Slow Food - City's Edge

We try very hard to become active in the communities that are home to each of our shops. We look to make connections with people who are really into food, families, cooking. One easy way to do this is for us to be involved with Slow Food . Members of this organization are pretty serious about food and its sources, and naturally cooking and eating. I truly believe this is a worthwhile organization, it is dedicated to making sure the food we eat is good, clean and fair. I served on the board of directors for the Chicago chapter of Slow Food for almost 8 years, and consequently, was very excited to hear a new chapter was being formed in the same area as our newest Geneva Spice shop, the Western suburbs. They called the chapter City's Edge. This photo was taken at one of their first convivial dinners, a pot luck held at a local gem of a farm, Heritage Prairie Market, where we dined on the most wonderful dishes. The star of the meal were a few of these Heritage turkeys that were brought by the Cavenys of Caveny Farms (visit this website if you want to order an outstanding Heritage turkey to grace your Thanksgiving day meal.) It is now time for the second annual pot luck dinner. 

Spice House wins LTHForum's Great Neighborhood Resource award.

If you are any sort of a foodie who lives in the Chicago area, you probably already know about LTHforum.
Their website describes their forum as "the Chicago based culinary chat site", although often their discussions roam far off the radar from just the Chicago area. They are known to get in their cars and drive 100 miles to follow up on a hot tip for a good sausage, burger, bbq, fried chicken, ice cream, a farmer's market, a special Asian market, in fact, if you name it delicious, they will come. These people really know their food. You won't find a better forum out there filled with intelligent discussions about food, inspired recipes, photos ranging from wonderful home cooked meals to fine dining in top notch restaurants.This is no flippant toss-out-any comment-forum, so think your posts through thoroughly before you make them, or you may be taken to task! On a recent long road trip, we were having a conversation about molecular gastronomy, and we greatly enjoyed going online via the phone and searching the LTHForum site for this subject. What turned up was some very entertaining verbal volleys in this post about molecular gastronomy started by a high end chef. About two months ago, we were greatly honored to be nominated....

Chefs who give 110%

We are fortunate to have some very talented chefs as customers. Over the years these have turned into some really nice relationships. We are in awe of the talent these chefs possess. When we dine out, we choose restaurants whose chefs are our customers, and luckily, we have plenty to choose from. Currently, our filtering parameter has become whether the chef focuses on local ingredients and supporting both our local farmers and our local food community. There are many chefs on this list, and I would like to introduce you to the chefs that REALLY get it, over a series of posts. (Obviously if you are an active part of our food community, you don’t need to read this, you can’t help but already be aware of it.) The first chef on our list is Bruce Sherman of North Pond Bruce is currently nominated for the James Beard award “Best Chef: Great Lakes”.

The Flavor Bible - Happy One Year Anniversary!

The folks in this photo are waiting in line at the Milwaukee Public Market to have authors Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg autograph a copy of The Flavor Bible. This was about a  year ago when the book was first out. We were  lucky enough to have this dedicated couple do book signings for us in not just one, but THREE different Spice House locations!

 Since we are a spice store, not a book store,  we are extremely selective about which books we carry. We choose only four titles a year, as the books will use up valuable shelf space that is very necessary to showcase our 400 plus spice products in our tiny shops. We  usually swap out books from year to year, yet The Flavor Bible remains on the first string roster. Simply put, this is an AMAZING book. It is a classic reference guide that is a must for any kitchen, from the uninitiated cook to the most seasoned veteran. When I need a thank-you or hostess gifts for chef friends who already possess all things culinary, this is what I bring. All the chefs I have given it to loved it, with the exception of Carrie Nahabedian. I tried to give the book to her before I read it; it ends up that she is one of the experts quoted in the book and naturally she had her own supply of the book!  EVERYONE loves this book. Why does The Flavor Bible earn such high praise and accolades, enough to keep it a hot seller even after a year on the market?

GCM Chef Bbq, tomorrow night!

We are so excited that the big night is almost here. This event sold out about a month in advance, a sure testimonial to what a great evening it is. I look back over the years and remember when we were lucky to have a few hundred people show  up. One year I was the Chair of the event when it was sponsored by Les Dames d'Escoffier, and we were lucky to have around 35 chefs. We were shocked when we heard a rumor that market founder, Abby Mandel, was calling the chefs in advance and telling them what they were serving was not acceptable. We just could not believe that if a chef wanted to serve something as expensive as soft shell crabs, which we thought quite generous, this choice would be criticized. Who would look a gift horse in the mouth? Abby, if they were  serving the wrong menu! There were a few irate chefs, let me tell you. In retrospect, we all now see how far ahead of her time Abby was. Abby ALWAYS got it. All we wanted to do was throw a nice party, have some happy participants and chefs, and raise some money. It needed to go so much further than that. Now, we have evolved to what this food community is really all about.  If we want a good farmer's market, with sustainable or organic product, we all have to support it. The farmers are doing their best for us, but they need everyone to be on board, not just home cooks but restaurant chefs, caterers, even politicians are needed to smooth the path. This group of very talented chefs understands how important their role in helping to  educate the public has become, this is their chance to show off their skills and they are happy to share their expertise with you. One of the coolest things about this event, is the opportunity to meet the actual chef in person. All the restaurants send their A team.

Here, one of my very favorite photos from an early bbq, NOT on Abby's list!  Below, some more real local dishes being served tomorrow and some snippets of menu items being served.  We will really miss Abby at the BBQ, she was with us just last year. Her work is certainly being carried on.  

Saturday in the Old Town Shop

I am not sure if it is the case for all small business owners, but for us there just are not enough hours in the day to get our work done. It might be that we have more work than most in that we source, purchase, warehouse, grind, blend, mix and package our of our 400 products in house primarily by hand. Many days we struggle against the clock to get our work done, and we don't sit down to dinner at  home too many nights because we don't actually even GET home until 8 or 9. However, in spite of this, every once in awhile you have just the best day where you just can't believe how lucky we are to have such a great way to make our living. Saturday, in the Old Town Chicago shop was just such a day. As owners, with many, many behinds the scenes things we must do, we don't work the floor as often as we would like. Note to self - work the floor on Saturdays, it is the most fulfilling way to remember how much you love this business!  Pictured here, a very enthusiastic chef Jeff Mauro buying all sorts of spices for his new restaurant Jam, which will be at 937 North Damen. While we can not tell you about the food, as it is just about to open, Jeff is using top notch spices so we certainly foresee a commitment to quality! Can't wait to check it out. Next, we are thrilled to wait on several International customers. 

When a staff becomes a family.

As small business owners, there are things  that frustrate us on a regular basis. Mostly wearing too many hats and not having enough time to fulfill all of our jobs in a timely manner. The rewards, however, at the end of the day, far outweigh the negatives. If you are very lucky, you get a crew that clicks and becomes its own family. This photo was taken at a baby shower for one of our Old Town crew, Madeline. The fact that even the male co-workers are in attendance genuinely show their affection for our new Mom, her baby Madison was born yesterday. (Although free drinks probably helped insure their presence!)  When you have a crew that enjoys and looks out for one another, they are truly a pleasure to be around.  Laughter in the workplace among employees that like each other is music to our ears. Again, like Mom and Dad, when laughter turns to silliness, we have to step in and gets the kids back to focus on work. Don't tell our staff, but this is the scolding that makes us feel like we really are a family!

A Fond Farewell to a Longstanding Customer

This past Monday, June 1^st, my husband and partner, Tom, was working the Evanston shop. We rehashed the day in the evening, as we often do when working in different shops. He said his day was a pretty difficult day overall, the manager had the day off, and many Monday-is-the-day-when-everything-goes-wrong type things occurred.   Then something happened late in the day to remind him of the reason we love this little business.  Why we are so proud of it, and also,  so humbled by the way in which our customers enjoy our products.  

Gale Gand hosts book signing at The Spice House

We were delighted to host Gale Gand for a book signing and recipe tasting for her new book, Gale Gands’s Brunches, this past Thursday. Our little shops host a number of cookbook authors throughout the year, and we always feel very fortunate to be considered as an author location. We try very hard to make our signings special events.

 

Green City Market Chefs' Annual Barbecue Festival 2009

Even though the trees are just beginning to show glimpses of green, plans have long been underway for one of our favorite events of the year, the annual Green City Market Chefs' Barbecue Picnic. This year the event will be held on July 16th, so be sure and save the date. I don't imagine that most of the public has any idea what goes into putting an event of this magnitude together. Luckily, two of our favorite chef people, Carrie Nahabedian and Sarah Stegner, start the ball rolling by enlisting all of their high end chef colleagues. We have quite the line up already, with almost 50 super chefs on board! Next Carrie and Michael Nahabedian generously host all these chefs to a lovely brunch at NAHA. I feel so honored to be able to join this group of dynamic culinary people. What a treat.