When Chef Stan, that would be I, moved from Downtown, Los Angeles (Big City) to Winfield, Kansas (Small Town USA), I was really looking for a small-life, the quintessential old brick building, with the restaurant (Chef’s Table) downstairs and me living upstairs…I did that…And my mission statement, I didn’t really have one, I was just going to follow the path, that the Lord set before me…I had ideas, I wanted the Chef’s Table to not only make food that was the best of its kind, but to surround its patrons with the ingredients that I used to make their food and I wanted these ingredients to be for sell, so that the Chef’s Table, could become the Home Table, the home table, being a place of such importance to families and friends of all cultures…There are good guys and villains in this story, I’ll save that for the book, or movie one day, but suffice it to say, that not everyone in Winfield, was happy to have Chef Stan and the Chef’s Table in town, yet the open kitchen, where the food is made from scratch and so much great human interaction takes place, became a fact of life and this fact of life, has gained a reputation that spans the globe, folks, literally, from around the world, have come to eat at the Chef’s Table…And one of these folks, a fella named Scott, who was born and raised on the East Coast, spent about two years talking me into selling Chef Stan’s Spices on Amazon.com…So I moved to Winfield for the small life and Scott talked me into selling my spices on Amazon.com, let that sink in…
Well, there are usually 150 to 300 spices in Chef Stan’s Pantry, at the Chef’s Table in Winfield, so the question I had to ask myself, when I agreed to do a deal with Amazon.com was, where do you start, what spice, or spice blend, will be the best way for folks at home, to begin the process of turning their home table, into their very own, Chef’s Table. And perhaps, my delay in coming to this idea / process was rooted in my love of the idea, okay fantasy, that I would personally get to cook for all of my fellow Americans and people of the World, grandiose, right, but good hearted. Anyway, the answer was fairly self-evident, because so much of the cuisine at the Chef’s Table is reminiscent of what one might find on a table in Tuscany, fresh basil, grown at the restaurant, heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, that is actually flown from Italy to Kansas, for us and so on. And by so on, I mean a vast array of super fresh, lighter, healthier, delicious foods. And while this may seem counter intuitive, for a restaurant often described as Norman Rockwell, meets French Country, the cuisine that comes to mind first, is American Tuscan Fusion, a description that I just made up, for the sake of this blog…And that’s how I decided, that Chef Stan’s Tuscany Seasoning, should be the first seasoning blend, that I offer on Amazon.com…
Chef Stan’s Tuscany blend goes like this, remember, I think of food as a story and every good story, has a good storyline…Garlic, because it’s savory, salt, because it brings out flavor, black pepper, because it bumps it up, onion, because it joins in with the garlic, to create a tang to the savory, red pepper flakes, because it has nothing to do with Tuscany and everything to do with fun, (Bam!!!) every story needs a good twist, rosemary, because it’s fresh and herbaceous, basil, because it’s fresh and fragrant on the taste buds, oregano, because it screams Italian and parsley, because it’s a stable character…So I take these herb / spice characters and I apply their combined storylines, to the storyline of the food ingredients and it is this combination that creates the ultimate storytelling, meaning the meal itself. And I’m going to state the obvious, the possibilities presented by Chef Stan’s Tuscany Seasoning, are endless! It’s great on eggs, it’s great on bread, it’s great on fish, it’s great on vegetables and you can take it from there…
After Chef Stan’s Tuscany Seasoning hit the market on Amazon.com, where it was well received, which was heartwarming to me and the gang, here in Winfield, Kansas, I had to decide on what the next offering would be. Again, this seemed pretty obvious, Za’atar, the Israeli version, of course! My ancestors settled the Holly Land, thousands of years ago and the taste profile found in Za’atar, is embedded in my DNA. The blend of sesame seeds, coriander, sumac, thyme, cumin and black pepper, take one back to the Great Feasts of the Bible. At the Chef’s Table, Za’atar rice, in particular, is how I make this connection to the days of old. And Chef Stan’s Za’atar has been a big hit on Amazon.com…
What sits atop, Chef Stan’s Za’atar rice, at the Chef’s Table? That would be Chicken Mother Clucker! Chicken Mother Clucker, is the result of my quest to make the best boneless, skinless, chicken breast, in the World. And Chicken Mother Clucker is exactly that, nothing else is even close. So to make Chicken Mother Clucker, you need Chef Stan’s Chicken Mother Clucker Chicken Seasoning and yes, Mother Clucker Chicken Seasoning became the third, Chef Stan, spice blend to be made available on Amazon.com…What makes Mother Clucker so Mother Clucking good? Well, the clever name, for starters! But seriously, the combination of garlic, thyme, onion, marjoram, sage, paprika, black pepper and New Mexico Lumbre chili powder are the real deal. When the chicken is rubbed with this combo and then marinated in fresh orange juice, onion and cilantro, overnight, GOODNIGHT!!! Chicken Mother Clucker, is one of those things that will take a little bit to catch on, but when it does, it’ll be as American as Chef Stan’s Farm and Apple Pie. Hey, if you’re going to self-promote, go big, or go home, right…
So, the current lineup of Chef Stan’s spices on Amazon.com goes, Chef Stan’s Tuscany Seasoning, Chef Stan’s Za’atar (Israeli) and Chef Stan’s Mother Clucker Chicken Seasoning, all of which, are hand blended Amish style, or in my case Jawmish style. The ingredients are sourced from around the globe and are unmatched for both quality and freshness. It took me a while, to come around to the idea of a large distribution footprint, like Amazon.com, but having done so, I’m really, really happy about it. It is an incredible blessing / joy, to be able to talk about food, with folks, all around the world, who are using my ingredients and in some cases, recipes. The Chef’s Table, the kitchen table, the picnic table, it doesn’t really make a difference, because it’s the food that brings us together and being part of that, even in the smallest way, is making all of the difference…
See ya’ll on Amazon.com, or the Chef’s Table, or Chef Stan’s Farm, or wherever else I’m cooking and or, merrymaking!!! Eat, enjoy, love and laugh, rest, and then repeat, my friends.
