Jennifer Page is thrilled. After years of frustration, he feels he has found a way to move his business forward. It’s just the beginning.
Paige is the founder of The Yolk Marketplace, creator of what she calls “flavor accelerators,” a line of unique spice and herb mixes that can be added while cooking. Her company and the path leading up to creating her mix of spices follows Page’s own creative path, from careers in fashion and furniture design, to food styling, to product development and marketing for juice and chocolate companies. Thing. At one point, she attended culinary school and started working as a private chef. The more she did her cooking, the more her own blend of herbs and spices she created.
Soon she decided to share. Paige will launch her Yolk Marketplace website in early October 2022 to sell directly to consumers, and in November her blends will be added to the shelves at her Elroy’s in Monterey.
As Paige puts it, the original “main chick” was Golden Girl, a mix of turmeric, ginger, citrus peel, and more that added a bright glow to everything it touched. ‘ says Paige. There is also a party mixtape, a smoky, spicy blend of paprika, allspice, garlic, red pepper flakes, and cayenne that makes an excellent meat love. , onions, poppy seeds, salt). The picnic basket features fragrant dried herb, perfect for sprinkling over sandwiches or avocados on her toast. Kitten hugs are a sweet blend of ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom that can be added to cookies, coffee, or French toast dough.
Paige purchases the ingredients for each blend from Watsonville-based wholesaler Monterey Bay Herbs, Inc. and packs them in stubby jars.
But let’s say you want to try before you buy, or you can’t imagine how you’ll use a mix like this until you’ve tasted it. At a long-vacant concession stand in the Monterey Sports Center, it’s a pop-up with Chef David his Pasculi. There, on the weekend of February 4-5 and his 18-19, Pasculli will be serving gourmet his sandwiches made under his Sammich’d brand, with Yolk Marketplace spices his mixes taking center stage. play.
According to Paige, the partnership came easily after Pasculli messaged her on Instagram. They started talking about food and eating each other’s excitement. While each has different strengths, they share a similar passion for quality craftsmanship in the kitchen. So they decided to team up. [together] than we have ourselves.
The menu includes Curry in a Hurley (a curried chicken salad sandwich on toasted brioche with an herb blend in a picnic basket; $12), Pranzo (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and arugula on a baguette; $12), yogurt, and raspberry jam. Includes a breakfast parfait with Homemade Granola with Kitten Hug Spice Mix ($10). (Concession stands are located inside the sports center, so you must enter the gym via a membership or pass to use them.)
The Sports Center opportunity also came easier than Paige expected. After finding the concession stand closed, she asked if the municipal fitness facility was open to takeover. “It happened like one of her emails,” says Paige. “It was crazy” (and seems to have spurred the idea of a sports center – the spokesperson said every week Jim is currently working to identify future vendors. )
Meanwhile, Page and Pascri are already brainstorming ways to continue working together, including offering menus to wineries that don’t have their own food service. They also want to bring in more collaborators. For example, sandwich bread by Otto Kramm for Otto’s Bread Company. Paige was surprised that Monterey County small business owners were open to working with her, but she says she’s very happy. “There’s a lot to be gained from that camaraderie,” she says.