Mess Hall was created out of a love for food and the inspiration found from the people who grow amazing fruits and vegetables. Marianne & Hans Sundquist make every jar of mustard and cocktail cherries by hand. Floored by the flavor and heat of ghost peppers grown by Nichols Farm, they wanted to use them in a sweet and spicy mustard. Their love of bourbon is what sparked an interest in making cocktail cherries & they knew they could create an amazing cocktail cherry that used local and organic fruit. Why buy cherries from across the world, when Seedling Orchard grows the most flavorful and beautiful tart cherries ever tasted?
What do you hope to accomplish in your products?
We hope to create products that bring people together, make them happy and use ingredients we are proud of supporting.
Do you personally know the farmers that produce your products?
Our biggest inspiration comes from the farmers who produce products with responsibility and TLC:)
What did you do before this?
I (Marianne) have been cooking professionally for ten years and wanted to take a break from the nightlife and focus on some new projects.
What did you want to do as a kid, "when you grew up"?
I read a lot growing up and was particularly attached to anything involving detectives, stolen jewels or cat burglars. I wanted to be a detective or FBI agent
What was the spark that led you to working with food?
I recognized at a young age the magic that food can provide to the most ordinary of circumstances. I have fond memories or my Italian aunts in New York cooking for days in preparation for Christmas Dinner. As a kid, i would sneak around, snagging olives out of bowls to put on my fingers (of course), hiding under the kitchen table to watch them talk and work. In the beginning I was most intrigued by the way a table food of food is powerful--drawing people to talk and relax and stop running around.
What do you see as the biggest benefit to your retailers and consumers?
Quality and Flavor. We strive to make a mustard that you crave and cocktail cherries that become a necessity for your favorite classic cocktail preparations. And we are committed to using the highest quality ingredients from inside the jar to the jar and packaging itself.
Describe your a-ha moment that made you say, "I'm going to do this!"
Well it all started with preparing for a trip to Paris. Hans and I had just bought airline tickets and then realized we needed to make some money for the actual trip! We made three hundred jars of mustard in our kitchen and started selling them to our friends and family. I would carry some around with me at parties or shows, letting people know I had mustard for sale. Before we knew it, we had sold out and people were asking for more. We knew at this point we had something special going on:))
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