Can You Master the Art of Power Cooking?

[ButterflyVioletta]

Ok, as mentioned in another thread, I'm working on a workshop that takes the Power Cooking and allows all participants to take entrees home. I would buy all ingredients and in fact would pre-cook the chicken and the beef. I am going to do two back to back sessions of about 15 each.

I've attached a very rough draft modifying an earlier concept of the flier in case anyone else is interested.

 

[gailz2]

This sound like a great idea. What is "$2 Buck Grub Meal Set"?

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

Thanks for asking, I forgot to include that...I wanted to feature the DCB as another way beyond the class that folks could keep up the momentum for fast easy economical meals...I saw the post about the guy, Michael Reeves who sells a ton of DCBs and sells them as a "set" for $99 plus free shipping and it has:
Salad Chopper
DCB
Rub of Their Choice
SB

I also was going to include the recipes attached and format them in a booklet along with other DCB recipes

What I need to reconcile is that his version of the "kit" has a rub that is essentially the guest special for June, so I need to think of something else for the kit....

 

[Krista Burson]

Have them still get a rub, but in June they can choose a second one for free

 

[Krista Burson]

Michelle - let me know if you get any takers. I've been thinking of doing this.

 

[TrishPCMommy]

Were you able to find a large kitchen or are you looking for hosts & their homes?

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

Michelle - let me know if you get any takers. I've been thinking of doing this.

I've got takers from my Power Cooking show last weekend (they joked with the host that they didn't want to make meals for HER freezer and from the host this weekend who is doing a different theme but doesn't want to miss out on this. I also plan to offer it to the guests who were unable to attend either of these two shows. I'll keep you posted on the actual RSVP...we all know that when it comes to a firm commitment sometimes people get flakey.

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

Were you able to find a large kitchen or are you looking for hosts & their homes?

The church idea is a fantastic one, but since the area where I'm doing these is 100 miles away from here, I've actually enlisted the help of my June host to see if there's a church she can think of.

If that doesn't work, my mom lives out there and we can always invade her home, but I really wanted it to be more like a class, which I think a public area would work better for.

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

So what am I leaving out or not thinking of?

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

I think I need a "registration form" and then some sort of confirmation to give them to keep the info on...perhaps a postcard?

 

[TrishPCMommy]

Do a registration form and if you use a public kitchen, maybe to help encourage them holding their "reservation", make part of the $20 non-refundable? Once you receive their registration form and deposit, a postcard (VistaPrint!!) can be mailed or handed to them??? Just make sure they pay the rest of the cost before even grabbing a ziploc or tool!

On the registration form, have them select their 4 meals so you can start prepping how much of which ingredients you'll need...

 

[TrishPCMommy]

I do like your invite... mine kinda informed to potential hosts and their guests what it was all about (kinda wordy)

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

No, yours was fantastic, but worked more with hosts, so I wanted to see if I could modify it to be "self hosted" if that is a word, lolAhhh yes...the deposit. See this is a lot to think through! Great points Trish...thank you so much for the feedback!

 

[c00p]

Michelle - I keep thinking about doing something like this too and I was wondering, are all of these recipes PC? And silly question (maybe it's covered in the recipes) but how do you know how much to portion out for everyone? And, do you have an assembly line set up, or how does each person choose the recipe and then make it? Sorry, but as you can see, I have lots of questions 'cuz I can't wrap my head around this!!!

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

Michelle - I keep thinking about doing something like this too and I was wondering, are all of these recipes PC? And silly question (maybe it's covered in the recipes) but how do you know how much to portion out for everyone? And, do you have an assembly line set up, or how does each person choose the recipe and then make it? Sorry, but as you can see, I have lots of questions 'cuz I can't wrap my head around this!!!

All the Power Cooking recipes are PC. I'm going to do something a bit different than the regular show...I'm premaking all of the meat. I can't see my way through to cooking the meat and doing stations and I think it would really hold things up. So I'm going to Costco, cook and freeze the meat into the appropriate serving size bags. This will make servings go so much smoother. (yes it is covered in the Power cooking recipes)

And with Power Cooking, there is a lot in CC that is printable so I can have cute display stands everywhere.

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

Sorry, I missed part of the question. I will have a very long table with areas sectioned off for each recipe.When they arrive, I will serve them some dessert made in the DCB (remember I am hoping to keep the frugal and fast theme going by promoting the DCB).As they snack on something yummy that makes the room smell good, I will introduce the concept, speak to them about freezer tips, hand out their meat and point them out to the stations. I will walk around guiding them. When they are done, they will come back to me for the recipes to take home for the meals they made(this way I can also make sure they didn't nab other things)Another difference from the show is I am providing ALL ingredients, even for the portions to be finished up the night they are serving. I don't want them to have to go grocery shopping ever for these meals.As I hand out their final recipes I will remind them about session 2 so their friends can sign up and I will see if I can be fancy enough to sell some DCB or Two Buck Grub Packages.I will help them pack their items up in a PC reusable bag during "checkout" for those who want to order. If they aren't ordering I will ask them about hosting or joining my team.

 

[Crystal Patton]

I was playing with this exact idea. I talked to my church and they were fine with it IF I could provide my own liability(sp?) insurance. This really bummbed me out, I can't afford my own policy. I assumed (we all know what that does LOL) the coverage we have with PC isn't what the church is looking for. Let me know how you swing it if you do yours in a church. And Good luck, I think it's a GREAT idea!!

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

The coverage with PC is exactly what they are looking for unless there is something with your church that is different than what I'm experiencing. You can go to CC and print the cert.I would seriously LOVE for a bunch of us to give this a run and compare notes. I'm telling you, companies here like Let's Dish and Dinner Done have been rolling this out with great success and I'm beyond thrilled that PC has given us Power Cooking which has the ability to be the EXACT SAME THING

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

I'm attaching the registration form I set up in case it helps anyone. Please be kind, I'm not terribly creative!

If I had more time, I would have made a better form that has half they turn in and the other half they keep, reminding them of their dates and menu selections.

As it is I've spent a ton of time planning and drafting this and time's up! I've sent the documents electronically to Kinko's to be printed...the flier on pale yellow pastel and the reg form on a light purple pastel to keep me from mixing them up.

 

[Crystal Patton]

THANK YOU for the info and the paperwork!!!!! Let us know how it went!

 

[pameredchef007]

Are you hoping for people to place orders with you before they leave? Who will benefit with the host rewards? I did not listen to Michael Reeves, so what is SB? This sounds like a great idea!!!! I really want to do it!! Please give me more information! I feel like a sponge. My business is not doing to great and maybe this is just what I need to boost it up!!

 

[ButterflyVioletta]

LOL!! I'm really trying to be as helpful as possible and give as much detail as I can, so whatever I'm forgetting to say, just ask me! I definitely see this as a boost for me and my informal poll of guests, friends seem to indicate this is interesting to them.

As far as orders, yes, I expect the actual meal prep to happen much quicker than probably the attendees expect and since they will come with family and friends, they may socialize more as one gets done before the other, etc. This will give them time to check out the "display table" of tools that we didn't use during the workshop. Between the hands on use and the milling around the product table I should get interest, and as people finish, I will reference the DCB special from Michael Reeves that I will affectionately call the "2 Buck Grub Special" and I will frame this flier, provided by another consultant here as well as give them the collection of recipes by the same name that work in the DCB.

Maybe I'm crazy but I really think the products, and the regular fans of PC do the best selling. In this context I'm just here to help them Power Cook. When I give them their reusable bag, packaging up their recipes, I hope to collect some orders.

 

[BlessedWifeMommy]

LOL!! I'm really trying to be as helpful as possible and give as much detail as I can, so whatever I'm forgetting to say, just ask me! I definitely see this as a boost for me and my informal poll of guests, friends seem to indicate this is interesting to them.

As far as orders, yes, I expect the actual meal prep to happen much quicker than probably the attendees expect and since they will come with family and friends, they may socialize more as one gets done before the other, etc. This will give them time to check out the "display table" of tools that we didn't use during the workshop. Between the hands on use and the milling around the product table I should get interest, and as people finish, I will reference the DCB special from Michael Reeves that I will affectionately call the "2 Buck Grub Special" and I will frame this flier, provided by another consultant here as well as give them the collection of recipes by the same name that work in the DCB.

Maybe I'm crazy but I really think the products, and the regular fans of PC do the best selling. In this context I'm just here to help them Power Cook. When I give them their reusable bag, packaging up their recipes, I hope to collect some orders.

Here is an idea... Have everyone grab a tool from the display table that they don't have, but it is interesting to them. Go around and have them say why they picked it, and then give the reasons they (and everyone else) needs to own that tool.

And one thought from the call about the DCB, was that instead of giving recipes, put them on your PWS so it draws traffic to your website.

 

[msturrock]

Michelle,

This is an incredible idea! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

Michelle,

You have done so much work, and it's all great! Thanks for being generous and sharing it with us. Consider your concept nabbed! I'm going to do a monthly cooking class too!


Let us know how yours go, and what you would do differently or add to the next one!

Best of luck.......hoping for big sales and lots of happy cooks!

 

[pattikake]

I started offering a monthly cooking class last month. I had 6 gals show up - it was a blast! Four of them are coming back this month. I have scheduled one a month through August, with different themes each month. I keep these to 2 hours - 'charge' them $15 and they can use the $15 towards a purchase in the catalog. We all cook, share tips, etc., and eat.. They shop .. then go home with a very small goodie bag of items I get from the outlet, etc.

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

I started offering a monthly cooking class last month. I had 6 gals show up - it was a blast! Four of them are coming back this month. I have scheduled one a month through August, with different themes each month. I keep these to 2 hours - 'charge' them $15 and they can use the $15 towards a purchase in the catalog. We all cook, share tips, etc., and eat.. They shop .. then go home with a very small goodie bag of items I get from the outlet, etc.

Thanks for sharing.....who pays for the ingredients? If you charge 15, and they can use it towards a purchase, who pays for the outlet items?

Thanks

 

[pattikake]

Thanks for sharing.....who pays for the ingredients? If you charge 15, and they can use it towards a purchase, who pays for the outlet items?

I buy the ingredients. I choose recipes that are fairly inexpensive to make, and usually have most of the ingredients in my pantry. I have a stock pile of outlet items that I use for the goodie bags. And last month, I used my free product from my show towards more little gifts ..

 

[sunnygirl in nd]

Quick question. For $5 a meal do you break even or do make money? Aren't most of these meals advertised as $2 a serving with 4 servings? Wouldn't that be $8 for one entree? Maybe if you buy in bulk it's cheaper? Maybe this is a dumb question? I did a power cooking show and it just seems like it would cost more.

 

[IAmChefJ]

Yeah - I was going to ask about the cost too. Especially if you're giving them everything to prepare the meal the day they eat it.

I like the concept... I think I'm going to try it in my home first with 3-4 guests, and then expand it after I get good and try it at church...

J.