Garde Manger in Retail Stores

Until recently, it was unusual for a retail food store or supermarket to hire a professional chef for food preparation. Today, however, the retail sale of ready-to-eat foods is one of the fastest-growing sectors of food-service business. This trend is providing garde manger chefs with a wide-open field of opportunity.

Preparing cold dishes and charcuterie items for retail sales is creative and satisfying work. While larger stores operate with standardized recipes and set menus, many small operations encourage their chefs to use their imagination in creating new and unique signature dishes.