Whom You Know: Chez Peachy: Whom You Know Kicks off our Coverage of Sur la Table!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Chez Peachy: Whom You Know Kicks off our Coverage of Sur la Table!

Peachy Deegan first fell in love with Sur la Table at a Nespresso event in Manhattan. As you know we LOVE Nespresso and could not live without it. Now we love Sur la Table too! We believe they deliver superior kitchen essentials and enhancements and they are so Chez Peachy!

The Sur la Table story:
To create the best place for cooks to shop—it’s a goal that’s changed little since Sur La Table’s inception. Founded in 1972 by culinary aficionado Shirley Collins, Sur La Table was created at a time when it was difficult to find many of the premium-quality culinary tools Shirley had found on her travels.
Shirley began her dream with an intimate retail space located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, the oldest continuously operated farmers market in the United States. Now as all of you devoted Whom You Know readers know, Peachy Deegan's official religion is Boston College football and as a result we are Seahawks supporters (the original Mover and Shaker was Matt Hasselbeck back when they were at BC) but we would love this brand even if it was not from a place that had a team we love! As someone who cooks with fresh local ingredients, Shirley chose a location that made Seattle’s bounty of fresh produce and seafood easily accessible to Sur La Table customers.
Word quickly spread about the quirky little shop packed to the rafters with everything for cooks. Guided by Shirley’s culinary passion and prowess, Sur La Table’s expansive selection of hard-to-find and cutting-edge utensils soon had food enthusiasts from around the globe making a pilgrimage to Seattle.
Many successful years later, in 1995, Sur La Table was purchased by the Behnke family of Seattle (Sally Behnke, John and Shari Behnke, Carl and Renée Behnke). Kindred culinary spirits, the Behnkes soon set out to share this wonderful Seattle institution with other cities. Opening a second store in Berkeley that same year, Sur La Table has since expanded and currently operates locations throughout the United States, including one in Manhattan: Soho.
Renée Behnke’s vision for Sur La Table was to offer customers a multi-cultural culinary experience by providing them with authentic tools and serving pieces to prepare cuisines from around the world. She also wanted to offer great service from knowledgeable employees who were educated about preparation, presentation, and all the tools Sur La Table carried. Renée developed the Sur La Table Cooking Class Program to educate and energize both employees and customers. “I realized so many people never had a chance to learn cooking—simple as well as more sophisticated cooking.”
Starting with the first program in 1996, theirs is one of the largest nationwide, avocational cooking programs in the United States, with energetic and up-to-date curricula teaching tens of thousands of cooking enthusiasts a year how and what to cook. Most classes are hands-on and focus on seasonal cuisine and technique-oriented courses; skill levels range from beginner to advanced, with special courses devoted just to kids and teens. Private cooking lessons are available in all programs. We love how they go beyond just being a store: they care about quality and excellence.
Today, Sur La Table is a multimillion-dollar business with stores nationwide, a mail-order catalog, gift registry and retail Web site. Still based in Seattle, it’s owned by a group of private investors, including Freeman Spogli and the Behnke family. Carl Behnke is Chairman of the Board of Directors and Renée Behnke is President Emeritus.
More than three decades after first opening its doors, Sur La Table is the culinary mecca it set out to be. With thousands of products from vendors worldwide, it competes on a global level, attracting new devotees with its dedication to culinary diversity, innovation and authenticity.

We are so excited to being our coverage of this quality brand!

NEW YORK
MANHATTAN
• SoHo: Spring & Crosby
MANHASSET
• 1468 Northern Boulevard

CONNECTICUT

CANTON
• Shoppes at Farmington Valley

Recent Testimonials by Brand Ambassadors on their Experience with Whom You Know

"I work with Peachy Deegan because she's prolific at what she does. She's a hard worker, she's thoughtful and she's tasteful at what she writes which is very important. Peachy gets the facts correct, and just that alone is worth its weight in gold."

-Edward Tricomi, Master Stylist and Owner of Warren-Tricomi
https://warrentricomi.com/

"No one has yet to express their taste for our cuisine better than Peachy Deegan on Whom You Know. Thank you for transforming our flavor into words, unlike any other before.
Sometimes WHOM YOU KNOW, really makes a difference and Ammos Estiatorio is grateful to know Peachy Deegan!"
-
Dimitris Nakos, Founder and Owner of
Ammos Estiatorio
https://ammosnewyork.com/

“Whom You Know has done an amazing job of featuring our company over many years [seven]. Peachy has worked tirelessly to create a well-curated selection of topics and brands that are clearly of relevance to her growing audience of readers. Her articles are filled with great insights based on first-hand experience. She does her research, knows her business and is a pleasure to work with!”

-David Sasuga, Owner of Fresh Origins Microgreens
www.FreshOrigins.com

"Peachy Deegan has the pulse of the nation and highlights exceptional opinion leaders in more than 23,000 inspiring and entertaining posts. Her 100,000 twitter followers are a true testimony to Peachy’s ability to inspire, motivate and entertain. She is a feminine force to be reckoned with and an exemplary example of an influential voice in today’s world."

-Mica Mosbacher, author of the new book The Hurricane Factor: Stormside Patriots and tv political commentator

"It was an honour to be chosen for Movers and Shakers by Peachy Deegan. The questions in the interview were intelligent and insightful and I thoroughly enjoyed answering them. The reaction to the interview has been overwhelmingly positive and has helped bring my art practice to a wider audience."
-Damien Flood, Internationally Acclaimed Artist
http://www.damienflood.ie/

"We were so fortunate to hit Peachy’s radar. Her review of our Warmies was spot-on and came at a great time in our company’s early history.
Peachy has such a strong relationship with her readers. She provides honest and real comments; she is truly a trusted source in a very large circle
of consumers."
-Scott Wehrs
President
Intelex U.S.A.
http://www.intelexusallc.com/

"We at Primola love working with Whom You Know and are proud to have been a highly-ranked Manhattan restaurant by Peachy Deegan since 2012, and are featured seasonally. We appreciate the fantastic work Peachy does highlighting our cuisine with her sublime writing style and the whole neighborhood of the Upper East side. Also, we are glad that she has started a Made in Italy column! If you have the opportunity to be considered for review, we'd highly recommend working with her."
-Giuliano Zuliani, Owner of Primola Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/Primola-Canaletto-restaurants-NYC-135616799831091

"
Peachy Deegan is a gem. She is wonderful to feature our Irish brands in 'Whom You Know'! The articles are beautifully and passionately presented, bringing products and brands to life, making both relevant and fun for her many faithful followers to read. I am immensely proud for our hand-crafted products to be included in this venue!"

-
Bill Follett
President, Belleek Group North America
www.Belleek.com

"As you know from my past features, Peachy Deegan and I were in the same class at Boston College prior to either of us becoming entrepreneurs. When we played together on the BC Alumni softball team in Central Park years ago, she mentioned she could not find a great dentist in Manhattan and could often be found networking on her phone in the outfield hiding from the ball. She was my second patient ever in 2006 when I opened my dental practice; I was one of the first sponsors on Whom You Know and the first Mover and Shaker featured in 2009 and have worked with her continuously since. She's even talked her friends that are doctors into being my patients, and they subsequently send their hospital colleagues. I don't know anyone that is as great of a networker and writer as Peachy, nevermind that she is upstanding and always good for her word. Cosmopolitan Dental is so happy to be in the company of the caliber of major brands she works with today, and although she will tell you a million ways to get your teeth dirty between Peachy's Picks, Terrific Takeout and Peachy's Pantry, Peachy Deegan will tell you there is only one way to get your teeth clean!"
-Dr. Garo Nazarian, Founder and Owner of Cosmopolitan Dental
http://cosmopolitandental.com/