Black food on The Profit

Watching a recent episode of The Profit, Marcus is visiting an ice cream maker with a black sesame flavor. Marcus says “no food should have black in the name” and wants to change ‘black sesame’ to ‘sweet sesame’. Whaaaaat? I guess I’ll never be a billionaire because I see black sesame as a unique flavor, not something to be afraid of. Plus, i think if people opened a pint of ‘sweet sesame’ ice cream and it was grey they might not appreciate the surprise.

What other foods have ‘black’ as an integral part of the name?

blackberries
black eyed peas
black cod

and will Marcus Limonis eat them? :smiling_imp:

Funny you should mention . The whole thing is so fucking lame . Who gives a crap . Blackberries . Seriously … My cast iron is black . I was just looking for places to eat in Compton . I want real soul food>

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You reminded me of this story.


In which Linda Bean decides “claws” sounds scary and instead markets “lobster cuddlers.”

Also, black and white cookies and milkshakes and black and tan beer and blackout cake and black Russians.

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There’s the preparation method “blackened” ie redfish, etc.

This idea of having to change names so the world is soft and cozy with nothing abrasive is quite strange. Black sesame is what it is - if the name disturbs him then perhaps he needs to change his perceptions. A caterpillar must struggle to emerge from it’s safe cozy cocoon - without the struggle it couldn’t fly off as a butterfly.

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Ooh that’s a good one! How many people cuddle their food?

Black forest ham!

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Black Forest Cake. Black bread. Black currants. Black grapes.

Go ahead, Ms. Bean, let your customers cuddle those lobsters. Just hope you have good liability insurance for when they “cuddle” someone’s fingertip!

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Have you ever read reviews of Marcus’ core business, Camping World? His judgment and tastebuds don’t translate to quality products for consumers judging from how consistently bad reviews of Camping World by both consumers and employees are; only profits for him.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/camping-world-rv-sales-b119569

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Yes, since February is Black History Month, I thought this would be a discussion of soul food from the US South and other African diaspora cuisines! As in the book Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons. It is very cold today in Montréal (a cold snap in a generally mild winter) and I’d like to think of something warming.

Though some lobster from up here would be fine too, and we aren’t afraid of calling claws, claws! In terms of lobsters and crabs, they are “pinces” in French: pinces de homard, pinces de crabe. Unlike “griffes” (cats, etc.) Because they do pinch, very, very hard!

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Also black beans, black sticky rice, black truffles, boudin noir, cavolo Nero …

The Bean woman justifying lobster cuddlers by citing chicken tenders… Is there another name for chicken tenders? Isn’t that just what they’re called, not a happy fun name for a nasty bit?

This subject is making me recall how often I disagree with certain conclusions and decisions Marcus reaches on that show. While he IS the one of us with the fortune, I disagree with many of his points after having spent 40+ years in consumer products retailing, manufacturing and marketing with several very successful companies. After watching a show he did about a business 5 minutes from my home, in an industry in which I owned an almost identical shop, I concluded that much of what we see on The Profit is manipulated for TV drama (not a surprise really).

I’m pretty sure that he could produce marketing data to prove that the color ‘black’ is less appealing to consumers in general than other colors. Stuff like that is pretty well known. But a blanket statement “no food should have black in the name” is just drama not gospel. If it were gospel restaurants would be selling “charred salmon” or “burnt salmon” not “blackened salmon”. So… my conclusion is that part of his ‘schtick’ is arrogance but most of it is drama.

When he bought the business near me he completely changed the model of it from a retail operation to a hospitality venue with a retail component. I don’t really know if it is now more profitable but I know that it was probably by far the highest volume retail business of its kind in our area, though the model was low margin/internet so he essentially changed it from a retail shop to a restaurant. That’s fine. Whatever was happening before that had hit a wall.

But, my observation was that much of the ‘drama’ in that episode was manufactured. Crazy stuff that I’d be shocked could ever have happened the way it was depicted. Some scenes that were so obviously faked that it was laughable. Set-ups to make things seem a lot more him being the genius than they could have been in reality. Not really surprising for a reality show, but disappointing if you want to really learn business lessons from it.

Just sayin’.

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I appreciate your perspective, thanks for that. I definitely don’t agree with some of the stuff he does, and a lot of the deals don’t seem that great. I guess when a business is struggling you can’t get a very high valuation or have much negotiating power but sometimes it just seems like he’s preying on desperate people or taking advantage. The show is a good reminder to NOT end up needing a “savior” like him!

Evidently it was actually a small muscle attached to the larger ones of the chicken breast: http://www.thekitchn.com/what-the-heck-is-a-chicken-tender-meat-basics-214892

But it seems to be used for any breaded strip of chicken…

Blackstrap molasses, pinot noir… it never ends.

But Black isn’t always a negative. Not just because it can signify urban cool; it is also used for upscale products.

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