Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Meet Your Makers: Kathy & Herb Eckhouse from La Quercia Meats
We've been carrying La Quercia's sliced speck, proscuitto & pancetta at our shops for years now, and even on occasion have their lardo. Sure, we've heard a few skeptics ask "Proscuitto from IOWA?"...then they try it and are almost always back for more. It doesn't hurt that you can find La Quercia on some of the best menus across the country, either!
Tell us about your product/company/service.
We make artisan cured meats or salumi – prosciutto, pancetta, guanciale, coppa, lardo, speck, bacon, and lonza – in Iowa. We buy our meat from family farmer groups like Niman Ranch, Heritage Acres, Coleman Meats, and Eden Farms. We use only non-confinement, humanely raised animals. We use sea salt and spices (and time and effort!) to make our meats – we never use nitrates, nitrites, or vegetable substitutes.
What do you hope to accomplish through providing quality products? We believe that the food we eat can delight us each day. We strive to offer a memorable eating experience – one that causes you to stop and savor the moment. Great food is more than great taste. It is part of a responsible food system that sustains you, the producers, and the craftspeople, restaurants, and stores who support their communities and respect the environment.
Do you personally know the farmers that produce your products?
We try to get out and meet as many of the farmers who raise the pigs as possible. It is important to understand the “on the ground” meaning of the animal husbandry standards. And it really helps us appreciate the hard work of the farmers and the respect that is owed the animals as well.
What is involved with working with the farmers to get a product to market? We work with farmers on breeding and feeding, animal husbandry, finding suitable slaughterhouses, timing of “harvest,” finding a mutually agreeable and sustainable “fair trade” pricing system, verification of breed and animal husbandry to support label claims, specific criteria for the cuts we buy, etc.
Is there anyone else on your “team”?
We have to work with the farmers, the slaughterhouse, and the trucking companies that bring us the fresh meat to dry cure and make into our aged meats. “Breeding, Feeding, Killing, and Chilling” all happen before we get the meat. When what you make is 96 percent meat, those elements are critical and must be done well.
How often do you come out with new products? Are you working on anything new?
We don’t come out with new products very often, but we are working on expanding our “pork varietals” line. This year, we introduced our Tamworth Country Cured Bacon (made from Tamworth pigs, nicknamed “the bacon pig,” and raised on hillsides in Missouri) and will soon have some Tamworth Prosciutto in limited quantities. We also started making lardo from Iberico de Bellota back fat from Spain.
How did you get into this “line of business”?
We lived in Parma, Italy, for 3 ½ years and really wanted to do something special in Iowa when we moved back here.
What did you do before this?
Kathy worked as a ranch hand and then as a researcher in Agricultural Economics at the University of California at Berkeley before she made home-making and mothering her primary occupation. A long time foodie (Berkeley born and raised) who lived in Europe for several years as a child and adolescent, Kathy is the person all of her friends describe as the best cook they know. She adds intuition and a fine food sense developed through years of making bread and pasta, inventing recipes, and reading cookbooks. For Herb, this is his fifth career. He spent over thirty years in agriculture, from raising seed potatoes to working cattle to developing and marketing commodity crop and vegetable seeds. Before he and Kathy designed and built their prosciuttificio, he spent 5 years researching, experimenting, learning and making prosciutto at home.
Are your products sold anywhere besides Chicago?
Our meats are sold across the United States and in Canada.
What did you want to do as a kid, "when you grew up"?
It was so long ago that we don’t remember!
What was the spark that led you to working with food?
Well, we love to eat and we’ve been involved in eating and growing food for decades. It’s a great way to be connected with people and with the world.
Where do you find the inspiration for the products/flavors you select? The first question is, “What will taste good?” The most important inspiration is the meat itself. We use really special meat and we always want to honor the animal, so when we use spices or smoke, we want them to be complementary, not overwhelming. We have a very strict policy of only making things we like to eat!
How do you plan to grow your offerings, and why?
We are not planning to get bigger, but we do want to work more on what we call “pork varietals” – distinctive breed characteristics and animal husbandry practices that have a profound impact on the quality of the meat. We are working with farmers who are raising heritage breeds and have special ways of raising their pigs.
What do you see as the biggest benefit (s) you offer to your retailers and consumers?
First, our meats need to be delicious, so we hope that’s a big benefit to everyone who eats them. And then we are really proud of how the pigs are raised and how we make our meats. It’s a sustainable and natural model, food that is well sourced, well made, and great to eat. We would love to know what you and your customers think!
Other than financial, what risks did you take to get your product(s) to market?
We took the risk that we could totally fail, which would have been personally humiliating as well as financially devastating.
Of all the millions of food products you could have specialized in, why these? We live in Iowa, the nation’s largest pork producer and home to many more pigs than people. We had spent 3 ½ years in Parma, Italy, and learned to love salumi in general and prosciutto in particular, so making prosciutto seemed like a good idea.
What is your favorite story/anecdote that occurred along the way in creating your product?
I got a phone call from a nice young man who wanted to give his former girlfriend a special gift to woo her back. We pondered the choices together and selected an assortment of La Quercia dry-cured meats. Fast forward a year and they are ordering prosciutto for their wedding. Another two years, and it’s prosciutto for their child’s christening. It just doesn’t get better than that – being part of celebrating life and community!
Describe your a-ha moment that made you say, "I'm going to do this!" H
erb was enjoying a second platter of prosciutto with a good friend in Italy who said to him, “If you can make something as delicious as this, you are going to make a lot of people happy.” That sounded like a great idea!
If you could have supper with 3 people (living or deceased), who would they be and why?
Herb and I would choose to have supper with our three children. I don’t think I need to explain why!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Meet Your Makers: Melissa Yen
Some of you may know Melissa Yen was co-owner of Vella Cafe in a former life (she also worked at Provenance). We miss that place (especially the Vietnamese Coffees!) but one segment of Vella is still alive in Jo Snow Syrups. We're in love with these syrups and the cocktail culture, our stores, and certainly our home bar are better off for having them.
Tell us about your product/company/service.
I make artisanal small batch syrups for coffee, snow cones, Italian sodas & cocktails. I start with organic evaporated cane juice & then steep herbs & spices & finish with natural extracts. I also make a seasonal line with farmer’s fruit for the summer for my snow cone stand.
What do you hope to accomplish through providing quality products?
I am so excited about artisanal food products. It makes me happy to offer my product to people. It is the ultimate form of sharing. It is really a little part of me. I feel good about making a product that is normally made with high fructose corn syrup & artificial colors, and being able to provide that as a choice for people.
Do you personally know the farmers that produce your products?
I get my fruit for my seasonal flavors at the farmers market, so the farmer is right there with me at his stand, selling his fruit. It is great to talk to the farmers & see which plum might be the best for what I am doing, or which would be the best apple.
What is involved with working with the farmers to get a product to market?
It is pretty straight forward. I make my syrups in such small batches, that I just need to place an order before market to get my fruit, as I guess I use a tad more than an average customer at the market. Eight pounds of fruit goes into each batch of my seasonal flavors.
Is there anyone else on your “team”?
I am a one-woman show, although I could not do it without my husband, Laurent. He is literally the head dish washer, logistics management, junior-syrup slinger, catch all, do-whatever-I-ask-him-to-do-go-to-guy. My graphic designer, Jennifer Mayes also made this whole venture possible. I can’t believe how amazing she made my product look. I really think a strong brand identity & great packaging is a must! I also have a team of the BEST volunteers in the city who work the snow cone stand with me. They all have amazing attitudes even when it is a million degrees outside or pouring rain. I feel very lucky. Also, the small shop owners & cafes that have supported me from the beginning by buying Jo Snow & offering advice & being understanding & appreciating my product.
How often do you come out with new products? Are you working on anything new?
I do quite a few custom flavors in small batches & sometimes bottle them for sale for some of my specialty stores on a limited basis. This summer I played with seasonal flavors every couple weeks.
Yes, I am working on new flavors & sizes! Everyone has been asking for smaller sizes & “gift packs” so I am working on the labeling & packaging for those. I also am coming out with real live “soda pop” flavors! I am still working on the fun names for them, but Cola #6 is one of them. It is absolutely amazing syrup that gives you a sense of Coca Cola, but more nuanced, floral, spicy, and artisanal. So fun! There will be a root beer also & a Cream Soda, with a kick!
How did you get into this “line of business”?
Circuitously! I have always been in the food business. It is my passion. I used to co-own a café & was obsessed with this Mexican coffee drink called Café de Olla. I wanted to figure out how to get that great spicy aromatic flavor to my customers in the morning, so I created a syrup to put in lattes. My friend was opening an Italian deli & asked if I could make fruity syrups for Italian sodas, so I did. Once we sold the cafe, I figured out how to bottle the syrups & Jo Snow was born.
What did you do before this?
I co- owned Vella Café where I started making the syrups.
Are your products sold anywhere besides Chicago?
Yes, they have been creeping into different markets through odd connections here & there. Zingerman's in Ann Arbor uses the Café de Olla in their café. The Boston Shaker in Sommerville, Ma carries Jo Snow & they are creeping into restaurants out there. I just sent some to LA & to Columbus,Ohio.
What did you want to do as a kid, "when you grew up"?
I don’t think it making snow cones, but that would have been pretty cool if it was! I really don’t know. I used to want to be an archeologist because I was interested in other cultures. Funny, I still am today. That is where I get my inspiration from, other cultures.
What was the spark that led you to working with food?
I have always been in the restaurant business, in college out of necessity. The education you receive by working in a restaurant is immense. To be surrounded by all that amazing food & to be able to be introduced to new & exciting flavors constantly is great. I think I just became more & more enamored by food as I learned more & more.
Where do you find the inspiration for the products/flavors you select for your portfolio?
See above. I am influenced by other cultures & the flavors of other cultures. Whenever we travel to other countries, the first thing we do is check out their grocery stores & markets. I love the foods of other places.
How do you plan to grow your portfolio, horizontally or vertically, and why?
Right now the plans are to grow my product line horizontally with new flavors & new size, as I have so many ideas for new flavors. The possibilities are endless. As for growing the Jo Snow product line vertically, that also holds so much potential, but for now, I have my hands full with the syrup line & getting a handle on that, as I haven’t even hit my one year anniversary yet.
What do you see as the biggest benefit (s) you offer to your retailers and consumers?
As for consumers, I am offering a quality product that they don’t have to feel bad consuming. I have had so many people tell me that they are trying to cut out “pop” & have replaced it with soda water & Jo Snow Syrups. It makes me feel great that I am helping someone kick a bad habit.
For my retailers, I feel good about supplying them with a unique local product. There is nothing else like Jo Snow on the marketplace right now in Chicago, so I feel like I can really fill a niche for them.
For both consumers & retailers I feel great about providing a high quality, all natural, versatile, affordable product to them.
Other than financial, what risks did you take to get your product(s) to market?
The risk that I would drive my husband crazy! Actually it was a huge emotional risk. A lot goes into creating & producing a food product. When it is your passion, it is a part of yourself that you are offering up. You are exposing your innermost self to the public & you hope that they accept you & love the product as much as you do. It is also your life. You work 24/7 and give up almost all of your “personal” time. You have to love what you do.
Of all the millions of food products you could have specialized in, why these?
I have always wanted a food product. I never moved forward with it as I was never passionate about any one idea or product. When I started making the syrups at the café & then for my friend’s café, I saw that I was onto something. I saw that people loved them. So, I knew how to make the product, they were market tested, in a way, so that was half the battle! Now, the other half of the battle, that’s another story
What is your favorite story/anecdote that occurred along the way in creating your product?
It was actually when we were naming Jo Snow Syrups. My husband & I & our friend were on a road trip to Kansas City to check out this super-cool snow cone stand there. We were driving back & my friend said to me, as only really good friends can, “You know, to be super honest with you, I don’t love the name of your syrup company” (I had another name that just wasn’t sitting right with me either.) So we started brain storming. Let me tell you driving through the stark landscape on the way from Kansas City to Chicago can make you kind of loopy! In that stir-craziness, trapped-in-a-car-for-seven-hours feeling, we came up with Jo Snow! It stated out a little sophisticated with “snow” & then just got goofy by adding “Jo”. Just the way I like it, not too serious!
Describe your a-ha moment that made you say, "I'm going to do this!"
When a certain un-named specialty store owner said “I didn’t know you made sirrops. Why don’t you bottle them & I could sell them.” Thus, Jo Snow was born! Thanks, Tracy! (Oops!)
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