We are so excited to have Mama D’s joining us for Gobble Up! We got a little preview taste at our fall market and everything is delicious!
Where does your passion for food come from?
We come from a family who really enjoys cooking, but no one has taken it to the level in which we have. We try to use as many family recipes we can, to really pay homage to our relatives. We have always been drawn to trying and creating new recipes, to share with our loved ones and just to see how they turn out.. so we know how to fix them and make them better for the future! As we gain more fans and customers, it only drives us to create new and improved products.
Tell us about your culinary journey.
Our journey to where we are now is definitely not traditional. We are a mother-daughter duo with no formal culinary education, but many years of experience cooking at home for the people we love. Our journey all started with English Toffee. Every year around Christmas, Mom would make 2 cookie sheets full of English toffee, and piece-by-piece they would quickly disappear, usually way before Christmas Day. It was so delicious! After years of complements and encouragement, we decided that we should try and sell our English Toffee and a few other confections to local businesses in the Wenatchee Valley. We found that the local farm stands were very supportive of our culinary adventure we had begun, so we just kept experimenting and adding new products as requests would come in from our customers and other retail businesses. During our first year, our small candy company evolved from a strictly wholesale business into a small café, and local farmers market bakery stand while still expanding our wholesale product line. Over the past 7 years, our product line has grown from English toffee and peanut brittle, to seven different candies, 8 different flavors of preserves, pickled asparagus, and a whole line of bakery products, including gluten free and vegan options. Now that we have moved to the Greater Seattle area from Wenatchee, our products now have unlimited potential for expansion and growth. We are excited to be able to share our products and our passion for food with a new audience of Foodies.
Where is your favorite place to eat?
When it comes to eating special meals, we prefer to cook and eat at home. To us, food is more about the experience of preparing and sharing the kitchen with the ones we love. We get so much more satisfaction from cooking at home, and that way we can source our ingredients from local farms and markets.
Where do you source your ingredients?
All our fruit and produce proudly comes from Washington state. Berries are all sourced locally, while apples, pears and asparagus come from the beautiful Wenatchee valley. We strive to provide a quality product from local sources, so we can keep the entire process within Washington state.
Tell us about a new product you are working on.
We have just started processing an old family recipe. Something we have eaten on toast and pancakes for years, so it is definitely a family favorite! It’s spiced pear butter that we have always called Pear Honey in our house. It is the most flavorful combination of tree-ripe pears and fall spices. We can’t wait to start sampling, and selling it to our customers at gobble up and our other outlets this fall. Not only is it delicious, it is extra special because it is a recipe that has been in our family for decades.
What will our fans find at your booth this fall?
Our booth has a wide variety of gourmet, rustic food items that we have made completely by hand. We specialize in confections, preserves, pickled products and bakery items. Some of our confections include: English toffee, Peanut Brittle and my personal favorite; Peanut Butter Brittle! We also have a variety of preserves including flavors like: Rhubarb hibiscus, and Raspberry Peach Chipotle. Additionally, we have a special blend of spices and proprietary process that makes our pickled asparagus crisper and more flavorful than most on the market, it’s a definite must try! You may also find a mixed variety of baked goods and breads available, which are available at our farmer’s market locations.
What are your goals for your business in the next year?
Were looking to expand our farmers market presence across the sound and also build out our e-commerce and shipping capabilities so we can finally give our fans a place to buy our products in the off-season and during the holidays.
What was your biggest challenge when starting out?
We have had a huge product evolution and believe that necessity has definitely been the mother of invention for us. Many of our products have been added because our customers ask, “Do you know how to make ____” and our answer is always “Sure, lets do it!” The biggest hurdle has really been logistics, and now that were transitioning into a bigger marketplace, I believe this challenge will be eliminated.
What’s your favorite part of this food movement?
We love to see people creating and sharing their passions. Passionate people are so great to be around, you can learn so much from people who are passionate about what they do. We really enjoy being a part of a community that lifts other up and celebrates individual successes. We love to use as many local resources as we can, and within this food movement, we have found so many contacts that are very supportive of small food businesses. It’s all about sharing your passions with people, and if you share a great idea long enough, it will eventually find the right people who can really propel your success.
What’s the best part of your job?
As a mother-daughter team, the best part of our job is working with each other. We have found that we really work the best when we are together. We have a blast and really enjoy what we do! There aren’t a lot of other “jobs” out there where you get to choose your co-workers, work hours, days off and project for the day. We really do have the best jobs in the world.
