I’ve taken the opportunity to register zingermans.co and elph.co. Just in case it’s useful. The prices seem to be standardized around the web at $29.99 per year.

3 Steps to Great Customer Service

1. Figure  out what the guests wants

• Be proactive in finding solutions

• Review the trouble ticket and respond within 24 hours

• Ask questions to help solve the issue and engage the client

• Feel free to apologize for their trouble

• Provide a time assessment for a resolution

2. Get it For Them

Accurately

• Ask questions to understand any bigger issues

• Document by sending an email to client and IT or enter in ticket system

• Communicate progress and when issue is resolved

• Follow up with the client after the issue is resolved

Politely

• Communicate using the basics (please, thank you) and other social skills
  

• Resolve in a timely way or renegotiate timeline

Enthusiastically

• Make the client feel that they are the best part of your day

• Do not blame the client (even in jest)
  

• Be cheerful

3. Go the Extra Mile

• Do  something extra for the client that they didn't ask for or expect

And the list:
1. Allgauer Bergkase Cheese…was $15.50, now $10
2. Beaufort Cheese…was $23, now $12
3. 2-year Remeker Cheese…was $18, now $10
4. Appleby’s Cheshire Cheese…was $17, now $8
5. Brandied Cherries…was $13, now $7
6. Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar…was $10, now $5
7. Bonne Maman Butter Cookies…was $6, now $3
8. Cope’s Dried Sweet Corn…was $11, now $6
9. Chocolate Dipped Figs, 3-Pack…was $5, now $2
10. Testour Pasta Sauce…was $16, now $8
11. Green Mountain Salsa…was $7.50, now $4
12. Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans…was $9, now $4
13. Finnish Black Licorice…was $6, now $4
14. Pasta di Aldo Fettuccine…was $14, now $7
15. Fregula Sarda Pasta…was $12, now $7
16. Buckwheat Pancake Mix…was $9, now $5
17. Cunesi Rum Truffles…was $35, now $17
18. Plum & Anise Preserves…was $14, now $7
19. Koeze Cream Nut Clusters…was $19, now $9
20. Licorice Chocolate Bar…was $10, now four for $10
21. Maple Syrup…was $15, now $8
22. Terra Cotta Sauce Warmer…was $15, now $5
23. Zingerman’s Diner Mug…was $10, now $5
24. Porcini Powder…was $15, now $10
25. Parisienne Drinking Chocolate…was $20, now $10
26. Moscato Vinegar…was $35, now $18
27. D. Barbero Hard Torrone…was $55, now $30
28. Venchi Dubledo Hazelnut Fudge…was $18, now $8
29. Flyer Costa Rican Chocolate Bar…was $7, now $4
30. Plugra Salted Butter…was $8, now $5
31. Welsh Sea Salt Sampler…was $30, now $15
32. Fever Tree Tonic Water…was $12, now $6
33. Heather Honey with Whiskey…was $29, now $14
34. Marta’s Olive Oil…was $45, now $25
35. Cherries in Balsamic Compote…was $15, now $7
36. Denoix Pastis Mustard…was $13, now $7
37. Pepperoncini Conditi…was $25, now $15
38. Spudmaster Potato Chips…was $10, now $5
39. Cold Brew Coffee…was $5, now $3
40. Garden of Eatin’ Tortilla Chips…was $5, now $1

Where: 610 Phoenix Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48108
When: Fridays, 11am to 3pm

Lots of little servings, loads of flavor!

Iberico Ham, white hoofed
Iberico Ham, black hoofed (sweeter)
Garlic and tomato-rubbed bruschetta
Kippered salmon
Garlic mushrooms
Polenta sticks and mole
Nettle soup
Jillian’s garden salad
Asparagus
Roasted almonds
Arbequina olives
Cheese plate including Manchego, Lenor, quince paste, grapes
Almond gelato
Flourless lemon-almond cake
Natillas (Spanish custard) with fresh raspberries
Rioja wine

The perilla leaves were a first for me. Lovely looking and tasty flavored. Kind of a bright yet light anise or mint like flavor. They made great wraps.

It really was special to see them honored in this way because they are such wonderful people. They are passionate about the subject of culinary history and have made it their lives to know and to collect material and then share it with others. Jan and Dan are great role models in our community.

Mindo is a tiny town northwest of Quito, Ecuador. Each cacao pod is hand-picked by them for freshness and quality then processed immediately. Contrast this to most large scale operations that will harvest every pod – even the bad ones – and mix them all together.

The cacao beans are then removed and stored in large crates to ferment. They employ a smart gravity-powered fermenting system. There are three large crates set upon giant steps. As the top box of beans ferments, it opens into a second lower box, mixing the beans as they cascade down. Then they swirl down to the last box. It’s a waterfall of chocolate! Well, okay, goopy fermented cacao beans – you have to appreciate the vision, you know.

The beans are then set out to dry on racks. Again, this is another way Mindo Chocolate Makers really takes care of their products. It is common for cacao producers to lay their beans out on the ground, even by the side of the road, absorbing lead emissions and animal waste. Do you know where that Hershey bar’s been?!

The beans finally arrive in Michigan in the form of pounds and pounds of intensely flavored nibs! Their little chocolate factory in Dexter is where the rest of the magic takes place.

We are geeks, but we believe that before going for a technological solution, we must first understand and appreciate the old-fashioned, non-tech way of doing the same thing. The nibs are hand-pressed into cocoa liquor using a grinder. It’s amazing how much liquid can come out of a handful of these crunchy nibs. Later, they hand-crank cocoa powder and cocoa butter. It’s a serious workout! We joke that they should open a chocolate themed day spa.

Working directly with the beans, from harvesting the fruit to ladling the tempered chocolate into molds, putting your hands, body, heart into the operation, you can’t help but be amazed at the wonders of chocolate. It’s not the kind relationship you can get by pressing a button on a machine. Plus it tastes better!

Next field trip: Ecuador?

Mindo cocoa powder is available at the Deli.

• 2 Year Aged Rememker Cheese…was $16, now $8
• Valrhona Jivara Lait Chocolate…was $10, now $5
• Valrhona Manjari…was $10, now $5
• Marta’s Olive Oil…250 ml bottle…was $35, now $15
• Ceylon Tea…3 oz bag…was $16, now $5
• L’estornell Olive Oil…was $38, now $21
• Vermont Cultured Butter…was $8.50, now $4
• Quebecois Goat Butter…was $12, now $6
• Moscato Vinegar…was $35, now $18
• Vosges Parisian Hot Cocoa…was $20, now $10
• Vosges Barcelona Chocolate Bar…was $9, now $5
• Tibar Pasta & Cous Cous Sauce…was $14, now $7
• Pesto Trapanese…was $15, now $8
• Maple Syrup…was $15, now $8
• Koeze Chocolate Clusters…was $19, now $8
• Plum & Anise Jam…was $14, now $7
• Cunesi Rum Truffles…was $35, now $17
• Horseradish Mustard…was $14, now $7
• Buckwheat Pancake Mix…was $9, now $5
• Pasta di Aldo Fettuccine…was $14, now $7
• Vosges Exotic Caramel Collection…was $40, now $20
• Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar…was $10, now $5
• Balaton Cherries…was $13, now $7
• Dark Roast Coffee from Zingerman’s Coffee Company…1/2 lb was $10, now $6

Bundles!

• Breakfast Bundle: Buy Pancake Mix and Maple Syrup together, get $3 off!
• Pasta Bundle: Buy Fettuccine and Pesto Trapanese -or- Tibar Sauce, get $2 off!
• Southsider Deal: Get whatever you like from Zingerman’s Coffee Company, show us your receipt, get $2 off Vosges Parisian Hot Cocoa!

Where: 610 Phoenix Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48108
When: Fridays, 11am to 3pm