Spotlight on: FareStart

We were really happy to see this great review of Seattle café FareStart, a special customer of ours, in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

FareStart is a special customer of ours, not because we play favorites, but because FareStart was in fact founded by Field Roast founder, Chef David Lee!

David founded FareStart in 1988 (under the name Common Meals) “whose mission was to serve meals to Seattle’s homeless shelters and disadvantaged populations” (from the FareStart history page. Read more here).

After a few years, David saw the value in not only serving meals to the homeless but teaching them skills needed to work in the food industry.

Now a non-profit organization, FareStart hosts an intensive sixteen week training course, the café a part of this training. Over 85% of graduates are employed within 90 days of graduation!

So if you are in Seattle, please stop by this extra special café for lunch, and try a delicious vegan “Founder’s Field Roast Sandwich”, in honor of David's great work with FareStart and Field Roast! As mentioned in the review, the "Founder's Field Roast Sandwich" contains our Hazelnut Herb Cutlet, served crispy with arugula, tomato, vegan fig mayonnaise and Dijon mustard on potato bread! Yum! You can also find Field Roast on a Veggie Rueben, one of our personal favorite ways of serving Smoked Tomato slices!

Farestart’s full menu can be found by clicking here.

Cultivate Research

I had lunch with Che Green of Cultivate Research the other day at the Vegan Garden near our new facility on Jackson Street in Seattle (stay tuned). Che has spent years thinking about and working with vegetarian/vegan issues and market research. In fact, in his previous life, Che worked for Microsoft as a market researcher. His latest project is really a culmination or synthesis of all the work that he has been doing all along. Besides having a body of pertinent analysis regarding vegetarian trends at it's finger tips, Cultivate also conducts ongoing research, market testing and the like. They also produce a free e-newsletter called The Grapevine, which includes new research results, effective marketing strategies and the latest news re vegetarian foods. The first issue was great....and not (only) because it featured an interview with me!

I highly recommend connecting with these folks if you are into learning more about vegetarian dining trends, what motivates people to eat veggie food, etc. If you'd like more info and/or to subscribe to their newsletter you can go to www.cultivateresearch.com

Recipe: Grilled Sausage Skewers

Our sausages sizzle on the grill, that is no news. But take a look at what David Lee cooked up in the Field Roast kitchen. Vegan Sausage Skewers that should get on the grill in your back yard this spring and summer!

For these we used the Italian Sausage, cut on the bias…alternated with sweet red pepper and zucchini.

On the Chipotle Mole Skewers our spicy Mexican Chipotle Sausages are speared between chunks of sweet onion, green bell pepper, and smothered in a rich mole sauce.

Smoked Apple Sage Sausage is paired on the skewer with mushrooms, and fresh kale!

You could dream up your own skewer or use these ideas to make a simple vegan BBQ a real hit! Let us know what you come up with, we would love to hear about your Field Roast adventures.

From our family to yours!

Portland VegFest

Field Roast is gearing up for another festival - The Portland VegFest!!

We will have a booth, with free samples of course, and Field Roast inventor Chef David Lee will also be giving a demo on Friday May 9th at 4.30pm in the chef demo room about common veggie meat making techniques!

So if you are in the Portland area on May 9th and 10th, be sure to stop by the VegFest, taste some Field Roast, see David's demo and have an amazing couple of days!

Feeling Festive!

Event season is in full swing! On the last weekend in March we got to see all our old friends and make some new ones at the Seattle VegFest. This coming weekend Jennifer will be in Denver for their VegFest, and us left in Seattle are gearing up for the Green Festival!

At the Seattle Green Festival you will be able to feast on delicious vegan gyros made with tasty Field Roast grain meat, as well our sizzling sausages on the bun!

We are really proud to be part of the Green Festival – they don’t just let any old food vendor participate. No unsustainable, earth polluting, junk ‘food’ here. Just healthy, sustainable, eco-minded companies – like us!! :)

We value all relationships – with you, with our employees, with the living earth. Why waste precious land and resources cruelly mass-farming animals, when delicious flesh of the earth – grains, legumes, vegetables and spices, can feed humans directly in a more harmonious and sustainable way?

At the Green festival:

Take in more than 350 exhibits:

• Shop for everything from natural home and health products to solar panels and Fair Trade gifts and crafts.
• Hang out with your kids as they play and learn in Organic Valley’s Green Kids’ Zone.
• Enjoy organic dining and sample local beers & wines.
• Explore developments in green education, social investing and independent media.
• Learn about City resources for energy conservation, green power, climate action and more at the City of Seattle Pavilion.

See more than 125 dynamic speakers on 5 stages:

• Find inspiration from stories of collective and personal successes.
• Discover green techniques and strategies during great how-to workshops.
• Network with sustainable neighborhood groups.
• Enjoy a diverse program of live local music and performance.

All this has gotta make a person hungry! See you there!

Where: Washington State Convention & Trade Center
800 Convention Place Seattle, WA

When: Sautrday April 12^th 10AM - 8PM and Sunday April 13^th 11AM - 6PM

How much: $15. $10 for seniors, students, bike riders, public transit riders, see here for details.