Membership to bulk discount store? Check. The shopping-cart equivalent of an 18-wheeler? Check. So you’re ready to hit Costco, Sam’s Club and the like, right? Not quite. Before you set foot inside one of these big-box behemoths — cuing that deer-in- the-headlights stare — you need to do some planning, lest you end up overbuying and tossing your money away like so much moldy cheese.
We checked in with two personal chefs to get their tips on how to snag a deal when buying in bulk — after all, they shop these stores not only for their clients, but for their own families, too. Read on to see what they put on their shopping lists.
Buy this. . .
Joy Blakeney, owner of the Joyful Creations personal chef service in Washington, heads to bulk retailers primarily for meats. “Costco has packs of 12 chicken breasts, and I think they’re about $18 to $20 a pack, which seems like a lot, but it breaks down to about $1.50 a piece,” she says. “At the grocery store, it averages out to about $2 a piece.” Red-meat eater? You’re in luck, too. “Go for the big beef packs that are already cut up for stew, or the packs of eight to 10 steaks,” Blakeney adds. “It’ll cost you $25,” but at a traditional grocery store, “you’d pay that much for four steaks.”
Quality is another, perhaps unexpected, benefit of warehouse shopping. “Because it’s such a high turnover, the products are really fresh,” says Kerry Nieh, owner of the Serving Spoon, a Gaithersburg, Md., personal-chef company. Nieh stocks up on staples, including Costco’s organic chicken broth, which she considers superior.
Her must-have? Those golden rotisserie chickens that lure in shoppers on their way home from work. At $5 a bird, “that’s a super-economical time-saver.” On Blakeney’s must-have list? Rice, pasta, olive oil, sugar and cooking oil.
. . .But not this
Blakeney warns against being tempted by steep discounts on fresh vegetables, noting that she once purchased six heads of lettuce but got through only one or two before her fridge started to resemble a compost pile. “Try not to get too many of things like bell peppers, lettuce or fresh herbs if you’re not going to use them immediately or throughout the week,” Blakeney says. “It may cost more to get the little package of fresh herbs, but it’s better than not using it all and wasting it. “
Nieh admits to being tempted by bulk retailers’ specialty cheeses, but she yields to the temptation only when it makes sense. “Both Costco and Sam’s Club have a great cheese selection,” she says.
“Those things are great, but unless I’m preparing for a party, I won’t buy it.”
Shop like a chef
Although brand recognition goes a long way, looking for a specific brand at a bulk retailer is a bit like hunting for the proverbial needle in a haystack. “I tend to look for brands I’m familiar with, like Uncle Ben’s, Mueller’s pasta and Coca- Cola products, but store brands are just as good,” Blakeney says.
Keep your eyes open for new, unexpected products — as long as they’re within your budget and won’t expire before you can use them.
The bottom line
A deal is only a deal if you use it. First, weigh the cost of membership, which ranges from $35 to $100. Memberships at Sam’s Club start at $35; at Costco and BJ’S Wholesale Club at $50. Factor convenience into your decision as well; skip the stores that are too far away or offer fewer locations.
