KitchenTown

Alberta Liao was in charge of the snacks for a summer camp focused on sustainability. So she got help from her grandma, who's been a vegetarian for 60+ years. They wanted to make something Alberta loved as a kid - tuna sandwiches - but vegan. It was a huge hit among the campers, and all the parents wanted the recipe. When Alberta realized there was nothing like their homemade vegan tuna spread on the market, she got to work. She launched @myjinka out of KitchenTown in 2019, and this summer, the delicious plant-based tuna will be available in hundreds of @wholefoods stores! The product may be a lil fishy, but its climate impacts sure aren't.

#tbt, Earth Day edition! Here's the proud day in 2019 that we got certified as a California Green Business! It means our space is focused on things like water and energy reductions, recycling and compost, avoiding waste, hiring local vendors, etc. But Green is always on our mind, way beyond the facility - it's why we focus our work on startups prioritizing things like plant-based options, upcycled ingredients, and regenerative farming. Food is inherently extractive, at least ...in the way it's been traditionally produced, so being humble about its impact and working not just to reduce but to actively restore has HUGE implications for a greener future. We are so inspired by the possibilities for impact - whether it's creating compelling alternatives to meat, sourcing thoughtfully, optimizing process, reducing (or making use of) byproducts, there are endless ways to make food production and consumption not just *not harmful* but *actively helpful.* See more

Elliot comes to @kitchentown after years in food - @netimeasrestaurantgroup, @belcampomeatco, @localmissionmarket, and other spots we LOVE. Now he’s the guy every maker in the KitchenTown kitchen turns to when something goes wrong. (We’re very grateful Elliot’s a fan of the adrenaline rush.) His go-to snack? We’re not surprised to hear his answer: Coffee. With milk and sugar. Sometimes a lot of milk and sugar. And, of course, snacks from our makers - @regrained bars, @lls.kitchen granola

ReGrained was the first to coin the term "edible upcycling." When they joined the game, there were very few other players attempting to take byproducts and turn them into something even better than the original. But it's a missing market with huge potential; we have all this supply, why not turn it into something amazing? Typically, beer production results in a lot of wasted, spent grain, but @regrained turns it around to make bars, puffs, and other formats of the very nutrit...ious, very delicious barley, wheat, and rye. Since launching ReGrained, Dan has helped establish the Upcycled Food Association and even created a new, official certification Standard to mark upcycled food. When Dan and his team first approached KitchenTown in 2015, they had two flavors of bars in local farmers' markets; now their ingredient business has launched, their distribution is national, and they've raised multiple rounds of capital. We can't wait to see what's next.

We are THRILLED to announce a new partnership with Faire, an online marketplace. Over 150,000 independent retailers shop at Faire to discover new products in fact, its network of retailers has more store locations than Starbucks! One of our brands on the platform reports gaining an average of 6 new retailer *per week*. We’ve teamed up with Faire to create an Eat Better collection of tasty, delightful, and nutritious food from the startups we know and love. Thanks to this partnership, **our startups get to jump the line** for an accelerated onboarding experience, giving them access to a wide array of brick-and-mortars across the country and the opportunity to scale distribution in a really big way. All the details: https://mailchi.mp/kitchentowncentral/faire-eat-better

Hang’s parents owned a noodle shop in southern Vietnam, and Hang was roped into the business early: taught to hand-make noodles at the age of five (!), at this point, she’s a true master of the art. Launched out of @lacocinasf in 2017, we’re thrilled to have Noodle Girl in the KitchenTown kitchen these days. Everything is made from scratch (even the foundations, like broths) and recipes are unique to her southern Vietnamese heritage. She’s picky about her sourcing, always choosing all-organic ingredients from farmer’s markets and local shops. The pandemic threw a lot of challenges her way, but also inspired her to think about CPG offerings check out her newly-released Vietnamese-style corn snacks, now available on her website (link in @noodlegirlrestaurant bio)!

Did someone say free breakfast sandwich?? YES! We did. For one weekend only (THIS weekend), come and get a sandwich with all the goods @ KitchenTown. And it just happens to be FULLY VEGAN. Featuring vegan egg from an innovative new startup, vegan cheese, avo, chipotle spread, arugula, all served on the locally-famous everything bagel from @basecamp.bakery. All we ask is that you fill out a quick digital survey. MUST PRE-REGISTER. FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. Link in bio!

@theorganicpantryco is one of our legends they've been at KitchenTown for five years, hard at work in the gluten-free room. Founder Theresa has been through it all: our Good Food Makers accelerator, dozens of workshops, every milestone in the books; these days, we can often find her around the facility giving advice to newer founders. Theresa dreams of replacing every item in the pantry with real food that’s fresh, whole, and minimally processed. Starting with crackers. She takes four base ingredients sprouted flax, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds and adds little else to develop her snacks. What you see is what you get (it’s why she designed her packaging with a transparent window!). Her crackers are so tasty she literally can’t keep them in stock. Catch her at 100 stores around the state, including 42 @wholefoods!

Why would you ever cook lunch again when you can feast for $5? That's the idea behind @mezli_med, the newest pop-up at KitchenTown. The startup's team dreams of democratizing really great food, and they've knocked it out of the park. We *highly* recommend you try it - it really is the best grain bowl we've ever had. Available for pick-up @kitchentown or delivery, and you can order for now or later. Every weekday 11am-2pm - but only for a few weeks! Link in bio to order.

You asked, we listened: the grain bowl pop-up is BACK! Try the Mediterranean meal that sold out in 20 minutes. Prepared in collaboration between Chef Eric Minnich, former Chef de Cuisine of Michelin-starred Madera, and Mezze by EveryMeal, the newest foodtech startup in town. (Inauguration snacks, anyone?) Order today's healthy lunch ($6-9): https://mezze-by-everymeal.square.site/

We're hiring! Join our Product Innovation Lab to work with a wide array of interesting and innovative start-ups. This position is one of the most important roles at KitchenTown! We're looking for creative and skilled culinarians, ideally with experience and interest in the plant-based protein space, who want to work on things like sensory testing, product formulation, and ingredient evaluation. Link in bio for more and to apply.

*** TAKEOVER ALERT *** Claire & Caroline of @renewalmill can take a BIG chunk of credit for popularizing the upcycling movement. They saw big potential in the by-products produced by non-dairy milks and ran with it, turning things like okara (soy pulp) into super tasty gluten-free flours, cookies, and more. Magic! They participated in our Good Food Makers accelerator last year with @Barilla's @blu1877, as pictured here at their headquarters in Italy (pre-pandemic!), thoughtfully contemplating more ways to turn what-would-have-been-waste into very delicious applications. They'll be on our stories all day today; don't miss it!

2020 was quite the year. Food is often a reflection of what’s happening in the world: whether it’s changes in climate, international trade, cultural shifts, generational preferences, or societal priorities, we’ll see it in food. In this sense, 2020 was no different.... Link in bio for our thoughts on how 2020 changed the food industry!

Ryan of Bernal Bakery is in the KitchenTown kitchen by 12:30am. He loves the process of making sourdough: the obsessive desire to perfect something that can never really be perfect. Working with the dough, the soothing rituals. Sticking something in the oven and not quite knowing what’ll come out. The adrenaline rush of the final product. A chef by trade, Ryan’s pivot to bread was COVID-induced but now I’m a baker for life. There’s no going back.

***TAKEOVER ALERT*** Pat has always been interested in ocean health. Despite growing up in Minnesota, he managed to learn to surf and, after 120 dives, even earned a certification as a rescue diver. He later worked in the seafood industry around the world, including Indonesian shrimp farms and a trolley in Alaska. When mass-produced, seafood can touch 10 hands before reaching the store, with stops at multiple countries and getting frozen and thawed multiple times. All this inspired Pat to help people understand the impact of their food choices on the ocean, support farmers, and make regenerative ocean farming a bigger part of the ecosystem. The result: @12tides. Tune in to @kitchentown stories tomorrow for a 12 Tides takeover to learn more about better ocean farming and yummy kelp snacks.

If you're developing a keto product, you know traditional sweeteners, like sugars and syrups, are off the table (excuse the pun). Today: Nitika Dhamankar on possible alternatives and how to choose. Any questions on new product development at KitchenTown?

As busy Stanford grad students, Alex, Alex, and Max wanted a steady supply of great, healthy food, but their options were limited with time and budget constraints. So they developed their own solution: a robotics technology that can steam, toss, and condiment. It means they can sell the good stuff very affordably, competing with food quality the likes of Souvla and Cava at lower prices. The EveryMeal trio teamed up with Chef Eric Minnich, who you'll remember as the cooking mastermind behind KitchenTown Curbside. They put together a menu of Mediterranean-style bowls with ingredients like turmeric rice, Moroccan chicken, pickled beets, and Chermoula sauce, and this weekend, they want you to try it. https://everymeal-inc.square.site/

How to craft the best gift basket EVER: (1) Prioritize small, local businesses. (2) Think about the recipient's values. (3) Include a variety of sweet & salty, soft & crispy, morning & night. (4) Wrap it in something reusable, like beeswax or pretty fabrics. (5) Check the 2020 KitchenTown Holiday Gift Guide: kitchentowncentral.com/2020/12/10/holiday-gifts

SHARK TANK! Super excited to announce that the newest plant-based chicken on the market, by JADA, debuts tonight in the Tank. It's a versatile dry mix that just needs oil & water to become whatever you want it to nuggets, patties, the list goes on and on. Developed in the KitchenTown Innovation Lab and we couldn't be prouder. Tune in tonight at 8|7c!

This Halloween, we’re thinking about how insects provide the same amount of protein as a cow with 1% of the resources. Don Bugito is on a mission to expand their consumption. Before starting her own insect company, Monica worked as an architectural designer in Mexico City and often turned to insect architecture (like beehives) as a source of inspiration. Amazed by their tiny environmental footprint, she pivoted to a critter-focused food truck business before diving fully in...to the startup world. It took her a year to perfect the recipes, primarily focused on achieving the perfect crispy texture and replicating the flavors from her favorite candies in Mexico. As if she weren’t already impressive enough, when Monica found herself unsatisfied with her sourcing options, she opened her very own insect farm. Typical farms pump bugs full of antibiotics, but not at Monica’s. Instead, she gives her insects plenty of sunlight, which boosts their immune systems. Find Don Bugito at specialty stores across the Bay. No tricks, just treats. And it's all made right at KitchenTown!

"You've worked at restaurants, and then you did curbside, and now you're a private chef doing the delivery yourself. Can you talk to us about that progression?" -Tali Perelman, KitchenTown "How do you describe it? I felt like a baby giraffe, trying to learn how to walk again." -Eric Minnich, Executive Chef Watch the full discussion: https://vimeo.com/489043677... feat. Charlie Yi, Maggie Spicer (Benne), Geetika Agrawal (La Cocina), & Thomas McNaughton (flour+water pizzeria)

Thrilled to announce that Smart Cloud Farming has been selected for the new cohort of Good Food Makers! This fall, we’ll spend eight weeks working side-by-sid...e with Barilla’s venture arm, BLU1877, on a project focus on regenerative agriculture and soil health improvement. Plant Jammer reBLEND. KitchenTown

Announcing the newest cohort of the Good Food Makers accelerator! These innovative companies will partner with Barilla's venture arm, BLU1877, to solve a challenge or pilot something new. All four brands tackle today's sustainability needs, focused especially on waste reduction. Huge congratulations to Plant Jammer, reBLEND., Smart Cloud Farming, and Connecting Food can't wait to see where you go next. To learn more about Good Food Makers, visit goodfoodmakers.net.

Meet the KitchenTown team! Nitika (@foodie_scientist), head of the Innovation Lab, spends her days helping founders turn dreams into reality. What does she cook for herself? If I’m working on an egg product, I cannot look at any other eggs. As I develop, I taste. It means I know what I’m NOT eating for dinner that day Reach out if you want a shelf life extended, a product reformulated, or an idea prototyped (even if it's an egg product).

Big news coming tomorrow...

Register for this free event next week hosted by KitchenTown featuring former GFA Pantry Committee Co-Chair Geetika Agrawal and GFA Judge Maggie Spicer. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-doordash-tickets-130318

We had such a blast teaming up with these incredible students! Thanks so much, Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business - our startups are hugely grateful for all the tips and tricks.

To our dear Curbside community, The KitchenTown Café has been an important community gathering spot for several years, and when COVID hit, we knew the shutdown couldn't be permanent. So we took a second, regrouped, and launched Curbside: a way for us to keep connecting with you, and to help you connect to some of the local food startups, chefs, and bakers that we most admire. At its core, this service was always about supporting local chefs and bakers. We're closing the Curb...side doors in order to better achieve that: KitchenTown's primary pillar is its role as an incubator for impact-driven food companies, and we're excited to double down on those efforts. This isn't a goodbye, then it's a promise to open even bigger doors for the amazing folks baking, churning, crisping, roasting, kneading, packaging, and distributing. In other words: we're not going anywhere. Curbside as it exists today may be winding down, but KitchenTown sure isn't. We have all sorts of ideas for the future of our café space: pop-ups from our resident makers, community events, and lots more. See you on Saturday last day for Curbside pickups!

The story of Together is one of inspiring travel, a perfectly complementary partnership, and a whole lot of hard work. Read Michael & Caroline’s full maker journey with the link below. We’ll tell you all the juicy details, like the baton-passing ice-cream-making process that developed when COVID forced the team apart, how a trip to Bali inspired the brand, and what *one million croissants* have to do with all of this. https://kitchentowncentral.com/2020/08/20/together/

Weddings look a little different these days, but they're still happening, quietly, and one element that HASN'T changed is really good food. A few happy couples have turned to KitchenTown Curbside to fill up their menu, including Grant (whose corgi very much wanted to be a part of the day) and Eric, KitchenTown's own chef. We caught up with them to hear about what it's like to host a wedding in 2020 and, of course, what they ate. https://kitchentowncentral.com//how-to-host-a-wedding-in-/

Food startups & ag innovators: don't miss the chance to collaborate with Barilla's venture arm, Blu1877, to solve current challenges and level up your company. https://goodfoodmakers.net

Good Food Makers is a completely free program for startups to get expert help on a current challenge. Only 2 weeks left to apply!

All three winners of Startup CPG's first-every Pitch Box are KitchenTown makers, and we couldn't be prouder. The winner, Loca Food, makes an incredible queso meant for the ball park that doesn't taste like it's vegan. We are super proud to have helped develop this ooey gooey, shelf-stable sauce in our Innovation Lab. Silver medalist 12 Tides Seaweed Co. makes all of his delicious, thoughtfully-sourced, puffed seaweed snacks right out of our commercial kitchen.... And Kween & Co., who makes a healthy version of cookie butter, has worked with us on all sorts of projects and events. KitchenTown is, and always will be, founders-first. We love our makers and couldn't be happier to see them thrive. Thanks Startup CPG for hosting this great event!

Our Curbside team needs your help! Join us: https://kitchentowncentral.com/join-our-team/

The Future Food-Tech Summit is going virtual! On September 17-18, food brand executives, investors, and entrepreneurs from around the world will come together online to rethink our food system in a post-COVID-19 world. The event includes 1-1 video meetings, live discussion groups, interactive panels, start-up pitches, and keynotes. Use our code KT10 for 10% off the ticket price. More details here: https://bit.ly/2Ce2E1W