I was wondering if anyone uses Grande on their pizzas for deliveries. I was wondering how it holds up?
Perfect. I have used Grande for 6 years now and would not change…even due to price. The best thing is that if you let a pizza sit on the counter at home for a while and go to eat it…no cardboard taste or texture. If it can last that long…it will be perfect for delivery.
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Not a Grande fan anymore - been a few years since I last used it…really can’t justify the price @ current location…
Been real happy w/R.Depot house brand/blend of whole milk/provolone…been shredding now for a few weeks & won’t be looking back…
I disagree…what is your time worth? Unless you are doing some type of “special blending” then what is the value of your time…the cost of gas to get there?
You may buy a ton of stuff from RD…but when you really compare their prices to a honest brokers price…the savings just isn’t there.
Consistency…these guys buy cheese from the lowest bidder…soooooooo, for six months you may have one company…then 3 months you may have another. RD doesn’t have a dairy farm and produce their own cheese. Another point is this…if you do not do the shredding…you are paying someone else to do it.
just my .02
I go to RD and I use Grande. Happy with both. 5 hrs of driving and shopping in an afternoon saves me a couple hundred dollars a week and gets me better products (I hit a Sam’s club too). Grande holds up very well and reheats extremely well for your customers who like leftovers. I’ve tried several other brands since we bought this shop and just can’t find anything I’m comfortable switching to, even though I’d love the price drop.
I’ve had 6, count 'em, 6 full service vendors call on me within the last 10 days - none cane beat the cost of RD All Trumps flour, fresh chicken tenders, wings, pizza boxes or their cheese (packed by Saputo)
I used to sell food once upon a time - they need to cover the salesman salary/%, the truck driver & the sales office overhead…
I stop in every few days (I have a 'fridge truck) & I’m out in 45 minutes…right on the way to the shop…
I am a volume priced college pizza store & run high 20’s food cost…
Forgot - it costs at least $75/stop (old, old figures) so we were told…that money is tacked on somewhere by someone…
RD, like SYSO/USDF/Roma et al buy in volume from the mfg or from other middlemen, like Dots, Inc and some mfg pay a slotting fee to be in those companies…slotting fees are added into product costs along the way…
So sometimes store brands are nearly the same quality, or poorer quality…the majors carry several similar items @ various price points as well…
Many here luv Sam’s ranch dressing - tuff to beat in taste or price ($6.27/G) Sure, Kraft is great, but $3 more from SYSCO?
RD carries brand name pepperoni, fresh IBP/Excell meats - same as the majors & @ pennies/# cheaper…
Roma can’t/won’t beat RD on flour, even if I buy a pallet, but RD will give me a price break on that volume…
in my opinon this is where grande excells, I have done many side by sides and if I was dine in only, I would NOT use grande, there are many many cheeses that preform just as good as grande, BUT grande always hands down beats them at a too the door test, 2 test that I like to do is this,
- try the side by side after 30 minutes (because sometimes on friday delivery from the oven could be 30 minutes or more…
- next morning test, I cook one refride and microwave next morning…
heres the kicker, you have to position your restuarant in pricing, I do full gourmet pizza’s that are priced accordingly
there is now way I get college students to reach deep on a consistant bases. If I was a college or military town I dont think I would pay that either…last but not least I also think if you are a cheese on the bottom of the toppings you can get away from the grande as toppings and such sheild and baby the cheese.
bottom line is you have to look at your market and your position in that market.
I DISAGREE…after 30 years in the business and using nearly every cheese offered here…NONE can compare.
If you by Sargento and their companies cheese it is loaded with cellulose…WOOD PULP to absorb the moisture that they pump into the cheese…Remember, YOU PAY BY THE LB!
If you use Saputo and others like…you don’t always know what you are getting
If you use RD or Sams…c’mon, it’s private labeled like I said earlier…the bags are filled with the cheese that won the bid.
How about wax filler…or even PET as a filler…
Toppings on the bottom or top??? :roll: Delivery or Eat In??? :roll:
I do agree that in a college area or a military base it really will not make a difference since the are on a fixed budget…but that also means you can use Hormel pepperoni instead of Cudahay or Ezzo…even if the cheese is on top or the bottom.
Quality is quality…and you DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. If the cheese is pumped with water then you will need to use more cheese to account for shrinkage. if it is filled with wax…then you need to accommodate for taste.
Oh well, we have our opinions…
I am only 5+ years in the business of pizza. 20+ in overall food. I have an opinion on Grande Cheese that is worth about .02/lb (the opinion, that is). Use the best cheese your market can afford to pay you for. I have tried Grande cheeses in my old oven, and found it not at all superior to the blend I was using. It overwhelmed the flavor profile, killed the delicate sauce spicing, and was not as flavorful as what I had in hand. Sure, I could re-engineer the recipes and portions of all my pizzas to accomodate the “premium” cheese and its pricing. I went with the status quo cheese and saved the $$ and hassle.
Now, something else to consider in my world is that there is/was only ONE distributor to restaurants of Grande cheese in GA at the time a year and a half ago. I did not order from them, and they are 2+ hour drive from me. They require Sunday order for Thursday delivery. Period. If I get a surge on Wednesday night, then I am outta luck getting more product unless my rep happens to be coming my way. One order per week. That would mean I would also have to purchase additional refrigeration to stockpile a week’s worth of cheese and other products. They do not carry several branded products that I rely on, and pricing was a bit higher, in aggregate than USFoods, my main suplier.
My realities, and baking experiences showed that Grande was a poor choice for me at that time. My current Baker’s Pride ovens will very likely bake the Grande differently . . . but I am happy with the Wisconsin cheese manufacturer that makes what I use.
I build a pizza flavor profile and fit the pieces together. I won’t build a pie around the cheese, as it is to easy to fnid great product out there that will fit into the pie I build. The dough, the tomato, and the spices are where I do my handy work . . . then find the cheese that makes it all sing. Others think that the cheese is the flavor diva of the pizza. Some will spend out on high dollar cheese, then use warehoused, economy line spices in the sauce, and/or Hunt’s retail tomato products. If it all doesn’t fit together, then it makes no difference what compressed curdled dairy product I slather on the pizza.
i sell 23 different mozz cheeses by far the best is grade
are you weighing your cheese if you are then you should know that even at 80 cents per lb more grande is cheaper
your time should be spent running your bus not running to rest depot
i’m around 16/bag for all trumps you mean that whatever your paying (saving) is worth all that work
So are you saying that I can replace the 10.5 ounces of my Saputo cheese with 6.5 ounces or Grande? That’s where I would be for Grande to cost less than my current cheese. But then again, I don’t buy into the whole Grande marketing. I used it once years ago and wouldn’t be interested if it cost a nickle a pound less than what I use.
Thanks for the advice!
keep in mind that all you are really looking for in cheese is consistency 72% of your flavor profile comes from your sauce. Grande is the most consistent of all the mozz on the market. I have a cust that does about 75k/wk he sells an 18 in pizza and uses 8 oz of grade on ea pie works for him
Some guys have all of the answers. 8 0z on an 18" pizza! Give me a break! Keep drinking that grande kool=aid.
LOL… yeah that don’t make any sense…