Field Roast is the Real Deal

A new study tested people's perceptions of food based on their value systems - for instance meat-eaters were given vegan sausages and told they were meat and rated them tasting great. When told what they were eating was vegan they said it didn't taste as good even if what they were eating was then animal meat!

Here is their synopsis:
We suggest that consumers assess the taste of a food or beverage by comparing the human values symbolized by the product to their human value priorities. When there is value-symbol congruency, they experience a better taste and aroma and develop a more favorable attitude and behavior intention; incongruence has theopposite effect. Participants in two taste tests were told the correct identity of aproduct or misinformed. Participants who endorsed the values symbolized by theproduct (that they thought they were tasting) evaluated the product more favorably.

This study has fueled some mighty blogging, such as this link, and this link.

Field Roast would just like to add its opinion!!

First, so many comments assume that all vege sausage is made from soy. While the majority of them are, Field Roast is not!! We are 100% soy free, which, for many is a blessing because so much of vegan food is based around soy, and allergies aside, one knows that eating too much of anything is not good.

Second, why is meat that is not made from animals "fake"?? We understand some companies like to make fake versions of animal meat, but there is something strange about food being fake. Field Roast is REAL food, and we want to change the perception of what meat is. Traditional definitions of the word meat first label it is as solid food. The texture of Field Roast is meaty and satisfying but it is made from grains and not animals. And we don't want to pretend it comes from animals because that is just weird. Our slogan is 'flesh of the earth'.

Anyway, back to the study, it is strange how science needs to prove things that thousands of years of real (not fake!) life can tell us. Food is about involvement and passion and perception. We like to think that food is an experience that brings people together. We are happy to be a product that can satisfy a table full of people who may be vegan, meat-eater, flexitarian, or all. Next time you serve up Field Roast do your own little psychological experiment. Tell the tasters what they are about to eat is real food, from the earth, and there is nothing fake about it. We bet it'll rank high on deliciousness! ;)

Field Roast Folks: Dante's Inferno Dogs

You may already know that on the corner of NW Market & 22nd in Ballard, WA sits a shiny cart selling dogs....FROM HELL! Sure, they have the regular animal sausages, brats and dogs...but they also have the good sense to carry Field Roast Sausages!

They buy both our Apple Sage and Mexican Chipotle sausages...which is a bit strange since the Italian is usually a shoe in for this type of gig. "One that's hot, and one that's not" is what Dante said, and we agree on this philosophy. Mexican Chipotle is the hottest veggie sausage in town. In fact, we are so proud of the spicy, unforgettable heat that when we are asked by those not so turned on by the spice to turn it down a notch, we simply reply "no." There is no way this sausage is getting a washed out make over. It has worked too hard to get this spicy, and we have got to respect that.

Now the Apple Sage, is not spicy. Rather sweet we'd say. And I bet it would be great from Dante's cart with a heep of jalepanos on top and cream cheese from that infamous gun! But that is just my opinion! Are you a fan of Dante's? Go here and buy a shirt. They are really great people :)

On the Menu: The Vegetarian Grill is calling!

Summer took its sweet ol' time getting here this year. June in Seattle was still “colder than Siberia!” The summer grilling season is in full swing now, and thus the time has come for vegan picnic events and community Vegfests! We are blessed to have an active fan base, people involved in compassionate gatherings and educational events for vegetarian food and living. We donate to events when invited, and hope that our tasty sausages make a point in case. Meat does not have to be made from animals!

Ellwood Thompsons’ Natural Market in Richmond, VA has been a customer of Field Roasts’ for about a year now, and since the beginning they have grown to be a favorite of ours on the East Coast. Their people are super nice and down to earth. They serve our deli slices in their deli and sell the whole retail line of sausages, deli slices, and Celebration Roast in the dairy section year round. They are annually involved in the little VegFest in Richmond, and this year asked us to partner up with them for a sausage grilling booth. We sent signs, sausages and some love to them and it looks like they had a great time! It is really nice to feel like we are well taken care of on the shelf and at such an event. I hear that Richmond, VA isn’t the most veggiest place on the map, but their pocket of people is growing J Thanks to Mandy for making it happen and sending the photos!

The Farm Sanctuaries, in both NY & California held their annual 4^th of July Pignics, and this year drew over 200 people to their farms. You can see all of their extraordinary work on their website (it is quite extraordinary indeed!) Thanks to Liz and Carolyn for getting us involved!

From the 25-27^th of July, Post Punk Kitchen is hosting an event called Vegan the Gathering II: the Veganing that lasts three days, and involves “food, camping and port a potties” at the Willamette Mission State Park. This Saturday I met up with Isa Chandra, author and chef of Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes take over the World (so fantastically yummy!), and Veganomicon co-written by Terry Hope Romero, to exchange Field Roast for vegan cookbooks at the Food Fight Grocery in Portland. The sausages will feed the event goers for the weekend. Isa gave us a stack of books! Including 3 copies of the newest Veganomicon! Thanks again to Isa and the rest of the Post Punk folks, we will put them to good use! !

Our new location

Field Roast has moved out of our old address and into a new one! We are now located at 1440 Jackson St S in Seattle's historic International District!

Our new building is an old dairy, built in 1925. Over the years it has housed many a food manufacturer, and we are proud to continue the tradition. We love to think about how many people have worked here, making delicious food and how many people across the country (and world?!) have eaten the food made here. This building holds charm, and spirit and we feel it is much better to use existing buildings rather than tearing them all down and building new ones, or leaving them empty and neglected.

A few people did try to dissuade us from moving into the building because it was so old, but we have done major renovations to restore it to its wonderful splendor. And those people have since visited the site and have been amazed! ;)

Part of the Field Roast philosophy is to nurture and nourish and to honor traditions. We feel we have done this with this building, and there is so much vibrant energy flowing through this space we know we made a great decision to move here. The way the interior has been designed means the office and production are connected - something which is rare in food manufacturing. We have huge windows that look right into production and all roads flow through the heart of our place, our kitchen!

Sharing meals and common space is a huge value of ours - connectivity through food! Thank you to everyone who has made this move possible. We needed a new space because we are producing so much more product to meet demand all across the country. Now with increased production and storage space finding Field Roast in more places is becoming a reality. It is amazing to think of all the people all over preparing and sharing a meal with Field Roast. Thanks for carrying on the tradition with us!

photos:
1. 1440 S Jackson St, 1925. Source: Museum of History and Industry.
2. View of the Olympic Mountains looking down Jackson St from our parking lot.

Top Dog

If you find yourself late-night in Berkeley or Oakland California craving a really tasty sausage, then head into Top Dog! They've been selling our sausages for the last year or so.

We are really proud to have our sausages on their menu as Top Dog is really committed to quality and flavor. Top Dog, which has been around since 1966, "grew out of a boy's love of sausage, a staple in his German immigrants' New York home over the WWII years... As in that boy's world, largely gone by, we continue to seek out the best sausage from the best sausage-makers who, born to a tradition of taste, we believe, tend to serve it better."

Field Roast is honored to be the veggie option in a store which values tradition, taste, and authenticity. We believe Field Roast stands up to the taste of any artisan animal meat sausages because of our attention to robust flavors. Field Roast Italian sausages have chunks of red pepper, plenty of garlic and red wine.

In fact, we have had many compliments about how our sausages are as tasty and satisfying as any traditional animal meat sausage. So whether you are hardcore vegan, a flexitarian, or even a fully-fledged carnivore you can look to Field Roast for a "top dog"!

Sausages Forever!

Summer is the perfect time to be grilling Field Roast sausages on the barbeque! It seems that every year, since we introduced them in 2005, more and more people are catching on to them! We get compliments from vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and even carnivores about how delicious our sausages are. The fact they are enjoyed by all members of the food-eating world really warms our hearts!

Each year for the past three years, our sausage sales have doubled, and we finally had to move from our old location to increase our production and storage area. We are still in Seattle, and actually moved closer to downtown to the historic International District, a place with a rich history and vibrant present. (Read about our new facility and our philosophy behind our choice of location here.)

Field Roast is made fresh in small batches and now we are making about 30 batches a week!! Thank you to all who choose and enjoy our vegan sausages. We are happy to be part of your summertime funtime!