Wintertime always means one thing in the Weiner household: the Good Food Awards. It’s the annual ceremony in San Francisco to honor outstanding artisanal American foods. My family goes to volunteer, sample the culinary bounty and watch with pride as my daughter Sarah (the nonprofit’s founder) addresses the audience about the importance of preserving biodiversity through heritage foods. No surprise, these small-batch edibles are typically more costly than mass-produced food. But then, they’re more labor-intensive to make; as one winner quipped, “Thanks for recognizing that we chose to do it the hard way—and that the outcome was worth it.”
Almost as gratifying as my daughter’s role in providing a national platform for small-batch producers and so many others who believe that food production should be “good, clean, fair and respect the environment” is the annual presence of St. Louisans in the winner’s circle. To give you an idea of how well-represented our community is, compare Missouri’s 10 winners with New York’s nine. I talked with the Missourians—and whooped when they came up for their awards, presented by none other than Alice Waters and Nell Newman (of Newman’s Own).
Among the honorees were some accustomed to annual acclaim (Patric Chocolate and Askinosie Chocolate, both from downstate Missouri). Perennial Artisan Ales (from South City) reprised its win from last year, this time for its La Cosecha beer. Also a repeat winner, Kakao Chocolate was recognized for its raspberry goat cheese truffle. New St. Louis honorees included Kitchen Kulture, a South City purveyor that is a popular fixture at the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market. The two-person operation won for honey.
Banner Road Baking Company of Brentwood is another newbie, recognized for its original granola. The two female founders formerly were pastry chefs at Pastaria. I had bought a tin of the winning granola at the John Burroughs holiday fair, Unique Boutique. I admit that $10 is steep for 11 ounces of granola. But then I am still savoring it on top of yogurt and ice cream, because that’s what you do with special foods. You take more time to enjoy them slowly and share them with friends. Great food is just as much about community as it is taste.
