June 2013 Staff Selection: 10% off Cuisine Perel Vinegars

We all have our "thing", right? That pantry item we collect like it's going out of style. Some peeps love their mustards, some go gaga for hot sauce, and others collect finishing salts.

Me? My name is Nicole, and I'm an acid hound. My kitchen always has a basket full of lemons & limes, so of course - I love vinegar! My salad dressings always tip the scale on the ratio of vinegar to olive oil. And I like it! Lately, I'm really diggin' the line of Cuisine Perel vinegars we carry at Provenance. These fruit-based vinegars have such beautiful flavor, and are so versatile.

Cuisine Perel is located near Northern California's wine country, and everything they produce is inspired by the local bounty of seasonal produce and fine wines. I use them in marinades, to deglaze meat, drizzle on roasted vegetables, etc. The possibilities are endless with a good vinegar, trust!

Here are a few recipes to try out. Who knows? You just might unleash the acid hound within.

Citrus Asparagus Salad
http://tinyurl.com/citrusasparagus

Soy Chicken Thighs (Sub Cuisine Perel Black Fig Vinegar for Balsamic)
http://tinyurl.com/soychixthighs

Blood Orange Salmon
http://tinyurl.com/bldorgsalmon

Meet Your Makers: Nancy Potter of Potter's Crackers

2006 was a great year for cheese, and cheese-lovers alike. That year Peter Potter Weber and his mom Nancy Potter founded Potter’s Crackers in Madison, WI. With combined extensive experience in baking and food science they set out to provide the people of Wisconsin and beyond with crackers worthy of the amazing artisan-grade cheeses that were being turned out by some of the best creameries and dairy farms the Cheese State has to offer. Provenance Food & Wine staffer Nathan was able to talk with Nancy Potter herself about what matters most: cheese, butter, baked goods, family, and more…

1 I’ll be the first to admit it; more often than not when I pick up a bag of Potter’s Crackers with intention to pair them with one of the great artisan cheeses we carry at Provenance Food & Wine, I end up eating the whole bag before Cheese meets Cracker. You’ve managed to create a product that literally cannot be consumed quickly enough. Aside from making a ridiculously tasty snack, what else do you hope to accomplish through Potter’s Crackers?

NP: I had a friend whose father was the most dedicated dairy farmer you could ever meet. He loved his cows and the land with his whole being. He died a number of years ago from “farmers’ lung”, the result of years of unknowingly spreading dangerous chemicals on his fields. I knew that someday I wanted to make a contribution to the organic world in his honor. I know that is a little heavy for a blog post but it’s the truth!

2 On your website I see that prior to founding Potter’s Crackers back in 2006, Nancy was running New Glarus Bakery for almost 25 years and Peter had been studying food science at the University of Wisconsin. Was a family background in baking and a desire to study the science of all things food that led you to founding Potter’s Crackers? Or was there some other form of inspiration that got you into the business of handcrafted artisan baked crackers?

NP: Growing up in a family-owned business, it was clear early on that Pete had an entrepreneurial spirit. I remember well his first lemonade stand. He was selling it for .10 a glass and sales were not going well, by noon he had only made a dollar. He came back later in the day and had made $14! Given the math I couldn’t figure out how this could be but I never should have doubted Pete. He moved the stand to outside the door of a local museum and started opening the door for everyone going in and out. Said he converted almost 100% of these visitors to customers and they usually added a tip!

For me, baking has always felt like magic, you take those elemental ingredients in the door and out goes a finished product in a completely different form. It still feels like magic to me-that’s why I still make crackers. We started making crackers because the cheese here in Wisconsin from our artisan cheesemakers keeps getting better and better and it deserved a better cracker.

3 As a family based in the great cheese state of Wisconsin how important was it to you to create a cracker that could garner as much attention and respect as the cheeses that come out of your home states creameries and dairy farms?

NP; I should read ahead, I keep answering the questions ahead! Yes, we needed a better cracker in the great state of Wisconsin. The interesting thing is our positioning; a cracker is sort of the bridesmaid and never the bride. You want a cracker that tastes great on its own but compliments, not overpowers the cheese it is paired with, always a balancing act.

4 Being a Certified Organic business by MOSA, the Midwest Organic Services Association, you’re obviously paying close attention to using the most sustainable and best possible local ingredients to use in your baked goods. How would you say Potter’s Crackers takes advantage of being located in such an agriculturally-rich region of the country?

NP: Well, we make our crackers with butter and you can taste it! Crackers are of course a low-fat food by nature. We started with total whole grain base and then added just enough butter to get the texture we wanted. Tiny amounts of top quality really influence the final product. Its not just the Wisconsin organic butter that makes the difference, I think the quality whole grain adds a natural sweetness that adds up to deliciousness!

5 Here at Provenance Food & Wine we love a good pairing. Naturally your crackers are a go-to recommendation we make to our customers when they’re looking for something to have with any number of our cheeses (especially our broad collection of Wisconsin varieties). When developing each of your crackers are you thinking of specific cheeses in mind to pair them with?

NP: Well, it is sort of a chicken and egg situation. Sometimes we taste a cheese and it just screams pairing with a certain cracker (like Blue with Rye or Pleasant Ridge with Rosemary) and sometimes we taste a cheese and it inspires work on a new flavor. All of our employees offer up new flavor ideas regularly; we usually spend those quieter months after the holidays to do flavor testing.

6 Anyone that’s been to Wisconsin knows how beautifully scenic it can be. Working and living in such an inspirational area must help the creative process when looking to develop flavor profiles for your products. What is it about the region that inspires your team to turn out such delicious goods?

NP: You know we are lucky enough to live in a beautiful spot but I have to say, most of our inspiration comes from two sources, cheese and cheeseheads aka people! I do the famous Dane County Farmers’ Market. I always groan about pulling myself out of bed at 4:30 am on every beautiful summer Saturday morning but once I get there, I love it! It’s the meeting with the customers, hearing their cracker ideas and anecdotes that inspires me. I come in Monday morning with their ideas to share, it’s the customers that inspire us the most.


7 The number and variety of cheeses being made in Wisconsin every day is probably mind-boggling (people have lost count I’m sure). At Potter’s Crackers do you ever feel compelled to turn out new or different products to keep up with such a lively dairy industry or does slow and steady win the race? With that in mind are you developing anything new at the moment now that we’re coming into such a bountiful time of year?

NP: In any business you want to be sure to be able to deliver on your promises so we are conservative on what promises we make that’s for sure. But, one thing we are working on is a line of Crisps here in Wisconsin. Pete has been doing them in California since early spring and its been going great! They are a heartier cheese vehicle that folks have been loving. We are busy perfecting the Wisconsin version and sourcing our local ingredients. Look for Potter’s Crisps Wisconsin this summer!

8 One of the favorite parts of my job at Provenance is just being scheduled on a day that we’re sampling out a cheese, because that usually means bowl of Potter’s on the side to pair with it (snack time!). Is sampling your crackers along the way while working in the bakery your favorite part of the job?

NP: Okay, confession time, I eat five crackers a day, everyday! Contrary to the popular believe that constant exposure leads to palate monotony, I love the crackers and could make a meal of them every day. I have found giving myself a limit with the knowledge I can have them everyday keeps me happy!

9 So I’ve mentioned earlier how my favorite cracker of yours, hands down, has got to be the Caramelized Onion. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the countless hours spent chopping away at a mountain of onion for the benefit of people like me and our customers. With that in mind, would you say tearing up over the onions if your least favorite part of the job? 

NP: So, we have tried EVERYTHING to help make chopping onions less painful; fans, under cold water, in a walk-in fridge, eye goggles, face masks, you name it, nothing works. We chop 2, 40 pound bags at a time and caramelize them all. Lets just say, Caramelized Onion Crackers are a true labor of love. We welcome any suggestions in the onion chopping department and are willing to try them all!

10 Finally, could you share with our readers one of your favorite stories or anecdotes that’s occurred along the way at Potter’s that has stood out over the years since you started the business?

NP: Hands down, it was our first sale! Pete and I had done lots of trial batches and worked on packaging and we had our first bags ready, we were nervous and excited. An Eastside Farmer’s Market about four blocks from the cracker kitchen had just started up and they let us in as a vendor before anyone had every seen a Potter’s Cracker! Pete took our only vehicle to opening day with what we thought he might sell and sample. He called me after the first hour and said, “Bring all the crackers we have, right away!” I ran the four blocks carrying as many crackers as I could! There is no other way to describe it, its like your baby taking her first steps, we were beside ourselves we were so excited!

That beginning gives you some idea of the support that our community has given us from the very beginning. We wouldn’t be anywhere without the great people of Madison WI and folks like you committed to your business and selling great cheese and telling the world about Potter’s. I can only say thank you.

Meet Your Makers: Dave Lanning of Dave's Coffee Syrups

Coffee junkies! This one’s for you. Something huge is coming out of the tiny state of Rhode Island and it’s pretty sweet. Provenance Food & Wine staffer Nathan was able to talk with Dave’s Coffee CEO Dave Lanning about his all-natural coffee syrups, the artful craft of small-batch roasting, and taking pride in being part of the craft coffee roasting movement. So liven up your next brew with a spoonful (or two) of Dave’s delicious coffee syrups and read on…


1 At Provenance Food and Wine (PFW) we love being able to carry small-batch, handcrafted products with attention to detail. Why is being a small, local Certified Organic Coffee Roaster so important to your business and its mission?

Lanning: For us, having control over each batch of coffee means sharing a personal touch for maintaining and developing flavor, aroma and bringing out the unique characteristics of each coffee. The organic aspect supports our overall vision of clean, pure ingredients – this is an aspect we carry over to our line of Dave’s All Natural Coffee Syrup as well.

2 As a kid the smell of coffee brewing in our kitchen was always a constant. Has coffee always been a part of your family growing up and how did you find your way to making a career out of roasting and enjoying coffee?

Lanning: The preparation and ritual of enjoying coffee has always been an integral part of my life. But, it wasn’t until about twelve years ago that I discovered coffee from a culinary point of view. Being an avid cook and enjoyer of great food and drink, I began to appreciate the different characteristics and flavor profiles from each origin and how roasting was able to showcase these traits. It was then that I knew that coffee could easily turn from a passion in my life into a career.

3 If the journey is supposed to be more important than the destination, what line of work were you involved in before beginning Dave’s Coffee? And was it at all coffee related or did life throw you the ultimate curve ball and that’s what led to your current business?

Lanning: I have always been creative and enjoyed expressing my creativity in various ways. My schooling was in Mechanical Engineering, quite different from coffee roasting. But, the mechanical background and creativity have come into play in coffee roasting. After working in the field of engineering, I worked building a few retail businesses that eventually lead to creating Dave’s Coffee.

4 Growing up I was always in the kitchen with my parents learning the ins and outs and ways around which for a time made me want to be a chef when I grew up. Being able to work with amazing wine and food at Provenance affords me that opportunity for ongoing education. When you were growing up was being a small batch coffee roaster on the brain or did you have other plans for when you became a 'big kid'?

Lanning: Coffee was not as well understood or appreciated when I was growing up as it is today. So, being part of the craft coffee roasting movement was not in my sights. But, I was always interested in art, learning, teaching and constructing. So, indirectly those desires have carried over into building a business and creating a product that showcases uniqueness and individuality.

5 To me the world of coffee is just that: its own entire world full of people that eat, sleep, breathe, live the stuff. Being a coffee roaster and running your own successful business obviously requires a passion for your product. Was there an ‘A-ha!’ moment that sparked your interest in working with coffee beans?

Lanning: Well, you could say that. Dave's Coffee got its’ start in a 1740s farm house in 2003 as an espresso bar in the sleepy beach town of Charlestown, Rhode Island. My wife and I also own a clothing boutique and I started serving coffee for the husbands and men to enjoy while their partners browsed and shopped. At the same time, the specialty coffee world was just beginning to take hold and I knew the timing was perfect to jump in and be part of it.

6 You’ve mentioned your roasting style (slightly smoky, bold, and steadfast) reflects the way you enjoy drinking coffee. Where or what inspires the desired flavor profiles of your roasts? How much does the region and environment where your beans are grown affect the final product?

Lanning: Each coffee product we offer stems from a deliberate creative process that celebrates the Dave’s Coffee brand. For example, The Black Crow is a dark coffee roast that is smoky with hints of thick honey and notes of caramelized sugar. The Sumatran coffee roasted for this blend has an oily sheen to it, much like the feathers of a black crow. During the naming process, I felt the beans reminded me of a song by the American folk band Bon Iver. The lyrics state…

"There's a Black Crow sitting across from me, his wiry legs are crossed. And he's dangling my keys, even fakes a toss."

That verse inspired the name of the coffee blend. Every product under our brand is created with similar inspiration and awareness, then packaged with a distinct personality that mimics each offering.

As for the origins of our coffee beans, I like to use the analogy of wine regions since we vary our sources based on the time of year and season. We follow the growing and harvesting belt across the world and select coffees that are from the first harvest of the crop. This keeps our offerings unique and seasonal.

7 We totally dig your syrups. Customers love hearing about how your cold-brewing method helps retain as much flavor and intensity as possible without compromising the coffees character through traditional brewing methods; a huge benefit to any coffee enthusiast looking to enjoy the product to its fullest. What other benefits do your company and its products offer to retailers and consumers?

Lanning: We keep an active social presence and like to share recipes and partner offerings, so that is a great way for customers to stay involved with our brand. Recipes vary from some in-house dishes like Dave’s Roasted Pears to cocktail creations from local mixologists. A big part of a product like our coffee syrup is in fun of experimenting with the flavor profiles across many different uses.

8 It must be an awesome experience working in small batches using your custom-made gas fired roaster. Being able to work so closely and attentively to a product and all by hand must be extremely rewarding. What would you say is your favorite part of the business?

Lanning: My favorite part of Dave’s Coffee is having the opportunity to produce a product that has been touched by so many hands along the way and having the end customer understand and share in the enjoyment of what we do. I love explaining to customers that the coffee they are drinking has been harvested by hand, sorted by hand, dried, processed and delivered, and finally roasted and bagged all by people. All of the steps along the way of bringing coffee to the customer requires the senses of sight, touch, taste and smell. It’s really amazing when you think about it.

9 And finally, along the way of working directly with growers, experimenting with flavor profiles, and building up layers of character through bean selection and roasting method, are there any truly great stand-out moments that made you realize you’re doing what you love?

Lanning: I personally have a strong presence on the front line with our customers. I am at events, market demos and tastings to interact directly with our customers. This gives me the appreciation of seeing the reaction when people taste our coffee and coffee syrups. It’s at these times when I realize that I’m bringing enjoyment into their lives and they are bringing happiness into mine. That’s a feeling that can’t be beat.