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Women In Food
It seems everyone loves meatballs these days. Especially the lamb meatballs I’ve been making for parties. Last night I hosted a Sartori/Ciolo cocktail party for some local “Women in Food” here at home and in addition to the wildly popular Espresso Bellavitano and Ciolo Truffled Ricotta (a home run of a dip for parties), the lamb meatballs were a big smash hit.
But frankly, the most exciting item to me was a gift bottle of St. Germain, compliments of Tessa Stamper, head of culinary at Noodles & Co.
The aroma hits you right away…like a gorgeous bouquet of lilies. We put a little splash in a glass of champagne (limited edition called “DKNY”, made by Chandon) and I’m not sure I’ve ever had a nicer aperitif. It was a great compliment to the Sartori Gorgonzola Dolce. And in fact to all the cheeses and that wonderful Truffled Ricotta Dip.
If you get the chance, try some…it would also be nice with a little dry Prosecco . Or even just club soda. It came with a booklet of cocktail ideas so I’m sure I’ll be trying things like “Germainattans” and lord knows what else.
Tune in later for more on the meatballs…
The Beginning
I created Ciolo in 2006 because I thought a food business would be “fun”. After all, I thought, I’m a decent home cook, I grew up in New York, lived in Los Angeles for years and had dined in many of the great food cities of the world. Somehow I figured this qualified me for the incredibly complex world of commercial food manufacturing. Nowadays I like to also blame this on a good friend who told me that the best way to find a new career was to pick a field whose trade magazines I liked to read. Since I subscribed at the time to about five food publications (now probably 25), that’s the field I entered. Predictably enough and not long later, I realized how crazily naive I’d been and was soon spouting all the familiar clichés about how “if I knew then what I know now…”Because while Ciolo was successful (we were in well over 100 Whole Foods stores, we turned out delicious products that consumers loved and had rapidly expanding sales), the details of running a business like this were overwhelming. Packaging, distribution, ingredient sourcing, regulatory issues, plant operations….all things that a former technology marketer like me knew nothing about. Yet they are the nuts and bolts requirements of a food manufacturing enterprise.
Along came the White Knight. On a plane. From Plymouth, Wisconsin. And there were two of them. Jim Sartori, CEO and Jeff Schwager, President. Together they led the management team at Sartori, an award-winning cheese manufacturer with a 65 year history and all the knowledge, experience and resources our little company didn’t have.
Some people sell their business and end up sorry. A year after our deal closed (in September 2010), I’m not only without regrets, I’m very happy. The Sartori Company is full of people who both love what they do and know what they’re doing. They are taking the company places I could only have dreamed of. And more, they are giving me the freedom to do things like write this blog. I can talk about our products and how to use them. I can create new products, and explore how and from where ideas for new flavors come. In short, I’m one lucky gal.
I promise to try and keep these posts relevant and interesting to people who are curious about food and who want to make what they eat and serve a little tastier every day.
I welcome feedback and suggestions. I might not take every idea that’s offered, but I’ll at least try to acknowledge that I’ve received it and have thought about it. How’s that for a deal?
