Attn: College Students...food question

[Python14]

Okay, my dad and I were talking about money in college and he suggested, since I am a good cook(I've been offered jobs at several places, including a leading chef position at a local japanese steak house), I could make money by making simple, yet plentiful meals to sell to people in my dorm building. Since most of what I cook is actually inexpensive(fried rice, various pastas, anything with pork and beef), I can have relatively high profit margins.

So the question is....If someone in your dorm building were to offer a weeks worth of food, and good food at that, would you be willing to pay as much as $15-$20 for it?

[-J�ker-]

i_would_if_I_were_in_college

[nippinout]

Hrm...

I don't know about buying food while in the dorms. People eat at crazy times. But don't let that discourage you. Don't know anyone who has tried it before.

At my school, we were required to buy a meal plan.

We ate there, but a lot of times my friends and I would always get the usual pizza, chinese, and fast food outside of the dining hall.

$15-$20 is a pretty good deal though. It would probably be a great way to meet girls too!

[Miscue]

If you actually had the time to do that, that would be cool. I would take you up on it, if your food was good... which it probably would be based from what you've said. But, I end up eating a weird times... and don't know how that would work out. What happens when you're not there and I'm hungry?

[pbzmag]

Sounds good! Luckily your not in the Los Angeles county. Businesses that offers food must be checked by health officials. Well ones with kitchen facilities anyway.

[Python14]

That's why you get a weeks worth. I can cook massive amounts of food fairly easily. All you have to do is come by, pick it up, and hand me money for it on a predetermined day every week. When or how you eat it is none of my business, and honestly, of no concern to me because really, once I turn the stove off on sunday night, I don't plan on turning it on again until next sunday.

But my plan is this....the first week or two, I cook for myself, but put a fan aimed at my door, to push the smell out of my room and into the hall. When people smell food, they become hungry, it's just how it works. I'll post on my door that I can cook for $$$ and just to leave a note...Then I will produce a menu of things I make, along with a menu for that week. It will mostly be things that I can make in large quantities, like pastas, rices, chile, Burgoo, etc. I can make smaller items like muffins, cookies, crab cakes, and similar things on occasion and just sell to whoever stops by and wants one(and has money), provided I'm there. Otherwise, I produce a menu on thursday night, and people give me orders by friday night. Then Sunday I cook. After a few weeks of this, I should have at least a few dozen folks who stop by with some regularity. If I've learned anything from my cousin at VT, it's that the food at the mess hall,while good, is a hastle. What if you are too tired to go down to the mess hall? But by chance earlier that week you bought a dozen fajitas from me....fast meal right in your dorm. While I'm out with lilsnowpixie, playing paintball.

I have actually done the math to all of this and figure if I had 20 weekly regulars, who come by monday of everyweek(assuming sunday night is cooking night for me), that translates to $400 gross income a week, plus or minus of coarse. The raw food and staples cost me roughly $30 to make all of that(it's mostly vegetables, water, and rice, and some chicken and pork too). After all of that, it would be about $350 profit...and most of my work is on sunday night. The rest of the week is free, except if I chose to do small things like $1 fajitas one night, or desserts another....but again, it's what I'm good at so it's no skin off my nose.

And all this because I watch the Food network all day.

[nippinout]

I would totally have loved to just grab $1 or $2 or even $3 snacks like burritos.

Things like treats you only get at home were the best. Rice Krispies Treats, home made cookies, comfort food stuff like that. Rice Kripies Treats are stoopid easy and cheap too!!!

Snacks are KING in the dorms.

[Python14]

hahaha, no, I just have a knack for cooking. And it wasn't a head chef position, it was more like a shared position. But it did have a salary.

[Koosh]

The only problem I can see is HOW you are going to cook this... Every dorm room I've seen doesnt come with a kitchenette, hell, most don't have an attached bathroom! I would say small propane stove, but that's probably against the rules... so maybe going outside to get a grill going, but that would be a pain.

Unless you can cook all this with only a microwave, I don't think it'll have much of a future...

[ShooterJM]

Dude, I'd pay $15 for a week's worth of food NOW. Just the fact that I'd save hours everyday by not cooking would be worth it to me!

[Python14]

Well, most of the places I've visited so far have rooms with kitchenettes, and one even had a full kitchen. But hey, whatever happens, happens.

[Star_Base_CGI]

Life sucks.

What if people steal the food or the money you make for the food.

Tell your dad its going to cost $500 to put a drop safe in your room and if he wants to safe money. You can skip college and go cook at McDonalds. Youll need a fridge with a hasp and a lock too. $30 and a drill to drill holes in the fridge for the lock.

Im not kidding. Making money in todays corporate America is nearly impoosible.

COmpanies are hiring %36 fewer college grads.

[alkafluence]

Re: Attn: College Students...food question

Originally posted by Python14
Okay, my dad and I were talking about money in college and he suggested, since I am a good cook(I've been offered jobs at several places, including a leading chef position at a local japanese steak house), I could make money by making simple, yet plentiful meals to sell to people in my dorm building. Since most of what I cook is actually inexpensive(fried rice, various pastas, anything with pork and beef), I can have relatively high profit margins.

So the question is....If someone in your dorm building were to offer a weeks worth of food, and good food at that, would you be willing to pay as much as $15-$20 for it?

Heads up... look at fraternities and stuff. If you could get one of them to hire you to make at least a few meals a week for the guys that live in their house, you'd make a decent amount of cash.

Besides, most fraternity guys are too lazy to cook for themselves anyways. [Coming from experience, most of my frat brothers never cooked for themselves while in college]

[Zumina]

I don't think the school would let you run a business out of your dorm room, especially one that is in direct competition with the university itself. Hell, I wasn't even allowed to buy and sell stuff off of ebay at my dorm.

[Python14]

I can find and make plenty of loop holes.

And that fraternity idea actually sounds intriguing. I have no interest in joining a frat, but hey, cooking for them once or twice a week isn't a bad idea.