Well. There's only a few days until the big day.

Here’s a thought for holiday shopping: rather than wandering aimlessly around the big box the day before the big holiday, what if great gift ideas came to you from our network of passionate small business owners? It is late notice, but let us use this post as a gathering place for unique and exciting ideas, items or services people may not have thought of or about which you, their purveyors, are especially excited this year. I will have our social media gurus send out Tweets and post to Facebook links to this page soliciting ideas from our partners and asking them to comment in the threads with all the necessary information.

I don’t know. Could work. Could be fun. Could be a launching pad for a future, vastly improved campaign. Could be a thing.

So here’s the call out:

Local business owners: Have some unique items, great gift ideas, and interesting choices for locally minded consumers? Let them know in the comment thread of this post! Tell us what you have, what it costs and how to find you!

Are you a service provider and Local First partner with a special promotion or offer this winter? What do you do and how or why do you do it better? Let us know!

Thank you for visiting our website. I can thank you because you are here. Whether you’ve checked our directory, calendar of events, or visited this blog, we appreciate your interest and hope you’ve continued to discover plenty of useful content in every visit. But within the wide-ranging reach “Buy,” “Act,” and “Think” are a number of ideas and suggestions to better drive your individual actions, improve your choices, and bring our statewide independent business community ever closer together. We strive to do our very best.

If you were able to attend any of our events this year, you could see first-hand the efforts of our tiny staff supported by an army of local-minded volunteers. The enthusiasm surrounding our mission definitely propels our efforts and inspires hope for more events with greater geographical diversity in the future.

Despite tough economic times, Utah remains a top-tier state in which to do business and our universities continue to rank the highest for the creation of startup companies. Entrepreneurship thrives. But our locally owned businesses continue to feel the pressure of competition from big boxes. Whether or not we are emerging from recession, consumers are constantly faced with some important decisions when it comes to spending their hard-earned money. Granted, The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said that “In October 2011, real disposable personal income increased 0.3 percent.” So that’s cool.

But the choice remains as to where to spend that disposable income. 

Through these winter months, let’s remember to check with our friends, to check the Local First partner directory, and to look for options that support our community and strengthen our local economy first. That can mean dispatching with the “convenience” of “one-stop shopping” (that studies have shown lure consumers into purchasing more than what they intended to begin with) and planning a shopping list and efficient route that supports local businesses. For holiday shopping, a good plan can not only limit total gas consumption, it can save the hapless wandering around department store in search of some random present.

Dozens of our partners stepped forward during Local First week to offer discount coupons for our friends and followers of Local First. There was great media coverage of the event and some solid exposure for independent businesses throughout the state. In fact, notes Local First’s Marketing Assistant Kristen Lavelett, “We achieved hefty statewide reach from our little South Salt Lake Office by employing the power of the internet.” The Gift Shift Coupon was a great opportunity to patronize an independent business and receive the benefit of some exclusive discounts. Just for thinking locally.

Moving forward, we encourage you keep those enthusiastic business owners in mind for all your needs, whether making purchases for yourself or as gifts. They love talking about their businesses which are their passions, and they love sharing ideas about other ways to make local choices.

Stay tuned for some more locally tuned dialogue and, I hope, some fantastic gift ideas.

--Andrew Dash Gillman

It’s always encouraging to see locals coming together to produce great things. Yesterday you read about SanSegal and  SLUG Magazine, but they are just a couple of examples of print- and design-based organizations having an impact on Utah’s culture and economy.

Edible Wasatch, City Weekly, and Salt Lake Magazine, and Catalyst are other local publications showcasing the best local talent in publishing, and they’re also all sponsors of Celebrate the Bounty! If you’re not familiar with them, you may visit their websites or come by Salt Lake Hardware for our celebration. If you’re presently short on insightful, topical reading material, you may just find yourself walking away with a bagful of knowledge.

This seems the ideal time to thank another Sponsor, The King’s English bookstore. If you haven’t heard of the King’s English…really? Do you care about books and live or visit Salt Lake and not know about The King’s English? Luckily, via the internet knowledge comes readily—and the independent book buying experience even easier. Let The King’s English resident “inkslingers” guide you through reviews and notices of upcoming books and events by subscribing to their newsletter. Their autumn issue can be found here.

Another great sponsor, The Mandate Press, will have a very noticeable presence at Celebrate the Bounty. If you see or use a coaster, think, “The Mandate Press.” The modern letterpress operation already has a tremendous national following but is looking to dovetail their expertise with local artists and designers to best serve their own home: “We love Utah and we love letterpress, so any opportunity to mesh both into one is like peanut butter & jelly or fish & chips for you savory people. We work with local vendors/suppliers as often as possible and we love (love love) working with local artists to help explore their visions through letterpress,” writes Mandate’s Danielle Mariott.

Ms. Mariott is clearly excited to see The Mandate Press expand its presence within the local community. She says that they’re thrilled “to think that we all have the chance to ensure that talent, enterprise, and profits stay in Utah and keep this place that we love amazing for the years to come.”

With support from The Mandate and all of our business and individual supporters, Local First Utah is able to fulfill its own, very similar mission. We have lofty goals, indeed, but thanks in five short years we have accomplished so many of them, but thanks to the support of both our sponsors and everyone who will attend Celebrate the Bounty, it’s exciting to think how much we can continue to strengthen the business community of our great state.

The Local First Utah brand is more important now than ever. You will likely recognize many of our Presenting Sponsors, the top-tier sponsor level. Their commitment to community is well-known, and Local First Utah is so thankful to have them onboard as Presenting Sponsors: Harmons, Zions Bank, O.C. Tanner, Bacchus, Especially for You, Castle Creek Winery, Squatters, Nicholas & Company, Model Linen, and SanSegal.

I could fill pages talking about their respective businesses and contributions to Utah’s business community, but pages I have not. I do have a pretty great response to our survey from Harmons. So I’ll lead with that in the next installment of this series of things!

The Mandate Press shop photo courtesy: Danielle Mariott

Next up: The Thing I Just Said (and also this thing about another thing about food and stuff)

Day 3: The Final Day

It reads ominously: Day 3. Like the third day in a movie after the alien ship first occupies the expanses of the sky over the city or a virus takes hold of some remote Middlesex, Village, or Farm. Day three. Indeed there was a bit of indecision and anxiety hanging over the day as it was to be the last of our whirlwind tour through parts of southern Utah. In fact, we would only get to make a few quick stops in Boulder, Escalante, and Bryce Canyon City before finding ourselves obliged to make haste for home in time for our evening responsibilities.

Each place had its unique identity, but still felt tied to the greater whole: the unifying spirit of Local First Utah’s mission. Nowhere, perhaps, are our ideals better exemplified than in Boulder, where we awoke to a hot late spring sun.

More precisely, we awoke about seven miles down the Burr Trail, where we had securely tucked our camp the night before. We wearily found our way back to the town and set our sights on the Burr Trail Trading Post, where the coffee we drank was among the few (out of necessity) non-local ingredients (though it was appropriately sourced from Logan’s Caffe Ibis). The many crafts, essential oils, and miscellaneous goods, wares, sundries, and what-have-yous were largely all products of the community’s drive and imagination. It was certainly geared toward a tourist economy, yet it managed to retain an authenticity and tie to the people who call the high elevations of Boulder their home.

For more on the community of Boulder and, specifically, Alyssa Thompson’s Boulder Mountain Baking, please see a digital copy of the Fall 2011 edition of edible Wasatch or pick up a printed copy at one of the magazine’s advertisers.

After paying our respects at the Anasazi State Park Museum, we began our ascent up beautiful Scenic Byway 12, which soon wound its way onto a narrow ridge called The Hogback overlooking the canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Calf Creek Recreation Area. We briefly stopped by the Kiva Koffeehouse, constructed of locally sourced materials and tucked ecologically into the hillside, but soon departed, making our way along the several more extraordinary miles of the monument.

We arrived in the 1876 Mormon outpost settlement of Escalante and held a few more excellent conversations that solidified two realities: The first is that Local First Utah had a presence but there remained a divide between the local economy and the tourist economy, with no bridge between them demonstrating to the tourist economy the importance of their choices and their spending to the towns.

The second reality is that Local First Utah does want to return, but with a plan to help enable the remote areas to harness tools and resources to act independently but with the guidance of the central organization.

Once again, our limited staff and budget inhibits our dreams and our mobility, but we remain a truly statewide organization. Each community demonstrated the kind of unity and passion that we have come to expect of our unique places in all corners of our vast state, unified by common industriousness, independence, and will to persevere. The Utah family of small, locally owned businesses partnered with Local First Utah is one of the biggest networks of its kind for a reason: Utah chooses local out of respect for our state’s heritage and with the desire to see our neighbors and friends succeed.

As we passed through Panguitch on to U.S. Highway 89 en route to rejoining the masses traversing the land across Interstate 15, some of the heavy rain clouds characteristic of this year’s peculiar spring began to darken the sky. We were driving home, back into the rain and weather that was delaying the growth and green of springtime earlier this year. We realized that it had stayed clear and calm throughout our visit in Southern Utah, a place that had also seen unseasonably late and heavy precipitation.

We wished to linger longer and continue the conversation, but the timing was right. When we could return, we did not know. There is work now to be done back at the office, including, but not limited to, organizing case studies and research to further back up our mission.

But what else? How else can and should Local First Utah have an impact? The intrepid residents of Boulder and similar communities throughout Utah are increasingly remembering and demonstrating just how much is possible locally—from the food system to local energy and services, the self-sufficiency of previous generations is being reclaimed.

While our modern conveniences, manufactures, and diversions are clearly the product of the global supply chain, sent overseas for cheaper labor, lower overhead, and fewer regulations, the very least we can do is support our local vendors of these wares, ask for the best, and share what we have. Some things will never be made locally, but almost everything can be purchased from a local business. So what aren’t we purchasing locally that we can? What else are we capable of doing here that we haven’t been?

The real message of Local First Utah is independence through a thriving, energetic, and unified network of locally owned businesses and services. How can you keep more money—whether in any of Utah’s stunning southern outposts or in the sprawl of the Wasatch Front—local? Please share your thoughts below. Oh, and we’ll see you at Celebrate the Bounty!

--By Andrew Dash Gillman

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone that attended 2011's Celebrate the Bounty!

We hope you all had a wonderful time. 

Thank you once again to:

 Beehive Cheese Co, Chocolot Artisan Confections, Harmons, Liberty Heights Fresh, Meditrina, Pago, Tin Angel Cafe, Frida Bistro, Heirloom Restaurant Group, the Tequenos Factory, Wild Grape Bistro, Cali's Natural Foods, The Red Iguana, GF Squared, Les Madeleines, Blossom Fine Foods, Caffe Molise, Eatery 1025!

The Daniel Day Trio

Thank You to our 2011 Event Sponsors

Harmons, Zions Bank, OC Tanner, Bacchus Rentals, Especially For You, Squatters, Castle Creek Winery, Gastronomy Inc., Nicholas & Co., Model Linen Supply, Salt Lake City, Edible Wasatch, City Weekly, Salt Lake Magazine, SLUG magazine, Salt Lake County, The King's English, Rico Brand, The Group Real Estate, LLC, SanSegal Sportswear, Catalyst magazine, The Blended Table, ATM Machine, Momentum Recycling, The Mandate Press, Happy Day Gourmet

Congratulations to the 2011 LocalMotive Award Recipients

Ian Brandt 
Beth Bell
Heidi Rodeback

Get Involved with Celebrate the Bounty 2012

BECOME A SPONSOR

• Become a sponsor of Celebrate the Bounty and let your community know that you support local!
• Sponsorship Packages are available beginning at $2500, $1000 and $500. 
• Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  for more information on how to become a sponsor.

DONATE to the SILENT AUCTION!

• We need your support and would love to hear from all of our partners from around the state!
• Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  to donate an item(s) or package(s).

Nominate an Inspiring Local for the 3ND ANNUAL LOCALMOTIVE AWARDS

• Nomination Form (coming soon!)
• Nominations close October 1, 2012.
• The 2012 Recipients will be announced and awarded at the fundraiser.

•  Criteria for Nominations

A Special Thank You to our 2011 Event Committee

Jocelyn Kearl, Bryan Johnson, Gerardo Castillo, Scott Evans, Amy Coady, Marci Rasmussen, Rachel Hodson, Jennifer Gilroy, Amy Britt, Greta deJong, and Steven Rosenberg.

Hey! Did you hear the news? Local First Utah’s 4^th Annual Chef’s Challenge was just held on a sunny summer morning at the downtown Pioneer Farmers Market. It was a friendly yet focused competition that was divided into two parts: appetizer and entrée. But what is Local First’s investment in this challenge? Emphasis is placed on restaurants with a dedication to the local food and local farm economy. Farm-to-table. Reduced dependence upon fossil fuels and foreign oil. America. It’s local, whenever possible.

Ingredients were selected the morning of the competition, donated from some of the market’s finest purveyors. Chefs were required to use every ingredient at least once. Canyon Meadows Ranch top sirloin beef would be the highlight of the main course while eggs from Clifford Family Farms and cheeses from Beehive Cheese Company were also features menu items (and audience members got to sample their award-winning Barely Buzzed cheddar).

If I may say, Canyon Meadows is deserving of an additional shout-out, whose generous and beautiful cuts of beef were absolutely the centerpiece of the entrée competition, and we were pleased to have one of the family drop by to check in on the competition.

Other suppliers included Jacob’s Cove, Chad’s Produce, Gnome Grown Mushrooms, Hooper Farm, Castle Valley Farms, and Day Farms strawberries, the added “secret” ingredient the chefs had to incorporate. I also snagged some garlic and Walla Walla onions from Roland at Olsen Farms (who told me that this year he left his ATK job to pursue farming fulltime, adding that it’s hard work but he loves what he does, which, we’ll recall, makes it not work at all!).

In addition, your neighborhood grocer Harmons supplied those basic cooking needs, some ingredients of which may not be produced in the state of Utah, but can be sourced from local merchants: things like olive oil. But Harmons also provided the M.C. talent in the form of charismatic Bob and Randy Harmon. They also offered one of the guest judges: Chef Evan Francois. Rounding out the judging group were Christi Paulson from Slow Food Utah, Greta Balenger deJong, editor and publisher of Catalyst Magazine, and James Bennett the food critic at SLUG Magazine.

The Local First Utah Chef’s Challenge is an enduring event in large part because of its popularity at the market, but also because it is one of the clearest ways to broadcast the Local First message. Living local is sometimes best achieved by sourcing locally grown and locally produced foods.  Of course, while some food and many goods are not produced or manufactured in Utah, there are innumerable local services and service providers searchable on our local directory.

But today was about those ingredients sourced at the market. Talented chefs from Utah County’s Heirloom Group Jason Talcott and his sous chef Justin whose last name I have misplaced, Forage’s focused Akane Nakamura and Sharlie Weber, and the Tin Angel’s charismatic Jerry Liedtke and assistant, applied their skill in two intense rounds of cooking while engaging with the judges and spectators who quickly filled in around their propane-powered cooktops (supplied by Steven Rosenberg of Liberty Heights Fresh). The skill and dexterity of the chefs inspired the crowd, and the resulting dishes were clearly world-class expressions of local ingredients, with presentations ranging from eye-popping to familiar.

While all the amazing dishes were a delight to eye of everyone, the amateur or aspiring home cook could also walk away inspired and encouraged. Jason’s market omelet incorporated a wide and unusual array of local- and farm-fresh ingredients in a way that exemplifies how anyone can experience the summer market and utilize its abundance. Granted, Heirloom group’s omelet was perfectly executed and precisely presented, but their theme of simplicity deserves extra recognition. Their entrée was also praised for maximizing the widest array of ingredients yet with simple, precise execution.

The close, friendly competition clearly brought out the best of all the chefs as the judges required extra time to deliberate. Ultimately, the remarkable expressions of Tin Angel Café won the day, taking both the appetizer and the entrée competition (and our beautiful Local First Chef’s Challenge award plate).

Thank you again to all our sponsors: Harmons, Crowell Advertising, Liberty Heights Fresh, the Downtwon Alliance, O.C. Tanner, SLUG magazine, and Edible Wasatch. Thank you to the chefs, Local First Utah’s Matt Monson, Kristen Lavelett, and Joelle Kanshepolsky (and husband Andy Gotshalk), as well as the co-chairs of the board of Local First Betsy Burton and David Nimkin, who were on hand to support the cause and observe the excellent show. Thanks are also due to everyone who dropped by to see the best of Utah in action. Remember to keep choosing local, cooking local, and living local. That’s the very best expression of who we are in our unique state.

And as always, Be You. Be Utah.

Words and Photos brought to you by: Andrew Dash Gillman and the number 4.

The Moab Economy

When last we spoke, a bit of an economic divide in Moab was unfolding. There are many facets breaking down that divide, but in its simplest, gentlest form, the divide is between the seasonal, tourism-driven economy, and the year-round economy.

Some business owners provide year-round services, while others are largely only able to cater to tourism, offering goods of little or no interest to residents. The dialogue is tricky because on both sides of the conversations are legitimate business owners trying to make their living, which with many consumer goods isn’t feasible given the town’s size, hence the drift of business and purchases outside of Moab.

One hope is that some intrepid soul or brilliant entrepreneur is able to carve out a living selling necessities while also supporting themselves. That may not mean a competitively prices electronics store in which to purchase a 72” 1080p HDTV, but it could mean expanding lines of basic apparel and household needs outside of the outdoor gear that most outfitters provide. Village Market’s Mr. Washburn has seen the constraints of the economy and gas prices combine to lure in more local business, but he has also committed to sourcing local products, distinguishing his store both to residents and to tourists through dedicating a portion of its stock to the local economy.

It’s a great start. Yet the localization movement encompasses more than just food production. Moab is already harnessing healthier, renewable energy in the form of wind, a commitment that earned the city the distinction of being the Nation's First EPA Green Power Community. Maybe the next step is learning to use completely regionally available building materials in conjunction with modern building knowledge to maximize energy efficiency within households and businesses. Well, maybe if Moab were a transition town like the one depicted in The Economics of Happiness.

The Voices of Business Owners

Ultimately, Local First Utah can’t answer all the questions. But as we continued our listening- and fact-finding tour we did hear a lot of optimism. Desert Thread’s Cathy O’Connor notes, “A lot of locals really try to support us and also pay cash.” O’Connor’s colorful shop sits next to the 100% wind-powered Moab Times-Independent, though it was a somewhat recent move, part of the town’s “rent-motivated musical chairs.” The difference in rent between O’Connor’s shop just off Main Street and those whose storefronts face the main drag is astonishing. But the fact remains, most tourists simply don’t wander all that frequently off the main strip.

For O’Connor, it’s okay: “You don’t start a yarn business to get rich. But then our overhead is different too. You can sit on yarn for a long time.” That’s not to say she isn’t kept extremely busy with her business. “As a shop owner you don’t have the time to do the things Local First is doing.” And Desert Thread is one of those businesses that offers something not seasonally specific.

Around the corner, the BARKery’s Jessica Turquette has been fortunate to see her business grow though her property commands ahigher rent. But her specialty dog and cat boutique is definitely a year-round service, though obviously adventurous pets accompanying their owners into Canyon Country during the tourist season spurs a spike in business. Either way, the Farmers Market/Sam’s Club divide is apparent to Ms. Turquette too, but she acknowledges if you want, say, lady’s clothing that doesn’t say “Moab,” you’d have no choice but to pick it up on a trip out of town—even keeping a list for a special trip to Salt Lake (where people where clothes that say, “Moab.”) For many goods and some services, that may well be the only option. But who is going to drive their dog to Sam’s Club in Grand Junction when they can get everything they need in town, including a self-serve dog wash?

Making the Local Shift, where Possible

To be sure, Local First Utah’s philosophy maintains that neighborhoods thrive on diversity, and not everything can be local, let alone produced locally. All things considered, many business owners in Moab seem encouraged by the support of residents. Indeed, if more make the local shift by handling everything they can in Moab, they’ve done the most any of us can do anyway. In larger cities, where there are more options facing every consumer decision, the local shift is complicated even further by matters of price and choice. But if the next closest choice is two hours away, it may well be that the best choice is the local choice, even if it costs slightly more in Moab (which it also may not), offset by time and fuel and money diverted to unintended expenditures. As more options do become available locally, perhaps it will raise the standard of living and allow residents more time to enjoy the place most people come only to visit.

Team Outreach Spring 2011 split at the junction of Center and Main to better canvas the town in the short remaining time. While there won’t be time to mention all of our stops from this (or the morning’s work), it is worth mentioning that my afternoon’s refreshment was provided by the previously mentioned Castle Valley Creamery, whose delightful honey goat’s milk yogurt I purchased at the Moonflower Market, another partner business that is a “non-profit natural foods store featuring organic and locally grown produce, natural and organic foods, organic to go prepared deli items, and high quality supplements and personal care products.”

The staff at Moonflower was quite busy during my visit, providing ample time to photograph their commitment to the burgeoning local and regional food economy (see gallery below).

But what of that pending visit with Mr. Bob Owen at Fresh Moab Coffee? Well, we had no idea the treat that was in store for us as we stood by the Overlook Gallery peering down the dirt road, or even whether or not Mr. Owen was on hand. The ensuing discussion occupied nearly an hour, with Mr. Owen embodying several tenets of our philosophy. He was like a mouthpiece for our mission, and living proof of the benefits that come from dealing with a passionate and compassionate small business owner.

Alas, as I have already unburdened myself of a great many words on the first day in Moab alone, I shall reserve this discussion for a special edition blog post.

The sun is already lowering toward the high sandstone mesas and since Matt Monson and I had traveled several hours and talked to several business owners as well as city officials (and now the town’s restaurants were filling with patrons while many of the shops were closing down for the day), we decided we had earned ourselves a short hike. Directly surrounded by the expressive beauty of the Colorado Plateau of southeastern Utah, it’s hard not to answer the call of canyon country’s many random and wild places. It’s a place that has inspired innumerable poetic reflections but, alas, my own are not for this blog.

It would turn out that thanks to the organizational prowess of the Wayne County Business Association’s president Ted Winder, tomorrow’s schedule would be packed. For now, let’s just see if we can’t reach Hunter’s Arch…

Photos and Words: Andrew Dash Gillman

I was recently given a gift certificate to Tony Caputo’s as a reward for a job well done. Recently, I have been grappling with financial issues ranging from debilitating high-interest debt to forcing myself to eat extremely conservatively, buying only stables to supplement what currently occupies my pantry.

The latter experience is not so terrible in principle, but a range of stomach sensitivities drove me to better understand not just what was in the food that I ate, but ultimately to understand from where my food was coming. It’s a journey of nutrition that should be central to elementary education (alongside principles of ecology, but that’s another blog). The consequence of my journey is the combined need and desire to eat as fresh and local as I can afford.

“Fresh,” simply put, meant meals cooked at home with as little processed or pre-packaged as possible, or alternatively to patronize only those restaurants who know from where the majority of their food comes, and as a result can and prefer to disclose it on their menus.

“Local,” on the other hand, falls in line behind fresh, since if it can be grown or produced (ethically) in Utah, e.g., Utah’s Own, it should. The idea is to minimize the effect on my body, and on the environment.

What we have learned in recent years is that much more can be produced locally than we remembered. “Remembered” only means that the last generation or two came to rely upon the unknown supply chains sourcing from across the world for its food, a choice made because of convenience and price. Unfortunately, cheap, heavily processed foods gradually revealed their true selves, and despite claims to the contrary, are the logical reason for the increase in obesity and diabetes in America, among other diseases.

The very grid of the Wasatch Front, and in particular Salt Lake City, was based upon the premise of neighbors in tight-knit communities growing their own food and sustaining themselves as much as possible from their own land. Fortunately for the valley, there is still a lot of space in the form of backyards and small plots of undeveloped land that are gradually being claimed by advocates of community gardens. It is a gradual reversal of the trend of the mid-century American food industry, but one that is critical to the future sustainability of our society. That is broad, radical statement with which many factions disagree, but it can be approached from a different angle: if organic, local, healthy, fresh food can be produced cheaper than the boxed alternatives to which we have grown accustomed, isn’t it worth our time and effort?

Going to Tony Caputo’s is a unique experience. The Caputo’s have endeavored to stock alongside world-class global products world-class local products. In the past, that was not always possible. Import shops like Tony Caputo’s really made their name on sourcing products from the global food supply that were unmatched by local producers, because artisan American producers had for the most part gotten lost in the shuffle of mechanization. But we live in an extraordinary time where those artisans are reemerging, and offering up options that can compete with the best in the world. On any given visit, one might choose a local product, or one might choose something imported. At Caputo’s, either way, you are supporting a local business that has endeavored for years to develop direct relationships with artisan producers throughout the world.

These things are not mutually exclusive, and never were.

Chef Kyle Lore of Utah’s nU Nooz pasta says his inspiration came in part from a display documenting a turn-of-the-nineteenth century Italian immigrant who opened up a pasta shop near where the Intermodal Hub now stands. The pasta maker produced a product that combined what he could source locally, namely a hard red winter wheat, with durum semolina imported from Italy. But he labored to produce his product by hand, and offered a real local product to the larger community.

The same is true of nU Nooz today, only Chef Lore has recently supplied seeds for durum semolina to a local farmer with the hope that he will someday soon source everything locally. He should, because the production potential exists. And beyond production, of course, is preservation. Again, another story.

In the meantime, the question of my gift certificate remains. I already know I can get my local eggs, bread, pasta, and occasionally chicken. I have favorite local cheeses that I might consider. I might even splurge and buy some Creminelli cured salami. It doesn’t really matter because every choice leaves me feeling good about my decisions. I always buy from Caputo’s when I can, because I love what I can buy, and from whom I am buying, both suppliers and retailers. Most importantly is that people know that about me. That is why I was given the gift certificate.

Authors: E. Van Winkle, Andrew Dash Gillman