More than ever, food matters, from what goes into making a dish to how its ingredients are produced. Once a year in San Francisco, the Good Food Awards, founded by St. Louis native Sarah Weiner, celebrates American artisans who create sustainable, authentic and delicious products. This year, two local companies, Kaldi’s Coffee and Kakao Chocolate, took home the prestigious award.
Kaldi’s, which opened its first cafe in Clayton’s DeMun neighborhood in 1994, won for its Ethiopian Dama. “It’s a really delicate, light coffee, but you still get those traditional chocolate flavors, and it has hints of orange zest and jasmine,” says Anthony Auger, roaster and head of quality assurance. And because it’s also certified organic, it won a Gold Seal, a special designation highlighting certified organic products that not only taste great, but also are made responsibly. Kakao’s Good Food winner is a Turkish Coffee Truffle made with an exotic mixture of String Bean coffee, roasted locally, and cardamom, as well as butter, cream and chocolate, explains company founder Brian Pelletier. “The cardamom is a cool spice that’s used in a lot of Indian cooking,” he says. “It really accentuates the flavor of the coffee.”
What both companies have in common is a commitment to producing high-quality products using the finest ingredients. Kaldi’s works to source all its coffees sustainably, and believes that treating the coffee growers fairly is integral to procuring a great-tasting brew, Auger says. “The older coffee model was to buy for as low a price as possible, and to roast the beans dark to cover up any bad flavors,” he explains. “But quality coffee can be complex and beautiful. Our business plan came from the idea that coffee itself can be delicious, unique and complex—and the best way for us to deliver that is to help out the coffee producers as much as possible.”
Kaldi’s Ethiopian Dama is considered a Relationship Coffee, a title that means Kaldi’s has developed a relationship with the farmer, who uses sustainable agricultural practices and is receiving at least 15 percent more than he or she would with a product designated merely ’fair trade.’ “We go to the farms ourselves,” Auger explains. “We meet the farmers, the coffee pickers, the people who work in the mills, and we talk to the producers and negotiate prices to give them a higher premium than they could get with fair trade or anything else.”
Ever since its founding in 2008, Kakao Chocolate also has had lofty goals. To make its beautiful, hand-dipped creations, Kakao uses all-natural products and, when possible, organic and fair-trade ingredients. “Getting organic sugar and chocolate would be cost-prohibitive, but we use cane sugar instead of beet sugar to avoid GMOs,” Pelletier says. Local ingredients often find their way into Kakao’s sweets, including honey, beer and coffee, as well as lavender from Eureka’s Winding Brook Estates. “We always try to get the best possible ingredients,” Pelletier says. “We’re hand-dipping pieces in chocolate one at a time—there’s a lot of love that goes into it.”
Entering the Good Food Awards was a natural fit for the self-taught confectioner, who was a 2014 runner-up for his Gazpacho Pates de Fruits, a candy made with tomatoes and peppers from local farmers markets. “We think this award and the people winning it are important,” he says. “People are paying attention to what they eat, and they’re starting to understand that food isn’t just a commodity. There’s a reason why some food is cheap and the truly great food costs more—because great care and great ingredients go into it.”
[basic kakao ganache recipe]
dark chocolate:
11 oz dark chocolate
8 oz heavy cream
2 oz butter, melted
milk chocolate:
5 oz heavy cream
13 oz milk chocolate
2 oz butter, melted
>> Chop chocolate and place in a medium bowl.
>> Heat heavy cream and butter over medium heat, watching carefully.
>> When it just begins to simmer, pour cream over chocolate. Wait one minute, then stir to emulsify. Add melted butter and stir to emulsify again.
To flavor the ganache:
>> Dry flavor (coffee, flavored tea, spices, etc.): Add dry ingredients to cream and steep; strain out any solids.
>> Liquid flavor (extracts, liquor or liqueur): Reduce cream by 2 oz.; add 3 oz. flavor after butter, and stir to emulsify.
Pictured: Anthony Auger and Brian Pelletier
Photos: Bill Barrett
