nostalgia; after all, fox trot classes are filling up, too.

From the supermarket's perspective, there's a lot to gain from running cooking classes. It's a way to introduce customers to new dishes, and thus new ingredients, to the chain's private-label brands, and, in some cases, to the store itself or to departments that they may not have previously ventured into.

"I'm an advocate of cooking schools. You can build a loyal customer base with them," said Jim Riesenburger, managing partner in Riesenburger, Leenhouts & Associates, a Rochester, N.Y., consulting firm.

"You can build your private-label products -- they have a higher margin -- into the recipes, and you can also feature cookware and related products [in the class area]," said Riesenburger.

He said the most effective setting for supermarket cooking classes is right on the selling floor. "For example, they could bring chairs into the produce department. The instructor can then just reach over for whatever vegetable or fruit he needs as an ingredient."

That underscores the idea of freshness, he said. But no matter where they're held, cooking classes can even inspire confidence in the prepared foods that the supermarket offers in its deli/food-service department.

"After taking classes at Wegmans, I feel very positive about purchasing items in their fresh and store-made foods departments because the chefs who taught our class so obviously care about quality and innovation in the store," said SN's consumer-observer.

"I also find myself buying more Wegmans store-brand items since I took the classes," she said.

At the Wegmans' class, several of the chain's private-label products -- olive oil and balsamic vinegar among them -- were displayed in the classroom and chef-instructors talked about the value represented by the different private-label ingredients. Tops Markets, based in Williamsville, N.Y., a Buffalo suburb,, holds cooking classes regularly at three of its stores. The Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets, on the other hand, does not schedule cooking classes on a regular basis. Instead, it apparently often ties them into chainwide special events. For example, the recent Sicilian cooking classes held at the chain's Amherst Street store here were a feature of the chain's weeks-long "Savor a True Taste of Sicily" promotion.

That promotion included a first for Wegmans -- a 30-minute television program filmed in Sicily. The event, which ran through March, highlighted a wide selection of pasta, sauces and cookbooks. Sampling stations in all 58 of the chain's stores offered tastes of Sicilian fare.

SN's observer attended one of Wegmans' Sicilian cooking classes and a cooking class at Tops that focused on sauces. Both classes were held the last week in March.

Significantly, probably to accommodate people who are working during the day, both classes were held in the evening. Tops charged $15 for its "Kitchen Basics -- Sauces" class. Wegmans' "Sicilian Cooking" class was free.

The Tops class was conducted by an outsider, the pastry chef at EB Greens, a downtown Buffalo restaurant. Wegmans, on the other hand, turned Sicilian cooking instruction over to two chefs who are employed by the chain.

Both classes attended by SN's observer were held in areas of the store that are obviously designed for cooking classes, she said. The rooms are separated from the rest of the store and were outfitted with island cooktops and such visual aids as video monitors.

One of the Wegmans chefs, however, said that a cooking class scheduled for the chain's newest store here will be held in the middle of the fresh-food aisle where there is a vented cooking top and demo station.

At the chain's recent Sicilian cooking class, the students were told how to prepare pesto, which was served on cheese tortellini; tapenade, which was served on bruschetta with tomato and gorgonzola cheese; saffron risotto with shrimp; and an item the instructor said could be served as an appetizer or a dessert: parmigiano-Reggiano "ice cream."

At Tops, the sauces cooked were classic bolognese sauce, fresh tomato sauce with basil, simple tomato sauce, alfredo sauce, and classic pesto. Each was served with a different type of pasta.

Each of the classes reflected well on the respective chain, our observer said.

"After the Tops class, I felt I had been to a great cooking class. It strengthened for me the reputation Tops enjoys locally for being a quality operation. But after Wegmans' class, I felt I had been to a total Wegmans' experience, as well as to a cooking class. I definitely felt a greater identification with the store as a result," she said.

She went on to describe the setting of each of the classes.

The classroom at the Tops store here, where the sauces class was held, is a separate entity situated along the front wall of the store. A sign with large letters, on its wall that faces into the store, identifies it as "Tops Cooking School."

A small table outside the room holds brochures describing future classes, dollar-off coupons for classes and registration materials.

The mode of instruction at Tops was more classroom-formal than at Wegmans. Students are seated in rows, on high stools drawn up to narrow tables on wheels, two students to a table.

A large reflecting mirror hangs over the stovetop so students can see the cooking process at the stove without having to walk to the front of the room. A Plexiglas window separates the work area from the first row of students. All appliances and tables are white, creating a very gleaming, clean look. Wegmans' setting for its Sicilian cooking class here was, by contrast, less businesslike.

"Wegmans' kitchen is warm and homey," our observer said. The walls of the kitchen area where the class was held are wood and brick and there was lots of natural light.

She compared the approaches the two chains took when it came to talking about sourcing ingredients.

At Tops, there was no promotion of products or of the store. Indeed, aside from the chef-instructor's wearing a distinctive green apron with the Tops logo, Tops itself was not in the limelight at all. Just one question, on an evaluation form that was handed out to students, asked if class participants intended to shop the store for ingredients after class.

Tops officials said they think their cooking classes, which they launched in a store here in 1987, serve to seal customer loyalty.

"We don't have a way to track whether or not participants in the classes buy recipe ingredients from us after the classes, but we do believe the classes strengthen their loyalty to Tops. They always evaluate our classes highly [on evaluation sheets they're encouraged to complete]," said Karen Ostrum, manager of consumer education, at the 79-unit chain.

By contrast, Wegmans' chef-instructors talked about the value represented by the private-label products they were using as ingredients. They also pointed out that another ingredient, pinenuts, could be purchased in the bulk-food aisle in the exact quantity needed.

"They promoted the products and the store many times, but quite smoothly," SN's observer said.

A Wegmans spokesperson declined to comment on the cooking program.

But neither chain had grouped recipe ingredients in the classroom or near it to make it easy for class participants to buy them. But the general enthusiasm of the Wegman's chef-instructors was a notable ingredient itself, the observer said.

"They talked about new prepared dishes the store has come up with, in an excited way. I felt they really wanted to introduce and promote the food because they were proud of it. It comes across as genuine and class members got into the excitement," she said.

Indeed, a discussion about Wegmans' prepared foods ensued with one participant "raving so much about the stuffed salmon that I want to try it," SN's observer said.