Archive for ‘Food Stores’

Hot off the Chocolate Press: 2012 Valrhona Vintage Bar Hits San Francisco

By Susie, 3 December, 2011,

Adam Smith from Fog City News in San Francisco–known for its vast and highly curated chocolate selection–just sent me this rave:

“We got the 2012 Vintage bars in (PDF info) and they’re f a b u l o u s. In fact, their flavors are so subtle that it really takes a trained palate to appreciate all the nuances! The 2011 vintage is so new that Valrhona doesn’t even have them listed on their own website yet! Now, I can’t really confirm this, but a Valrhona sales exec told me that we are currently one of the only shops ON THE WEST COAST that sells these bars.”

Straight from the chocolate purveyor’s mouth.

More background:
Valrhona was the first company in the world to introduce the concept of a vintage dated chocolate bar in 1998. The first vintage we carried at Fog City News was the 2002, and their annual arrival at the store in the late fall has been an event sort of like the announcement of a cult winery releasing a new vintage. Many factors affect a chocolate bar’s flavor. Over the last few years customers have come to learn about these factors, beginning with: (1) cacao content, then (2) that there are different types of cacao beans, then (3) the countries the particular type of cacao bean was grown in, then (4) the regions within those countries, then finally (5) that there might be specific plantations within those regions renowned for growing and harvesting cacao beans in such a way as to yield a specific flavor! Here, Valrhona is the first company in the world to draw the similarities between wine and chocolate closer by specifying the year of harvest from 3 different plantations, within 3 specific regions, within 3 different countries, using specific cacao beans to render 3 very different tasting 64% dark chocolate bars!

And here’s more about the plantations Valrhona owns and manages.

Small Giant Zingerman’s Guided by a Vision

By Susie, 27 October, 2010,

Although I have yet to read it, I’m pretty confident in recommending both new and existing food and non-food entrepreneurs read Ari Weinzweig’s new book: A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to Building a Great Business: Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading, Part 1 (“behind-the-scenes “secret” stuff that goes into making a very special, sustainable business of any kind”)

Hearing Ari speak yesterday in the “Small Giants” part of a great Enlightened Business teleconference, I marveled that he had taken the time to sit with me in the deli after just returning from a trip, demonstrating how well he manages: that he didn’t need to manage.

He shared that from the get-go, the team agreed to expand locally vs. grow geographically. The result is Zingerman’s community of businesses.

On the call, Ari imparted his one bit of advice that if you do anything, define your company’s vision following 4 principles:

It should be inspiring.
Strategically sound, doable while being hard to achieve which I take to mean if it’s too easy, it’s probably not that inspiring or grand a goal.
Document the vision in writing.
Communicate and teach the vision.

These are the “clif” notes. His book tells the full story.

Zingerman’s Mission in Action

A few pics from my September tour of Zingerman’s businesses…may I call it the Disneyland of business? I’d never encountered so many helpful and smiling people, clearly empowered and loving what they do. The captians refer to the mission statement above:

Selling food that makes me happy…

Giving service that made me smile…

and cajeta ice cream that mde me keep smiling from the Creamery…

Showing love and care in all their actions…

In passionate pursuit of their mission… (love the passion in the branding and graphics!)

zingerman's deli

enriched my life by showing that a successful business can have an honor box…

and by giving me great coffee from Zingerman’s Coffee Company, one of the businesses…

“It was good.”

Read more how Zingerman’s defined their vision in their newsletter (PDF) or get the book to learn how letting go of your anarchic tendencies can bring you success. (Or something like that.)

peach pie

Owen’s Creek Olive Oil at Zingerman’s

By Susie, 22 September, 2010,

Oh the circle of life. It took a trip to Ann Arbor and a read of Zingerman’s summer newsletter (PDF) to clue me in to a new olive oil from a small California farm: Owen’s Creek, produced by the kin of HP’s Bill Hewlett.

However this was the perfect place to hear of this oil: The Hewletts had moved to Ann Arbor after the 1906 earthquake, where A. Walter Hewlett taught medicine. Coming full circle, a portion of Owen’s Creek olive oil purchases from Zingerman’s will fund research at the U of M Cardiovascular Center.

The only flaw in this anecdote is that I was so excited about the story — I forgot to taste the oil! Luckily the oil’s multiple awards tells me it’s good and I’ll surely experience it soon.

: Ari Weinzweig with the oil, bread in hand

Foodie Heaven in Southern Oregon – Rogue Creamery & Lillie Belle Farms Tasting Rooms

By Susie, 25 May, 2010,

Just 5 1/2 hours north of San Francisco and a few hours south of Portland is the Rogue Valley, a growing area for wines and an area full of amazing artisan food makers – including one of the most awarded cheese makers in the U.S. and a chocolatier voted one of America’s top 10.

A Cheesy Day at Rogue Creamery

It’s worth a visit to Rogue Creamery to taste a variety of cheeses that may be hard to find elsewhere. We reveled in the 2010 World Cheese Awards Silver Medal winning Caveman Blue – sublimely creamy, just blue enough – and the very impudent tongue stinging Brutal Blue, a unique blue cheese experience as far as American blues are concerned.

The new-ish Rogue Creamery tasting room is awesome with artisan food from all over as well as local, including a local bread made with Rogue cheddar cheese as well as lots of beers and Gary West beef jerky.

For road trips, the bags of cheese curds – pesto, jalapeno, chipotle – are a perfect finger food.

If you’re summer roadtripping to / from Portland, Central Point is an easy pit stop off I5!

Lillie Belle Farms Chocolate Factory and Shop

It’s a happy coincidence that the companies whose cheese and chocolate combines into the Smokey Blue chocolate truffle share a parking lot.

You can stumble from Rogue Creamery over to Lillie Belle, optionally stopping at the wine tasting room in the back of the lot, cheese company whose Smoky Blue marries with a Lillie Belle chocolate truffle where you can see some of the most creatively flavored and pretty chocolates being made as well ataste and buy.

Many of the berries for fillings are grown in Jeff’s garden nearby. But perhaps more importantly Jeff explained the liquor flavors use only top shelf spirits, at the insistence of one of the chocolate makers. (Don Julio tequila and Maker’s Mark, for example)

Unfortunately we arrived too late (in life) for their absinthe marshmallow smores made with home made anise seed graham crackers – a concoction that needs a repeat performance.

Do cherry cordials remind you of a drugstore? Not these. Check out how fresh bing cherries are soaked and soaked and soaked in a thick mixture of rum infused with vanilla beans. (Warning watching this may be intoxicating.)

I gallantly tasted a freshly dipped cherry cordial: a thick chocolate shell encases the very pure bing cherry and rum filling. For the full story, see how they coat the molds with chocolate, then shake it out to make the shell…let it harden, fill it up, and then cap off the bottom. Each cordial (and any of their wrapped candy) is individually wrapped by hand, rock music blaring in the background all the while. Artisans with attitude!

You’ll find lots of samples – spicy, bacony, nutty. All like nothing you’ve ever had…and I’ve been around the chocolate block.

Discoveries at Cheese Plus Harvest Festival

By Susie, 31 October, 2008,

Last weekend’s harvest festival at Cheese Plus in San Francisco introduced me to a bunch of new products as well as giving me the chance to meet a few food producers and enjoy their passionate stories.

As a chocolaphile, it was especially delightful hearing Charles from Charles Chocolates tell of his life-long involvement with chocolate while watching him make delicious mendiants with dried cherries and pine nuts. Tasting them wasn’t so bad either.

The California Artisan Cheese Guild offered a steady stream of tastings of California’s best cheeses.

Beehive Cheese from Utah coated with a lavender and coffee mixture had a nice rich cheddar flavor. On the small pieces I tried the coating had little to no taste. Must taste again! It has the honor of having won “1st Place, Flavored Cheddar American Cheese Society Annual Competition 2007 and 2008.”

Some other great discoveries were Ortiz line-caught canned tuna from Spain – rich and light. It’s pretty pricey but well worth a try to taste the best tuna I’ve had.

Sizzling sausage from Fabrique Delice filled the air. If you’re looking for exotic check out their rabbit, duck and wild boar as well as other varieties.