Sault entrepreneur David Poluck is beginning to make his mark in the culinary world by selling his own chicken-coating mix and fish-coating mix.
“It started out as a conversation between me and Chuck Buhr, a friend of mine in Winnipeg in February 2022," Poluck said.
"He was complaining about fried chicken from one of the restaurant chains. It finally got to the point where I said to him ‘I’m going to make you an original recipe chicken-coating mix that will come out as restaurant quality in your own home.’”
Poluck said he worked on his own chicken-coating mix formula for months.
“It came from a combination of techniques my dad showed me, the way my grandmother cooked and things I’ve done. I’ve cooked a lot of different foods.”
Poluck said his recipe contains all natural ingredients with no chemical substitutes and includes flour, eggs and dairy with carefully selected herbs and spices.
He sent the chicken-coating recipe to Buhr in Winnipeg, and it received a very favourable response from the man and his family.
“Chuck said ‘My sister and I are in sales and you should think about selling this.’ He planted the seed and I did it,” Poluck said.
Poluck received approval and certification from Algoma Public Health to prepare the chicken- and fish-coating mixes in his home.
With that, sales of Poluck’s own Grampy D's Original Recipe Northern Fried Chicken with Signature 1780 Marinade began in November 2023.
That was followed by Grampy D’s Great Lakes Fish Coating Mix in February 2024.
On a historical note, Poluck said fried chicken came to North America through Scottish settlers in the 1780s.
Because of that, he decided to include ‘1780’ when naming his product.
Who is Grampy D?
“Grampy D. That’s me,” Poluck laughed.
The coating mix packets are sold from his Northern Jewellery & Crafts store on Northern Avenue.
“We found they were good stocking stuffers for Christmas. It’s hard to buy gifts for people, but there are a lot of people who like to cook or who are novice cooks, and as long as you follow the directions it works out. You’ll have great fried chicken from your own kitchen. We’re promoting it as a great stocking stuffer for 2024.”
Since launching his new business venture, Poluck’s fried chicken and fish coating mix packets are now available for purchase in the Sault at:
- Bruni’s Fine Foods
- Pino’s Get Fresh
- RJ’s Market
- Croatian Corner
- Propane Plus Service Centre
- Paesano Foods
- Airways General Store
The mixes are also available in Elliot Lake, Sturgeon Falls, Huntsville, from outfitters in Algonquin Park, Massey, Espanola, Kitchener, five locations in the Greater Sudbury area, and Winnipeg.
And that’s just the start.
“We’re working with a national chain to get our product to go Ontario-wide in January 2025. We’re starting to push outwards. Sales have been pretty good at the stores. We’re getting re-orders from them,” Poluck said.
How does Poluck view his success?
“It’s not a matter of pride. It’s just something I like doing. I’m excited about doing it. It just makes me feel good that I’m getting something I love out there and other people like that. That’s the best part for me. Other people like it.”
Poluck is already well-known in the Sault as a local jeweller through his Northern Jewellery & Crafts shop.
“It’s different from what I’ve been doing for 38 years. It’s a different vibe. You get talking to people about food, people who are foodies. That’s part of the fun of it. It’s been an adventure. I’m learning a lot about how the food industry operates and when people try it and say ‘that was really good’ it makes you feel good that something you did made them happy.”
There are online links with marinading and coating instructions for Grampy D’s Northern Deep Fried Chicken Coating Mix and Grampy D’s Great Lakes Fish Coating Mix.
“I never thought that a discussion with my friend Chuck would have taken me in this direction. I certainly had no thought of doing anything like this at all when that phone call started two years ago. Yet, here I am,” Poluck said.
