Clary mixes it up on QVC, Food Channel

Chef James Clary has a lot of pots on the career stove.

The fast-talking former owner of Clary’s, Fish and Gallery Bistro is now pitching his company’s instant souffle mix on QVC, filming short-form pilots with The Food Channel and working as a consultant for Gailey’s Breakfast Cafe and family chain Incredible Pizza Co.

 The bevy of projects comes on the heels of an abrupt departure from Clary’s five-month stint as general manager of The Tower Club and a four-year gig as culinary director with Price Cutter grocery stores.

The main dish for Clary these days is his Gourmet Souffle, which he developed in partnership with Scott Opfer of Springfield television marketing firm Opfer Communications Inc. under the banner of Gourmet Flavors Group LLC.

Much like constructing the perfect French dessert, building a business around quick-and-easy souffle has been slow going so far, Clary said. Opfer and Clary began working together several years ago, but Clary said the concept is only now beginning to gain traction.

He unveiled the instant souffle in May at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago – and caught the attention of a hometown film crew with The Food Channel.

Clary said the company is utilizing distributor Performance Food Group to sell Gourmet Souffle to a few dozen mom-and-pop restaurants around the country.

For now, 7 minutes on QVC Nov. 13 and subsequent online orders represent the majority of the company’s 2013 sales, and officials describe the debut as mediocre. The souffle mix, toppings and ramekins are listed on QVC.com for $35 per package of 10.

He said QVC staff was fairly stringent when it came to marketing the product – it designed the packaging and ramekins and used its own chef to make the on-air pitch – and that took some getting used to because he felt the real obstacle was quickly educating the viewers on the mix.

“There is a market awareness and education that comes with the product,” Clary said.

The dessert, which became Clary’s specialty at his signature restaurant on East Sunshine Street, can take more than an hour to prepare from scratch. Because of the lengthy prep time, he said it is rare to see it on menus – the main reason he worked with North Carolina dessert and gelato expert PreGel America to develop the instant mix he calls “souffles for dummies.”

The ultimate goal for Clary and Opfer is to sell to the masses through banquet operators, restaurant chains and big-box retailers.

“That’s how this company came about, because when I sold the restaurant, people were just screaming for the souffle,” Clary said.

He said when former patrons would run into him around town, they would invariably ask about how they could get their hands on his souffle. But he said it took years to gain that following, and the same might be true now with the mix that takes only about 10 minutes to make.

“They had never had it before. They didn’t know what it was,” Clary said. “Fifty years ago, most people didn’t know what pizza was. Think about the ramifications of that.”

Infomercial producer Opfer said the QVC showing garnered a lukewarm reception.

“This is a new product and often with new product you’ll see them shoot to the moon or tank,” Opfer said.

Both Clary and Opfer declined to disclose Gourmet Souffle revenue, but Clary said sales have surpassed 1,000 units through QVC.

While a representative with the network also declined to disclose Gourmet Souffle results, common food products and brands are known to sell in the tens of thousands of units. Last year, the release of “The Southern Foodie” cookbook netted 1,000 sales per minute during an 8-minute segment on the popular QVC show, “In the Kitchen with David.”

Opfer said it was always his intention to feature the product on the direct-response juggernaut, and he thinks the recent showing could lead to future QVC airings based on its revenue-per-hour tally, which is compared with other products sold in the same time slot. The base target sales rate for QVC, which generated purchases totaling $8.5 billion in 2012, has been reported as $6,000 per minute.

“We have never said QVC would make or break us. I think it has helped us to get national exposure,” Clary said, adding he’s since fielding questions from a national restaurant chain he declined to name. “We’ve got some interesting people looking at the product.”

At The Food Channel, Clary said he has shot two pilot episodes and some podcasts with former TV news anchor Joy Robertson.

“Joy and I have worked together multiple times when she was an anchor, and we have a chemistry, a connection,” Clary said. “Remember Siskel and Ebert? It’s kind of like that except with food products.”

The two-to-three minute programs are part of The Food Channel’s efforts to produce more videos for the website and for local programming.

Editor Kay Logsdon said earlier this month at Springfield Business Journal’s interview series 12 People You Need to Know its short-form show “90 Seconds In the Kitchen,” featuring local chef Cari Martens, airs three times a day, five days a week on KOLR 10 and a similar deal with Clary is close to being reached.

Clary also has a couple consulting clients. At Gailey’s downtown, Clary said he is not changing the menu but is working with the owner on streamlining food-service operations.

His work with Incredible Pizza is more in-depth. Clary is visiting the chain’s five U.S. markets to update buffet and salad items with the idea to make those offerings market-specific. He’s tailoring tastes to fit culinary trends in Springfield, St. Louis, Memphis, Tenn., San Antonio, Texas, and Tulsa, Okla.

Rick Barsness, Incredible Pizza president and CEO, said he’s known Clary a long time.

“James and I go back 12 years and many don’t know he was the one who developed our pizza and spaghetti sauces,” Barsness said.

“I think we can get closer to providing the food that each city represents.”

The moves represent a new chapter for Clary’s career, which has been somewhat bumpy recently. Clary resigned from The Tower Club in September.

“I just had a long-term vision for it that they didn’t share,” Clary said. “I just felt it was better to separate and shake hands.

“I’m strong-willed and I thought I might be better off running my own business.”

Opfer said the two are utilizing their strengths in the souffle partnership.

“We may seem like oil and water, but we really work more like hand and glove,” said Opfer, whose company has clients worldwide and has facilitated $1 billion in consumer sales.

“He could market products to the world and I could make a souffle, but I don’t think anyone would like the result.”[[In-content Ad]]