Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Meet your Makers: Steven Stallard of BLiS LLC




BLiS products are a chef's creation. Steven Stallard is a trained chef who chose to focus his passion on handcrafting naturally-sourced gourmet foods. It seems like the ultimate evolution for someone truly interested in the process of creating unadulterated ingredients from the earth to the table. Stallard was the first chef Grant Achatz (Alinea, Next, Aviary) worked for, and Achatz still views him as an inspiration.

We love his barrel-aged maple syrups, his solera-method vinegars and frankly, everything else we've tried from him, from salts to roe to rubs.


What do you hope to accomplish through providing quality products? To provide excellent chef driven products that help amplify menu and everyday kitchen experiences.

Do you personally know the people who produce your products? Yes I have relationships with several of them.

What is involved with working with the farmers to get a product to market? Quality control, tight specs and real working relationships.

Is there anyone else on your “team”? Yes a general manager , several contract workers, and a media / marketing manager.

How often do you come out with new products? Are you working on anything new?
As soon as the market and time / finances allow it is quite costly to bring new products to the market and we are always trying new things.

How did you get into this “line of business”?
I have been cooking since I was 9 and foraging not long after that, we grew up with a small garden in the 70’s as a kid (all organic, long before it was a mainstream direction)...so it is in my roots I guess.

Are your products sold anywhere besides Chicago?
Canada, Germany, Singapore and Italy. So far it seems to be growing fairly quickly.

What did you want to do as a kid, "when you grew up"? I wanted to Fish, hunt, forage then cook in that order; the first three led to what should I do with stuff that I gathered.

What was the spark that led you to working with food?
Well I was very interested in food shows as a child; I watched Julia Child the most & even the Galloping Gourmet - anything that I could learn something from.

What is your favorite story/anecdote that occurred along the way in creating your product?
My favorite story was when I was in the early stages of barrel aging syrup. The head of the cask blew off, sending 50 gallons of maple syrup on the floor: basically a small and expensive flood and an unbelievable mess to clean up.

Describe your a-ha moment that made you say, "I'm going to do this!"
When I started to make roes that no had ever tried with species of fish that no one had considered as a caviar source. I wanted to lessen the pressure on stressed stock of traditional caviar / roe species

If you could have supper with 3 people (living or deceased), who would they be and why?
Jim Harrison, love the BD character fellow Michigander and great writer plus big foodie; Theodore Roosevelt, the last great president that did a great deal for everyone and Joseph Campbell (no explanation there)- not necessarily in any order.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Meet Your Makers - Adam Seger: Founder/Mixologist-hum Spirits LLC




We've known about Adam (Everyone knows Adam!) since before opening the shop. We had the pleasure of meeting him in 2006 when Logan Square was opened. Now we have the good fortune of working with him and his team at Hum Botanical Spirit. Hum is one of the most unique and versatile bases for delicious cocktails we've had. Now learn a little more about the people and the project:

What do you hope to accomplish through your product?

To inspire other passionate bartenders and entrepreneurial Mixologists to take their hand-crafted products to market


Is there anyone else on your “team”?

Jennifer Piccione runs our operations. She took a leap of faith and left her legal career to do this full time. Her husband Bryce Williford works full-time for CH Robinson and runs or financials. Jenny Kessler who started as an intern is now a partner and our national brand ambassador. Erin Ramsay started as a part-time intern and is now a full-time intern. She does our graphic design, marketing support and a million other tasks that keep us fast and efficient. Dr. Gary Wolford was our 1st investor, sits on our board, is a an international organizational structure consultant. He is our fresh eyes and wise voice of experience.


How often do you come out with new products? Are you working on anything new?

Daily and yes. There are not enough new packages and names for all of the products I have in the 'Laboratory'


What did you want to do as a kid, "when you grew up"?

To be a Chef. I loved the muppets as a kid and The Swedish Chef was my favorite character.


What was the spark that led you to working with food & drink?

I grew up in South Louisiana as the son of an Episcopal Priest. Food is the center of entertainment in this culture.


Where do you find the inspiration for the products/flavors you select for your portfolio?

I love the Estate Rhum Agricoles of Martinique and knew I wanted to create a Rhum-based spirit. As an Advanced Sommelier, I took the mantra 'What grows together goes together" and took Botanicals that would naturally be found on the island and in the cuisine. Hibiscus for color and soul, ginger for peppery spice, cardamom for hedonistic top note, Kaffir lime for brightness.


If you could have supper with 3 people (living or deceased), who would they be and why?

Julia Child - I met her a number of times when she was alive. She is one of the sharpest and most remarkable people I have ever known

Oprah Winfrey - She has inspired and touched so many lives

Anderson Cooper - He would inspire great conversation between Julia and Oprah and is quite easy on the eyes

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

10% off BLiS Products All Month Long!




Our June Staff Selection was chosen by Staffer Nicole Benjamin. Read more about these amazing products!

I remember the day when I first laid eyes on a bottle of BLiS Bourbon Barrel Pure Maple Syrup. Simply beautiful. And the price? Well, a wee bit more than I've spent on syrup in the past, but, as I learned soon after, this was no ordinary syrup.
I went the traditional route at first: BLiS (pronounced "Bleese" drizzled atop pancakes with sausage links on the side. The purity of the maple syrup was evident in each bite with a rich, nuanced complexity that complemented the lemon notes in my golden Dutch baby pancakes. I knew then that there was a variety of ways I would utilize this syrup in my kitchen.

When I'm intrigued by something, I'm curious to know more. While I wasn't surprised to learn BLiS products were a chef's creation, (Chef Steven Stallard), I was fascinated by his story of how a trained chef chose to focus his passion on handcrafting naturally-sourced gourmet foods. It seemed like the ultimate evolution for someone truly interested in the process of creating unadulterated ingredients from the earth to the table. I enjoyed reading about Stallard as the first chef Grant Achatz worked for, and how Achatz still views him as an inspiration.

While his products previously were sold directly to chefs, they're now available at specialty shops like ours. We stock a number of BLiS products, and are offering them at 10% off throughout June.

Here are a few recipes to try:

http://blisgourmet.com/home/recipes/stewed-fruit.html

http://www.kbuxton.com/recipes/dutch.html

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/05/salade-nicoise-tuna-egg-brunch-salad-recipe.html

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cedar-Plank-Salmon-354516