Thursday, April 7, 2011

salt video


Why does Secret Stash Sea Salts exist?  How did it come about?  Hope you enjoy seeing how our partnership began.  The video is raw and unscripted. 

Yet what I love most is that it gives Joe a voice. Sometimes the chef is in the kitchen too often, left behind the scenes. Just don't knock him for using the word "foodie."

Thanks to Luuvu Hoang for his vision and videography. 



Tuesday, April 5, 2011

salt news


where our cooking inspiration starts:  the salt shelf

We're bad at blogging.  No secret there.  Though this doesn't excuse our absence, we've undergone significant changes in the past 3 months.  Half of Secret Stash Sea Salts moved to San Francisco.  Being that we're still a small-scale partnership (of two people), that was a gamble for our small batch company.  How would we make it work?  Who would we hire?  How would shipping and distribution change?  

We're also both getting married!  Planning the simplest of low-key weddings can still be enough to overwhelm.  Will chef Joe cater his own wedding and bake the cake?  These are the questions swirling around our heads, at the end of the day.  Luckily, Joe met a wonderful woman, Renee, who now handles Seattle accounts and distribution.   

We're also re-modeling our website.  For those who stuck with us through shopping cart malfunctions:  thank you for your patience and understanding.  We're not tech-savvy, though we wish we were.  

Bulk sales are growing, which means we are too!  We're excited to field more interest in wholesale salt for private label and restaurant food-service.  Last month, we shipped over 200 pounds of salt!

For those who don't know us, Joe and I work jobs outside of Secret Stash Sea Salts.  When Joe isn't making salt, he's running two Seattle restaurants:  Ventana and Twist.  I'm doing media relations, consulting for restaurants, and various freelance projects.  In the spirit of keeping the salts alive, we love what we do.

Oh!  We recently finished filming a salt video too! It's a look at how our partnership began, and who we are. 

We're in a good place.  Finding our way.  Thanks for joining us.          
    


Four Seasons margarita, lavender rosemary salt


  Lovely-Rita

Spring is blooming, with feelings of Happy Hour in the air.  Longer days and warmer nights beckon for a cocktail with friends.  We're getting ours on at Art Restaurant and bar at the Seattle Four Seasons Hotel.  Bellying up to the bar means a Lovely-Rita with bar star Renee.     

Fresh cucumber muddled in a margarita with Reposado tequila. Finished with Lavender Rosemary sea salt.  Wanna shake it up at home? 

Recipe:

2 oz Herradura Reposado Tequila
.75 oz Cointreau
3 cucumber wheels
1.5 oz sweet and sour
Lavender Rosemary sea salt
lime wedge

Method:


1. Rim tall glass with Lavender Rosemary sea salt.
2. Muddle 2 slices cucumber with a pinch of lavender rosemary salt in a mixing glass.  Add liquid ingredients and ice.
3. Shake and pour into prepared glass. Finish garnish with remaining cucumber wheel and the wedge of lime.


Bartender Renee will knock your socks off.