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Fat Toad Farm
Brent Bailey, February 2, 2012

Fat Toad Farm is a small, family owned and operated goat dairy run by husband and wife Judith Irving and Steve...

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{"id":5449832,"title":"Fat Toad Farm","created_at":"2012-02-02T12:05:43-05:00","body_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/MakerPhoto_FatToadFarm_240x160.jpg?5861016353340507076\" alt=\"\"\u003eFat Toad Farm is a small, family owned and operated goat dairy run by husband and wife Judith Irving and Steve Reid and their daughters Calley Hastings and Hannah Reid in Brookfield, Vermont. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is a committed, loving family farm. They raise the majority of the food they eat themselves – everything from dried corn for cornmeal to raspberries for jam. They also barter milk, pork, eggs and cheese for products they produce like syrup or honey. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRight now the focus is on the goats, who Judith describes as “wonderful friendly animals, very smart, very inquisitive…and full of mischief.” There are about 4 dozen goat does very busy making milk.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJudith’s the ‘caramel master.’ The process takes about 4 or 5 hours – the fresh goat milk is poured into pots to simmer for about 3 or 4 hours, then strained, poured into jars, and labeled – all by hand.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis is a family who loves Vermont (who doesn’t) and is committed to conserving resources. They recycle, reuse, and are currently working on developing a system to capture the heat produced in making caramel.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSo what’s Fat Toad? The family noticed a significant population of well-fed toads hanging out in the gardens, barns and orchard. Toads are very sensitive to their environment – they are known as an indicator species and would be the first to flee unhealthy soil or water. This seemed like a good omen – hence, Fat Toad.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2012-02-02T12:05:00-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-14T13:59:06-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"fat-toad-farm","tags":""}
Morris Kitchen
Brent Bailey, January 16, 2012

Morris Kitchen was started by brother and sister Tyler and Kari Morris. Tyler has been cooking in restaurants for thirteen...

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{"id":5206782,"title":"Morris Kitchen","created_at":"2012-01-16T00:43:20-05:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/kari_tyler_market_medium.jpg?13303\"\u003eMorris Kitchen was started by brother and sister Tyler and Kari Morris.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTyler has been cooking in restaurants for thirteen years, including stints at Craftbar and The Breslin Bar \u0026amp; Dining Room – he's now the chef of Louisville, KY's new Rye. Kari worked in restaurants for three years while studying painting at California College of the Arts, then came to New York to organize art fairs and teach kids about healthy eating. The two collaborated to throw organic supper club dinner parties and thought a lot about how they could work together to create something of their own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKari was spending time with friends in the south of France and noticed a mysterious bottle on most kitchen tables – ginger syrup. She thought about the gingery cocktails she was seeing on bar menus everywhere and came home inspired. Experiments led to a first small batch of 40 bottles which sold out immediately at a local greenmarket.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKari's now working on 3 syrups, 350 bottles at a time, full-time in a Williamsburg kitchen. She's passionate about sharing simple ingredients (apples, ginger, lemon) which can be rediscovered creatively. How does she describe the process? \"Procure-clean-juice-strain-boil-skim-bottle-cool-label-stamp-deliver and repeat.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKari pays attention to small but lovely details that set her syrups apart. Apothecary-style amber bottles combined with modern typography on letterpressed labels creates en elegant, accessible, and inspired vessel which contains the deliciously pure, syrupy elixir.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShe's constantly evolving and trying out new ideas and loves working among other like-minded crafters in the Brooklyn food scene.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2012-01-16T00:43:00-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-14T14:25:53-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"morris-kitchen","tags":""}
Roni-Sue Chocolates
Brent Bailey, November 28, 2011

Rhonda Kave was “bored out of her mind” as a stay-at-home mom on Long Island. She and a friend took...

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{"id":4732502,"title":"Roni-Sue Chocolates","created_at":"2011-11-28T23:40:34-05:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/RoniSueMakerPhoto-copy300_medium.png?38757\"\u003eRhonda Kave was “bored out of her mind” as a stay-at-home mom on Long Island. She and a friend took an Adult Ed class in candy-making, which was relegated to side-hobby for 25 years. When the kids grew up, Rhonda and her husband moved to the city, where she worked at the Coalition Against Domestic Violence while getting an NYU degree in sociology. For a final research project on greenmarkets, she found herself wandering around Essex Street. It’s amazing where school can lead.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSomething in Rhonda stirred as she walked through the collective of food and other vendors that has been going since LaGuardia’s New York City of the 1940’s. She spotted a newspapered-up space for rent, and thought, \"If I don’t do this now, when will I do it?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe company, probably most famous for dipping bacon into chocolate (“Pig Candy”), uses the same name and logo as Rhonda’s mother’s children’s clothing shop.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNow Rhonda works alongside a sit-com-worthy deadpan assistant Michelle to layer flavors – she’s inspired by foreign groceries as much as she is the Union Square Greenmarket – and use chocolate as an ingredient. “It’s not the end, it’s the beginning.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHer formula: salt\/sweet\/fat. Nothing boring about that. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2011-11-28T23:40:00-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-14T14:50:20-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"roni-sue-chocolates","tags":""}
Jacques Torres
Brent Bailey, November 27, 2011

Jacques Torres was a pioneer in the Brooklyn artisanal food scene. Raised in France, after a star-career as pastry chef...

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{"id":4705602,"title":"Jacques Torres","created_at":"2011-11-27T02:07:18-05:00","body_html":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/JaquesTorresShot_medium.jpg?11288\"\u003eJacques Torres was a pioneer in the Brooklyn artisanal food scene. Raised in France, after a star-career as pastry chef for Le Cirque, he came to New York and opened his first workshop in Dumbo, Brooklyn in 2000, when it was just a fledgling neighborhood. It was his dream. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNow, when he sees people coming in, young to old, all with a smile on their face as they look around, smell, taste, he thinks “It’s just a happy job and I love it.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMr. Chocolate likes all forms but prefers darker earlier in the day, and milkier as evening approaches. He uses African beans for deep flavor without too much bitterness or astringents, the kind of flavor he’s learned Americans prefer.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe myth that women are the biggest chocolate fans has been debunked in his Brooklyn store, where boxers from Gleason’s Gym come in regularly for a little treat after training. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEverything Jacques makes is fresh and hand-crafted using only premium ingredients, with no preservatives, additives, extracts, oils or essences. He works closely with his teams to oversee and manage the conveyor belts, massive chocolate tempering machines, and other equipment that churn out his delicious confections.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJacques often spends nights on his boat docked in the Hudson River. Maybe sneaking a 72% cacao just before midnight.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2011-11-27T02:07:00-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-14T14:16:09-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"jacques-torres","tags":""}
Bourbon Barrel Foods
Brent Bailey, November 27, 2011

Matt Jamie was studying for a masters in exercise physiology when he realized what he really wanted to do was...

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{"id":4705552,"title":"Bourbon Barrel Foods","created_at":"2011-11-27T02:03:04-05:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/BourbonBarrelFoodheadshot_medium.jpg?11292\"\u003eMatt Jamie was studying for a masters in exercise physiology when he realized what he really wanted to do was cook. So he became a chef instead. One day, in a bar drinking beer and eating oysters, he got to thinking about the artisanal olive oil and coffee trend. And something hit him: soy sauce! Now he’s making the only small-batch, micro-brewed soy sauce made in the U.S.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJamie uses Kentucky-grown, non-GMO soybeans, soft red winter wheat from a downstate farmer (the kind used to make bourbon), yeast, and limestone-filtered spring water. This mash ferments and ages for a full 12 months in barrels repurposed from local distilleries (legally, they can only use the barrels once to make bourbon). Then it’s pressed, filtered and bottled in his old converted Louisville factory. Jamie’s father Ken handwrites the batch and bottle number on every label – nice touch.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe soy sauce has a meaty, brothy flavor with added hints of oak and charcoal. He didn’t intend for his bottle to become a Bourbon Country souvenir or famous with national chefs, it just happened.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe branched out to unleash a line of fresh, earthy seasonings and blends that are smoked over wood from barrels that once aged bourbon. His bourbon-smoked spices are popular throughout the South – just about every renowned chef is cooking with Bourbon Barrel Foods in the kitchen.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJamie’s take on local: “I live in Kentucky, so why not use what’s here?”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003e\u003c\/h5\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2011-11-27T02:03:00-05:00","updated_at":"2020-03-11T12:44:55-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"bourbon-barrel-foods","tags":""}
Mouth
craig kanarick, November 14, 2011

We are Mouth. We love food. We love handmade and small-batch. We love food made by people not companies. Indie...

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{"id":4579882,"title":"Mouth","created_at":"2011-11-14T01:00:11-05:00","body_html":"\u003cp style=\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/Mouth_sm_large.jpg?v=1506528594\" alt=\"\"\u003eWe are Mouth. We love food. We love handmade and small-batch. We love food made by people not companies. Indie Food. \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe love discovering the new and the delicious. We love tasting things on little wooden spoons. We can’t help but love beautiful packaging. We love our passionate, risk-taking food makers. We love our customers. We admit that we love shopping online for ourselves and for people we love or like a lot. We love that our table is piled high with goodies we’re tasting, debating And hoping you’ll love too.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch6\u003eWhat's indie food? \u003c\/h6\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThink of indie music and indie film. Our products, like your favorite small bands or films, offer an alternative experience to the big and mass produced. Indie food is not only delicious, but must be created from start to finish with a high level of personal attention, craft and passion.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003ch6\u003eHow do we choose our products?\u003c\/h6\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe spend hours here at Mouth learning about interesting food makers and hunting down new products to bring in. We consider ourselves editors. We filter what's out there for you and only choose what we love.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIdeally, everything is handmade. Some, like bottled beverages, can't be made in scale this way, but they started out as homemade concoctions and retain the hand of the maker. \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eWe are proud that almost all our products are crafted here in the United States. S\u003cspan\u003eome do need to use ingredients from afar since not everything can be sourced domestically\u003cspan\u003e (such as coffee and chocolate); but we strive for companies using fair trade and organic ingredients. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIdeally, our indie foods are produced in a way that is respectful of the planet. And respectful of your body. This doesn't mean everything we sell is healthy (um, yes, we like candy, too!). You can make your own decisions. But you can trust that our treats won't be filled with chemical sweeteners, coloring, preservatives, or unhealthy fats.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAnd while we never would reject something that is outrageously tasty because we didn't like the packaging, we do have to admit we appreciate good design and the care that's paid to how a product is presented.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMouth exists to feed you, our hungry customer, and to help indie food companies thrive.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"craig kanarick","user_id":1386282,"published_at":"2011-11-14T01:00:00-05:00","updated_at":"2017-09-27T12:10:02-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"mouth","tags":"","image":{"created_at":"2017-09-27T12:10:02-04:00","alt":"","width":240,"height":160,"src":"\/\/mouth-us.mom\/cdn\/shop\/articles\/Mouth_sm.jpg?v=1506528602"}}
Tin Mustard
Brent Bailey, November 13, 2011

They say necessity is the mother of invention – that was definitely the case with Tin Dizdarevic’s creation. In his...

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{"id":4579332,"title":"Tin Mustard","created_at":"2011-11-13T22:49:50-05:00","body_html":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cimg src=\"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0100\/5392\/files\/tinmustard.jpg?59676\"\u003eThey say necessity is the mother of invention – that was definitely the case with Tin Dizdarevic’s creation. In his former life, the classically trained chef worked at New York City's CraftBar. One day, he ran into a charcuterie snafu: they were running out of mustard. Short on time but mortified to serve meat sans mustard, Tin decided he’d try his hand at whipping up his own. He modeled it after their proprietary mixture of regular and whole-grain mustards, and with a bit of tweaking, it became Craft Bar’s main mustard. With its straightforward ingredients including un-ground seeds, the texture is crunchy and poppy – \"like caviar,\" Tin says. Its hearty texture does as well sidled up next to grisly cuts of grilled meat as it does supporting simple salad vinaigrettes.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTin Mustard the company, however, wasn’t just whipped up so quickly. The recipe was born in 2004 and spent a whopping 7 years floating from restaurant to restaurant with Tin, gathering quite the following along the way – everyone told Tin he should sell it. Finally in 2011, the Tin team assembled: Tin’s brother Jan would help with marketing, and their mutual creative-professional friend David Ostroff would tackle branding. They hustled to make their debut at Brooklyn’s popular Smorgasburg weekend market. From there it was a snowball effect: collaborating with other makers, word spread about Tin’s amazing mustard, and the company became a well-established staple on the NYC indie food scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn top of being a mustard master, Tin works a full-time job – he gets by with a little help from his wife, but he’s got plans to grow his team. For now though, it’s just Tin and his mustard seeds: he uses two different types, yellow and brown, which are soaked in a vinegar mixture for two weeks to bring out the flavor and tame the bitterness. Next, the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are mixed separately; they sit for a week and are then jarred.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s a straightforward process for a mustard that seems straightforward – but when it comes to flavor, we give Tin a ten.\u003c\/p\u003e","blog_id":1310142,"author":"Brent Bailey","user_id":23116578850,"published_at":"2011-11-13T22:49:00-05:00","updated_at":"2019-05-14T14:58:40-04:00","summary_html":"","template_suffix":"","handle":"tin-mustard","tags":""}
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