Sauerkraut and shrubs bring coveted food awards to South Sound
Two local specialty food makers won coveted Good Food Awards in San Francisco in January.
Olympia sauerkraut maker OlyKraut and Tacoma elixir producer Reverend Al’s Bona Fide Potents took home the medals, which recognize food quality as well as a company’s social responsibility and environmental standards.
“They’re trying to make the world better, and they’re trying to do that with business and with food,” said OlyKraut founder and CEO Sash Sunday.
Over 2,800 artisanal food items were entered in the competition held in San Francisco. Fewer than 200 were awarded. The food items are judged in a blind tasting.
OlyKraut
OlyKraut is delivered to stores and farmers markets full of living, probiotic organisms, otherwise known as “good” bacteria. Since its creation in 2008, the business has expanded throughout the Pacific Northwest.
“We’re mostly West Coast,” Sunday said of her distribution. “We’re sourcing most of our produce in Washington.”
The company is B Corps certified, Sunday said. The rating, administered by B Lab, verifies that a for-profit company exceeds in social and environmental factors, including sustainability, income inequality and community impact.
“It’s a really rigorous assessment,” Sunday said. “You have to re-certify every three years.”
OlyKraut won Good Food Awards in the pickle category for its Eastern European and Smoke & Kale kraut varieties.
The company also sells seasonal kale varieties, brine, pickles, chili paste, fermented hot sauce and spicy garlic cream cheese. Last year, those products were found at farmers markets in Olympia and Tacoma.
“The farmers markets are the places where you can get every single thing we make,” Sunday said.
The Good Food Awards make Sunday and her crew feel appreciated.
“Our businesses, for many of us, struggle because we are choosing to spend more money on things that reduce our margins and makes it harder to pay people the kind of wages that would keep them around,” she said.
OlyKraut can be found in dozens of retails locations in Pierce and Thurston counties.
Reverend Al
Albert McMurry spends his days extracting the essences of fruits and herbs into elixirs and shrubs for his 5-year old Tacoma-based business, Reverend Al’s Bona Fide Potents.
In January, he received his third consecutive Good Food Award.
McMurry can often be found selling his potents at the Proctor Farmers Market. New customers come by for samples. Established customers often want to know about the latest product.
McMurry visits his produce providers at the source.
“I have a good relationship with all my farmers,” McMurray said. “I don’t want to worry about that in the middle of the night.”
McMurry won his award for his Strawberry Peppercorn shrub. Past awards have gone to his Cucumber, Lime & Mint and The Purple One, made from blueberries and other ingredients.
A shrub is a mixture of fruit, sugar and vinegar.
“I love seeing the look on someone’s face whenever they first try a shrub,” he said. “The reaction is so varied but there’s always a reaction.”
Some don’t like the vinegar-like taste. Others can’t get enough.
“Their eyes get wide and they’re like more ... more,” he said.
He gets his cucumbers from Wild Hare Organic Farm, and berries come from Sidhu Farms. Both farms are in Puyallup.
The concoctions can be used to make flavored seltzer water, cocktails, dressings, mignonettes and other sauces.
At first a one-man operation, McMurry now has two part-time employees. Sales are up 20 percent year over year.
Bone Fide Potents can be found in Tacoma at Proctor Farmers Market, Delightful Neighborhood Market and Central Co-op.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 5:25 AM.
