Frog Hollow Farm is unlike any other farm, in that we ship our products nationwide, we sell at the farmers markets, we have a CSA, and also a café in the San Francisco Ferry Building. One of my main focuses this year is to reinvigorate our Ferry Building Café by bringing in new menu items through partnerships and in house product development. For the past couple months I have been working with a small artisan food company in Berkeley to develop a line of salads for the Café. All of the salads will feature Frog Hollow Farm products and will be pre-packaged. Check out the story of our new partners, and please come visit us at the Café!
Anthony Jones, the founder and Executive Chef for 8FIFTEEN and his wife Gabby moved to the Bay Area from Brooklyn a couple years ago to get a fresh start. “8FIFTEEN” is a reference to the day that Anthony and Gabby met. Gabby and Anthony met on August 15, 2003, during the two-day blackout that struck New York and much of the Eastern seaboard. It was a magical day when everyone took a break and hung out with friends. Without electricity, many restaurants were forced to grill up food on barbecues and give it away to the public. It was a day of camaraderie and love built around food, friends and beer.
Anthony had been working as an Attorney in New York but with the move to the west coast he decided to take a leap and follow his passion in food. While he and Gabby were making the journey to the West Coast they came up with Sandwich manifesto, which details the making of the perfect sandwich. From this manifesto, the beginning of a career and a dream was born -8FIFTEEN.
8FIFTEEN started as strictly sandwiches. The business gained recognition by selling at various farmers markets and fairs within the Bay Area. The first market that 8FIFTEEN took part in was the Kensington Farmer’s Market where they learned how to prep ingredients ahead of time and were able to test their products. Since Kensington, 8FIFTEEN has been a part of multiple Farmers Markets and fairs including: Alameda Point Antiques Fair, Treasure Island Flea Market, and the Patchwork Show in Oakland.With great demand for their product to be available on a more regular basis, 8FIFTEEN has partnered with Rafa’s Cafe where they sell their sandwiches pre-packaged.
Knowing that 8FIFTEEN has experience packaging their products and has the ability to make amazing things happen with seasonal ingredients, we asked them if they could try their hand in preparing salads for Frog Hollow Farm Café. They eagerly accepted the challenge and came up with some sensational products. For the past several months Anthony and his team have been working hard to develop salads to be served exclusively at Frog Hollow Farm’s retail location in the San Francisco Ferry Building. The salads are inspired by classic recipes but have a modern twist. They are artfully composed highlighting Frog Hollow Farm ingredients with bright and robust flavors. We can’t wait for you to try them!
There will be three salads to hit the shelves next Wednesday (7/23). First we have the Spiced Egg salad that will be served as an entrée. The 8FIFTEEN version is not your average egg salad. It is made with Frog Hollow Farm extra virgin olive oil, little gem lettuce, parmesan croutons, cilantro, lime, and topped with Frog Hollow Farm tomatoes. This is a nourishing vegetarian option filled with protein and plenty of vitamins and minerals. Next we have two side salads that can either be eaten as a snack or enjoyed alongside Frog Hollow Farm’s delicious empanadas for a satisfying lunch. The lentil beet salad has pickled onions, parsley and Frog Hollow Farm dried apricots and is drizzled orange vinaigrette. Another side salad option is the grilled corn salad with legendary Frog Hollow Farm peaches, poblano peppers from our up and coming vegetable garden at the farm and some feta cheese. Anthony will be offering tastings of the new salads at the Café on Friday, July 25th from 12noon-2pm. So do come by and meet the chef!
Quote from Becky about 8fifteen:
“We are very excited to work with 8fifteen Comestibles because they share our love for good food. Their culinary creativity is a good match for our no-compromise attitude towards growing legendary produce at Frog Hollow Farm. I am confident that they will artistically showcase our ingredients in every food item coming out of their kitchen.”