Yet the Dean and DeLuca store at 560 Broadway has been on the glittering Big Apple food map only since 1977, when it became the flagship unit for NYC business entrepreneurs Joel Dean and Giorgio DeLuca.
Their mission statement was typical of the vernacular of Uncle Sam: "To lead the marketplace in the exploration, discovery and celebration of food from around the world."
And to quote DeLuca who, incidentally, was told by his food importer father that his dream was "nuts": "We want people to relate to foods as the miracles they are. For us, the way to do that is to be merchants in the old sense  present goods we believe in and which we are proud to offer."
Temple to taste
General manager of the 10,000 sq ft Broadway store, 45-year-old Rick Michener is a fully trained executive chef. Michener waxes lyrical about the features within his "temple to taste". "Without bread every culture in the world dies," he beams. That explains a bakery department in which eight NYC bakers supply more than 300 different varieties.
Then there's the fish section, where ice filled counters display everything from Maine lobsters to Norwegian gravadlax at $31 per lb, or Nova Scotia-style smoked salmon at $27 per lb.
The general grocery area reflects the store's extensive global sourcing policy. Here, there are limited-edition pots of Mirabelle plum conserve from France, exclusive to Dean and Deluca, of course  they're a snip at just $20 a jar. And Russian osetra caviar at just $53/oz, Sicilian semolina, or rabbit p⴩ at $12 per lb.
And then there's a sushi bar, charcuterie section, fresh produce area, an expanding department for the latest gimmickry in housewares, and a general grocery range most UK deli owners would die for.
Yet there's no obvious evidence of organics. Michener's face takes on a weary expression. "Just because a product is organic does not mean that it tastes better. We put our emphasis on taste."
And while soya milk and low-fat milk is offered for the health conscious, there's no sign of margarine and low-fat butter.
D and D signed with Japan's Itochu Corporation in June and international foodies are predicting that the company will one day break into the UK retail scene. "It's probably only a matter of time," beams one D and D marketing executive.
{{ANALYSIS }}
Their mission statement was typical of the vernacular of Uncle Sam: "To lead the marketplace in the exploration, discovery and celebration of food from around the world."
And to quote DeLuca who, incidentally, was told by his food importer father that his dream was "nuts": "We want people to relate to foods as the miracles they are. For us, the way to do that is to be merchants in the old sense  present goods we believe in and which we are proud to offer."
Temple to taste
General manager of the 10,000 sq ft Broadway store, 45-year-old Rick Michener is a fully trained executive chef. Michener waxes lyrical about the features within his "temple to taste". "Without bread every culture in the world dies," he beams. That explains a bakery department in which eight NYC bakers supply more than 300 different varieties.
Then there's the fish section, where ice filled counters display everything from Maine lobsters to Norwegian gravadlax at $31 per lb, or Nova Scotia-style smoked salmon at $27 per lb.
The general grocery area reflects the store's extensive global sourcing policy. Here, there are limited-edition pots of Mirabelle plum conserve from France, exclusive to Dean and Deluca, of course  they're a snip at just $20 a jar. And Russian osetra caviar at just $53/oz, Sicilian semolina, or rabbit p⴩ at $12 per lb.
And then there's a sushi bar, charcuterie section, fresh produce area, an expanding department for the latest gimmickry in housewares, and a general grocery range most UK deli owners would die for.
Yet there's no obvious evidence of organics. Michener's face takes on a weary expression. "Just because a product is organic does not mean that it tastes better. We put our emphasis on taste."
And while soya milk and low-fat milk is offered for the health conscious, there's no sign of margarine and low-fat butter.
D and D signed with Japan's Itochu Corporation in June and international foodies are predicting that the company will one day break into the UK retail scene. "It's probably only a matter of time," beams one D and D marketing executive.
{{ANALYSIS }}
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