County Yankee deli adds ‘Chef Bill’s’ meals to its stock

Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
ROOM FOR TWO — The County Yankee bakery has room for two cooks now in its new area. Chef Bill Roderick, left, and Ann Cole, deli manager, are shown cooking together.
By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
    Chef Bill Roderick, formerly of the Horn of Plenty, is serving his meals from a grocery store, instead of his cozy restaurant on the North Road.
    The Horn of Plenty closed Labor Day weekend this year because of a “bad economy,” said Roderick.
    Dave Cunha of County Yankee brought on Roderick in what is appearing as a new trend in the grocery and culinary industries.
    It used to be “plastic” or “paper,” now it is quality food versus fast food or TV dinners so people no longer have to go to a restaurant to get a restaurant-style cooked meal. Chefs are preparing those meals in an easy-to-go manner.
    Roderick, who has been a chef since 1974, said that Cunha had vision.
    “Dave’s quite innovative,” he said. “This is a new fad in a lot of grocery stores around the country to have chefs come in and do what we are doing here.”
    Roderick’s specialties include coffee-rubbed steak; beef sticks; chicken cordon bleu to lasagna, stuffed mushrooms and pasta meals, such as seafood tetrazzini. All of which can be taken home and cooked in your own oven.
    “I am just doing favorite meals we had at the Horn of Plenty,” added Roderick.
    Customers can pick out a piece of meat and the County Yankee bakery staff will coffee-rub it.
    “Just the other day, a lady asked for steak Argentina,” said Roderick. “That’s parsley, oregano, garlic and onions blended together as a meat marinade.”
    Deli manager Ann Cole and Roderick share the kitchen area.
    “We have more space to work with [in the new store compared to former one] so there’s plenty of room for what I do and bringing Bill in there was plenty of space for him, too,” she said.
Pioneer Times photograph/Gloria Austin
DELI WORKERS — Chef Bill Roderick, center, is flanked by two of his deli co-workers, left, Gabby McGuire and Tiffany White.
    Since the addition of Roderick to the staff, County Yankee’s bakery has added 58 new items to go along with their traditional stock. One of those new items is Soup of the Day.
    “We have two soups a day,” Cole said. “We still do our baked beans and bake bread fresh every day. We have homemade pies and all of the cooking we do from scratch like no-bake cookies and muffins. At first it was hard to keep up with the supply and demand. But, it is starting to settle down and we are able to fit it better into the schedule.”
    County Yankee bakery has a staff of seven, with Cole and Roderick working each week Tuesday through Saturday. When they are off, other workers will be able to offer the same services to customers, as Roderick has instructed them on meat preparation and Cole on baked goods.
    “If a customer comes into the grocery store and is unsure how to cook something or doesn’t know what a certain fruit or vegetable taste like, that’s where I can help,” said Roderick. “I advise people on what they can do and how to prepare the product.”
    Another popular item is homemade sandwiches.
    “We cannot overlook them,” added Cole. “The girls make a ton of them. We have also added new kinds and we are now making wraps, as well. It’s definitely a full-time job.”
    Roderick added, if someone would like a sandwich made with certain ingredients, which are or are not on the prepared sandwich in the display, the customer could have a fresh one made at the deli window.
    Roderick will not be doing any catering from County Yankee, but the deli does take special orders.
    “We do a lot of special orders for churches and local organizations,” said Cole.
    A usual special order can consist of dinner rolls and two large pans of lasagna prepared by Chef Bill.
    “With all the added extra items, I think it has made it a lot more convenient for customers,” added Cole. “The soups, sandwiches, salads, meals and rotisserie chicken are grab and go. So if someone is in a hurry, it works well.”
    With the holiday approaching, customers should remember to place any special orders early. Roderick was unsure if he would be preparing anything out of the ordinary, but Cole added, “I am sure there will be suggestions.”