Whom You Know is Thrilled to Inaugurate Rising Bakeries with Brod Kitchen Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Co-Owners of Brod Kitchen Hugo Uys and Monette DeBotton
Fresh Origins is America’s leading producer of Microgreens and Edible Flowers. Combining the benefits of an ideal climate with a deep passion for quality and innovation, Fresh Origins products are sought after by the finest restaurants and top chefs. The farm is located in the picturesque rolling hills of San Diego County, where the near perfect weather allows for production and harvest all year. Fresh Origins produces almost 400 Microgreens, Petitegreens, Edible Flowers, Shoots, Tiny Veggies™ and related items. Many are not available anywhere else, with new introductions nearly every month. Fresh Origins products are on top of the finest cuisine in the world! Fresh Origins supplies distributors of specialty produce who serve fine dining restaurants and resorts nationwide. There are also a few online sources of their products available to private chefs and home cooks. Read our first Culinary Queen interview with Kelly Sasuga:
For more information about Fresh Origins, visit their website at
We are thrilled to inaugurate our column: Rising Bakeries with Brod Kitchen! Its culinary pursuits are inspired by Scandinavia, and in Manhattan especially as we are approaching Game 7, you only need to look as far as
Henrik Lundqvist to know that this city loves that region. Henrik is King after all. (If you are not in Manhattan and don't like hockey, Henrik is the star goaltender from Sweden.)
You also may not know what Brod means: it is the word for bread in Danish and Swedish and every day Brod Kitchen makes their artisan creations with expertise and love. They take great care in a slow fermenting process over two days to break down the sugar content so their bread is better for you. Not only is it better but also it tastes better. Owners Hugo Uys and Monette DeBotton could not have been more pleasant and professional, and this is the first time we've worked with them. Hugo hails from South Africa and Monette is from London, however, they both have traveled extensively to Scandinavia and are involved with culinary professionals there. A brief geography reminder: Scandinavia is: Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway.
We visited on a hot day and the moment we walked in they greeted us with enthusiasm with water options, which was appreciated.
We love that their salads are made to order. We opted for the greens: romaine, mesclun and spinach and added the toppings: red onions, beets, mushrooms cucumber, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. They listened and put the dressing on the side, and you should know they make all their dressing on premises so it is better. Our options were: lemon, pomegranate and onion. We liked the onion the best. The salad was fresh, arranged beautifully, and exactly what you'd want a gorgeous salad to be!
Then we segued into savory.
We next tried the Salmon Smorrebrod.
Fresh salmon of high quality is served on their wonderful rye bread with cream cheese and lemon. It's a sincerely refreshing bite for a hot day! It was our favorite item and we'd eat this every hour on the hour when the clock gongs, and not be sick of it by bedtime.
We like Roast Beef just as much as salmon, and that ringed true at Brod Kitchen as well. Succulent roast beef stands up to the rye bread of Brod Kitchen with winning creme fraiche and horseradish. Just delicious, and we loved it. We preferred the savory over the sweet, but still did like the sweet.
As a follow up to savory, we tried first the Blueberry and Ricotta Smorrebrod served on a ginger biscuit with sweet ricotta and blueberries and next the Pistachio and Apricot Smorrebrod. The crisp crunch of the biscuit was completely satisfying and everything employed was of top-notch quality.
Of course, we were most interested in the bread itself and you should be too. We are still thinking about which we liked best. We began with the Peasant Sourdough, which was just bursting with homemade goodness. Every slice is to be savored and we suggest you eat it plain first to enjoy just how great it is and how much better it is from ordinary bread. Then you can add butter or olive oil. Or your favorite Vermont Harvest spread of course.
The artisan quality is unsurpassed and you don't see this at your local grocery store. You feel like someone in your family is baking you bread!
If we had to pick one, we must admit Peachy's personal tastes go towards rye. Please meet the rye! It was great for sandwiches and this rye was seedless. The crust of all three breads was standout, and if you like crusty bread this has your name all over it. Also, for the person that has everything, maybe bring them bread from Brod Kitchen as a gift. They don't have this yet probably!
The most interesting bread we chose was the Olive Rosemary Sourdough which had superb flavor that rocked our tastebuds. They are not at all stingy with the olives and we love the beautiful design on the outside of the bread. Our hats off to the rosemary accent especially which we loved.
Brod Kitchen is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
We can't wait to see what Hugo and Monette do next!
