Meet California Winner Nicasio Valley Cheese Company
Posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 in Cheese by Emily Portman
When it comes to dairy, the LaFranchi family has quite an impressive background. Stretching back to the arrival of Rick LaFranchi’s great grandfather in 1856, the LaFranchi family history tells the story of years of very successful dairy operations. However, it wasn’t until a family trip back to the homeland, Switzerland, in 1973 that the idea of making cheese first took hold. “Wouldn’t it be great to make these cheeses at home?” joked Rick’s dad on that first trip. As the dairy industry became more challenging, cheese making began to present itself as a more viable option, and a little over 30 years later, the LaFranchi family found a liason, Maurizio Lorenzetti, in Switzerland who was ready to pass on the craft to a few willing students.
Meet New York Winner Sweet Deliverance
Posted on Friday, October 28th, 2011 in Preserves by Sam Rosekrans
Kelly Geary opened Brooklyn’s Sweet Deliverance four years ago with an innovative business model to accommodate working moms who wanted to feed their children healthy meals. Preserving is just a side project that came about as a result of having leftover produce. She hopes to create a ripple effect with her healthy eating initiative to inspire others to change their diets to highlight what’s fresh and local.
Meet North Carolina Winner Farmer’s Daughter
Posted on Friday, October 21st, 2011 in Pickles, Preserves by Sam Rosekrans
April McGreger founded Farmer’s Daughter Brand with the intention of representing her Southern roots in her pickles and preserves products. Originally learning the trade from her mother and grandmother, she finds creativity in the diverse vegetation provided by North Carolina’s seasonality—inspiring all sorts of delicious concoctions.
Meet Washington Winner Firefly Kitchens
Posted on Wednesday, October 19th, 2011 in Pickles by Sam Rosekrans
Julie O’Brien and Richard Climenhage met through their mutual passion for fermented foods, which inspired them to open Firefly Kitchen in Seattle, Washington. Just two years into business, their products can be found at Whole Foods and several co-ops in the Seattle Area.
Blind Tasting 2011
Posted on Friday, October 14th, 2011 in Blog by Jen Flaxman
On Sunday morning, armed with bellies full of Starter Bakery focaccia and caffeine buzzes courtesy of Ritual Coffee, we were anxious and ready. One hundred and thirty of the food movement’s best and brightest started rolling in, game faces on, ready to judge over 900 entries from 46 states, and decide the lucky few who will be honored with this year’s Good Food Awards Ceremony.
Meet Oregon Winner Olympic Provisions
Posted on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011 in Charcuterie by Jen Flaxman
Elias Cairo founded Olympic Provisions in 2009 in an effort to bring together the tastes of his childhood and what he learned as an apprentice in Europe. What began as a one-man show has blossomed into two restaurants and a charcuterie business amounting to 65 total employees.
Meet Iowa Winner La Quercia
Posted on Thursday, September 29th, 2011 in Charcuterie by Jen Flaxman
A three-year stint living in Italy and passion for healthy, delicious food led husband and wife team, Herb and Kathy Eckhouse, to consider how they could use the vast resources that their home state of Iowa had to offer. Herb thought that although there had been a huge development in artisan cheeses and premium wines, there hadn’t been much progress in high quality dried meats. After heading back to Italy to learn the basics of making prosciutto, the Eckhouses decided to take a leap of faith and open La Quercia.
Meet Michigan Winner McClure’s Pickles
Posted on Thursday, September 15th, 2011 in Pickles by Jen Flaxman
I caught up with Bob McClure from his home base in Brooklyn, New York. He moved there from Detroit, Michigan a while back to pursue a career in acting. Though he landed work in TV and film, and as a freelance art assistant, he yearned for a job with stability. So one day, after bringing some homemade pickles to a cast party, everyone told him he should start his own business and sell them. “Well,” Bob thought, “maybe I should.” He called up his brother, Joe to see what he thought. Joe was in.
Meet Missouri Winner Patric Chocolate
Posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 in Chocolate by Sandy Johnson
Lately, Alan is focused on both promoting his chocolate bars and continuing to create new innovative products. His newest bar, named “mintOMG,” is a classic combination of mint and chocolate, but like all Patric Chocolate bars, the goal is to really take the flavors to the next level. Alan aims to make his chocolate bars with the highest quality ingredients and a perfect balance of flavors. Three of his bars, including the award-winning In-NIB-itable bar, have recently been stocked in San Francisco Bay Area Whole Foods Markets. With the growing popularity of his chocolate, one of Alan’s largest challenges is keeping up with demand.
Meet California Winner Cowgirl Creamery
Posted on Monday, August 29th, 2011 in Cheese by Sandy Johnson
Maureen is currently working on developing the last of Cowgirl’s seasonal cheeses. The first three include St. Pat for spring, Pierce Pt. for summer and Devil’s Gulch for winter, leaving a fall cheese yet to be created. All of the cheeses are named after Marin landmarks, but Maureen is also looking to include elements of Cowgirl’s recently acquired location in Petaluma for the newest cheese. The seasonal cheeses are made possible because of Cowgirl’s prime location in Northern California, where dairy cows can graze on the pastures all year long. This allows for different qualities of the cow’s milk based on the temperature at any given time. The idea is that milk used in the spring, when green grass is plentiful, will be distinct from milk in the fall when grass is drier.
