Abboud Jraij, Owner and Managing Director, Gourmand Providore, Sydney Market
Tell me about Gourmand Providore
I started the providoring business back in 1991 to offer our hospitality customers a complete solution to their fruit and vegetable needs.
The business has grown and today we operate out of a state-of-the-art warehouse in Sydney Market complete with cool storage facilities, and offer our traditional fresh produce together with processed produce such as packaged sliced vegetables and salad mixes, along with ready-made dishes like lasagne and quiches.
What sets your business apart from other providores?
Not only are we knowledgeable about fruit and vegetables, my team and I also have an understanding about preparing and serving food.
Many of my senior management team are former chefs and have a background in hospitality which means that they can draw on that experience to pick the best produce to suit our customers' needs.
Twice a year we also run market tours for our chefs, as educating our customers about varieties and seasonality is also an important part of our business.
What do you specialise in?
Our greatest goal is developing and maintaining close connections with clients - from the loading dock to the kitchen, we offer our expertise in providing the very best fruit and vegetables.
We assure that even as the company continues to grow, we are dedicated to competitive pricing with absolutely no compromise on quality.
Where do you source your produce from?
Although we deal direct with some of the local growers in Sydney Basin who grow the leafy Chinese vegetables and herbs we buy most of our produce from Sydney Market.
We have an understanding of growers in Australia, who is growing the best varieties at the best time and who picks their produce at the optimum time to assure the best flavour whilst not compromising on shelf-life.
Who are your customers?
Our customer base includes restaurants, cafes, government institutions, hospitals and aged-care, clubs and hotels in the Sydney metropolitan area.
How did you get into the fruit and veg business?
Before I came to Australia I was a grower in Lebanon, and I studied agriculture and worked with other growers specialising in plant protection.
I came to Australia in 1990 and started in retail but by the end of that year I went into providoring and started Gourmand Providore.
What has changed at the market over the years?
We are constantly getting new varieties of produce to try which is exciting.
Where for a long time it was all about the appearance of the produce, now everyone is looking for flavour once more.
What is the best thing about working at the market and in the industry?
I really love working with food and fresh produce so I feel lucky to enjoy going to work every morning.
I love the fact that it changes daily, and is unpredictable. It makes every day interesting.
What would you change at the market if you could?
There is a lot of waste in the industry because Australians are looking for perfection in their produce.
We need to educate people that a mark or irregularity on a piece of fruit will not affect the flavour, that produce does not always grow perfectly in nature.
What is the secret to a successful business?
A business needs to move with the times and anticipate business opportunities as they arise.
The wealth of our experience at Gourmand Providore helps us do this.
My background working with growers, together with the mutual love of food and experience in hospitality of our team provide a good grounding for the business.
How do you think the coronavirus is going to affect business?
Our business has always moved with the times, so in the last few years we started to supply aged care facilities so all of our team are trained in food safety and handling.
We also have GP Kitchen which supplies a variety of processed packaged produce and ready-made products, such as lasagnes, frittatas, quiches, muffins and pies.
In lockdown, all our middle management are working from home except for myself and our operations manager.
We have lost about half our income so we have the rest of our staff working on a fortnightly roster.
Also, in response to COVID-19, we are drawing on our food safety credentials and offering a home delivery service - Fresho SOS (Small Order Service).
We are lucky because my team is willing to be as flexible as possible and do anything they can to help us get through these challenging times.
What does the future hold for the fruit and vegetable industry?
I am very proud to be part of the industry. Australian produce is some of the best in the world so we need to build our export opportunities.
Overseas, people are willing to pay a premium for our fruit and vegetables because of our low use of chemicals and the industry needs to make the most of this.
