Category Archives: food

igourmet was sold and it’s not the same company, so caveat emptor.

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Igourmet was sold recently and it’s obviously NOT the same company.

As a foodie, and someone who likes to entertain sometimes, I was delighted when I discovered this company years ago. I could get cheeses I literally could not get anywhere else even from DiBruno Brothers.

For years until today, I had used them happily, without incident.

But apparently they were sold at some point this year and it’s a hot mess.

Spencer Chesman, the founder and CEO of igourmet, became the president of Innovative Gourmet, a subsidiary of IVFH (Innovative Food Holdings) around 2018 when IVFH acquired iGourmet. Spencer’s mother, Marsha, founded International Gourmet in the 1960s as a catalog-based retailer of imported cheeses. Spencer launched igourmet.com in 1997, and his sister Tracy Chesman joined him in the business. However who knows how long the actual Chesman family lasted after their 2018 acquisition, right? If you pay attention to businesses , you know how these deals go – usually the company selling out to another company will keep some key employees in place for about a year and then once they think there is a transition that’s complete the company that acquired the original company will often just axe people.

Innovative Food Holdings (IVFH) sold the igourmet.com business this year. Apparently the deal closed around September 2, just my luck. It was purchased by an undisclosed buyer who should continue to hide my current experience was so bad. I doubt I am the only one.

Sampford Advisors acted as financial advisor for Innovative Food Holdings, Inc. Erben M&A Advisors acted as financial advisor for Innovative Food Holdings, Inc. Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP acted as legal advisor to Innovative Food Holdings, Inc. and Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Cole & Boniske, P.A. acted as legal adviosr to iGourmet LLC. I hope they all enjoy the fees they earned because they just put this company in the toilet.

I’m seriously so angry I could scream. I want to know why I spent all that time on the phone with a customer service representative, who assured me that my order would be shipped on the CORRECT date because your new updated website has many bugs in it that I am receiving half of my order today weeks ahead of time?

The backstory is I had been forced to call customer service and not just place my order because their website has so many screw ups. You couldn’t see descriptions of cheeses on the website yet if you put the name of the cheese into Google their description on the website showed up. Also you have the option of delivering immediately or buying now and delivering at a future date within a few weeks. Only when I chose my date in October, it processed as immediately. So I had to call. Oh yes they told me, it was corrected and will be fine.

Fine my arse.

They can’t guarantee that the items I received this morning are going to be fresh by the time October 8th rolls around and the other thing is they didn’t even keep items cold reaching me. Everything was VERY warm including what were supposed to be ice packs.

Does today, September 22, LOOK like October 7th ship for October 8th delivery date?

They owe me replacements on the correct shipping date. And immediate refunds if items are out of stock. They charge a fortune now for shipping and they can’t even get things here cold or even chill to the touch.

Seriously they DID NOT even get things here OVERNIGHT or the cold packs would still have some substance to them and actually be cold or chilly. Extreme perishables arrived WARM. That skeeves me out.

What a mess. And the joke Is on me for spending money with the company. It’s not the same company obviously.

Until now, I had been a happy customer for years. I referred them to countless people.

Caveat emptor and if anyone knows exactly purchased iGourmet, I am all ears. This was a $300+ order and it’s a FAIL.

it was blues & bbq at farm boy in malvern last evening.

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Blues & BBQ last evening at Farm Boy BBQ at 625 N. Morehall Road Malvern, PA 19355 was super fun! It was BYO if you wanted an adult beverage, and some people did and some didn’t. It was a great mix of people of all ages and families.

Home

We had a great meal and it was fun to have a great summer BBQ meal and listen to music. We had steak, which is kind of a weekend thing there.

It was totally civilized. And really enjoyable! Thanks Farm Boy!

We hope they do more of these weekend Blues & BBQ so I will be keeping an eye on their social media.

so many questions….still

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Sigh…I am really conflicted about posting this. What “seeds” or what kind of seeds are being planted exactly?

One is because I know all of the horrible comments which will be directed towards me which is total BS anyway. Questioning this does not make me a racist but it does make you wonder if I would be so judged if the color of my skin was different? There I just said it. It has to be said because if this person looked exactly like me I would still be asking the same questions.

Secondly, because I actually like U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan and will be voting for her like I have since I first met her a few years ago. BUT this HAS to be looked at.

I found comments on Chrissy Houlahan‘s Facebook page that I’ve taken screenshots of because it PROVES people have concerns and questions doesn’t it? A lot of you always wish to lay this at my feet and call me horrible names and I feel the need to point out LOTS of people are concerned aren’t they? And then there are questions on FJ Instagram and if you deviate from the “message” the sycophants rear up and it always gets ugly fast and the fauxmer does nothing to ask for civility does she?

Farmers in Chester County are up in arms about this ridiculously large grant ($657,000) given to a FAUXMER with a track record NOT of fabulous crops and farming practices but for grand plans that are a lot of buzz words, glam shots, and PUBLICISTS and what farmers do you know who have publicists? Most of the farmers I know are trying to figure out how to make their money last until their crops come in and make improvements on their farm and survive. They work from before dawn to well past dusk don’t they?

But the other thing is this is $657,000 of taxpayer dollars and this person is NOT someone who has proven they can do anything other than talk a good game or do I have this all wrong? Shouldn’t you need a proven track record for this kind of money?

And can we talk about the grant application which has an address of 6730 Germantown Ave Philadelphia PA 19119. That is no longer a place that Farmer Jawn has a leasehold on and it has been quite a while. The business now there is NOT affiliated with her or the Farmer Jawn and Friends Foundation Fund or any of her gigs – no store, no tea, no honey, no food no nothing.

I don’t understand how an application could be sent to Washington DC without viable addresses. And I also don’t understand why Westtown School didn’t apply for the grant because they actually own the property and isn’t that ODD ? Usually if your information isn’t 100% stand-up on an application for something like this you get rejected right? So what’s with the special treatment?

📌 “We are incredibly grateful to Representative Chrissy Houlahan for her unwavering support and successful advocacy in securing a federal grant of $657,000 for FarmerJawn. This generous funding will enable us to renovate our aging barn and incorporate hydroponic facilities, allowing us to expand our mission of teaching essential agricultural skills and entrepreneurship qualities to the Chester County community. With this investment, FarmerJawn will continue to thrive as a vital contributor to the local agricultural landscape, offering innovative, sustainable solutions and opportunities for continued growth,” said Brandon Ritter, COO of FarmerJawn.📌

So wait, who is this person?

Where are the form 990s? Why is the entry on PA’s Charity site still incomplete? They got non-profit status in like 2022 right? So there are employees?

This grant recipient has had all these ideas and plans, a lot of which I HONESTLY think are great but where is the execution? The inclusiveness? And the great James Beard Foundation gave her an award? For what? And again how many farmers do you know with pricy publicists?

What about the Germantown Avenue store folded and what happened to the supposed spa that was supposed to happen down the street a couple of doors from 6730 Germantown Avenue? Mae Belle or whatever?

Where is the tea business? Where is honey that no one really knows where it originated from but did know it was not very good? And what’s with the Elkins Park Farm?

Back to the grant. So it’s supposed to be for the barn and hydroponics right? I think that’s a great idea and I love being able to get a good hydroponic organic vegetables in the middle of winter, but this is someone who doesn’t have any or much experience with this, do they? And then there is this chatter that now the grant is about workforce development? Is that true and if so, is that kind of a bait and switch? And Westtown owns the property so why didn’t they apply for the grant? Why is Westtown so silent on everything having to do with this person since they gave her access to the land? Is it landlord’s regret? Does she pay rent? If she pays rent how much rent does she pay and is rent deferred while the land lies fallow? Who were the other people who applied to be the farmer there?

And then the comment on Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan‘s Facebook page about vendors not being paid? And the screenshot the author of the comment leaves shows someone who works for George Didden Greenhouse? Is that true? That’s terrible if so isn’t it? Is she square with all other vendors past and present?

And then there are the people who like to say well why doesn’t somebody just talk to her? Have you seen what happens when anybody tries to talk to her? There’s regurgitated self promotion and dodge ball and a publicist but where are straightforward simple answers? The other thing is does she make everyone feel welcome?

And also Chester County does actually have minority and female farmers so where is THEIR recognition? I guess the difference is they just practice their craft with diligence and little faux fanfare, right?

The whole Farmer Jawn COULD be a great thing BUT what will actually happen and until Westtown is certified organic WHERE specifically will things be coming from?

So many questions…and it has never been just me asking… The Farmers of Chester County deserve our best. That’s all I am saying. And if Farmer Jawn wants to be counted among their numbers, then she needs to be more accepting and respectful of those who came before her and who have existed before her and work hard every day. and she needs to start being straight with people not just giving soundbites and cute pictures on tractors.

Soooo…. She took over Pete’s produce in 2023 as a lease with Westtown and it was announced late 2022. It takes 3 or 4 years for land to lay fallow before you can get organic certification right? So where will all of this food / produce coming from? I didn’t think where she leased in Elkins Park/Cheltenham was big enough or viable enough to produce everything?

And like I have said ALL ALONG if she ends up farmer legit, I will be honestly thrilled but right now I think the outlook is still shady.

My opinions are bought to you courtesy of the First Amendment.

truly wonderful experience….at joey chops in malvern.

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We had a great time at Joey Chops this evening from start to finish. Food, ambiance, service.

I will start with the starters/appetizers. Seafood and it was great seafood. The scallops and shrimp were just off the boat fresh.

The steaks were amazing and the sides perfection. I had the Delmonico with grilled asparagus on the side and they remember the extra nice touch of shaving the bottoms of the stalks. No one remembers to do that anymore. My husband had a strip with mushrooms that were to die for. Our son had the Westholme Wagyu Teres Major with broccolini. And the quick pickled red onions served with each steak were perfect.

Joey Chops has a good wine list. They even have a blanc de blanc sparkling from a favorite vineyard of mine, Gruet in New Mexico. I also noted French (Provence) and Italian (Puglia) rosés I would like to try in the future.

Tonight I had a glass of Prosecco from the Veneto region of Italy. It was lovely and light and dry and not sweet. My husband had a glass of a Cabernet I think from Paso Robles, California- I forget the name but Sean our waiter said it was new to the menu.

The cheesecake cart was a big hit with my husband and son because they love New York style cheesecake.

A special mention is necessary about Sean who was our waiter and he was hands down the best waiter especially in a steak house since Old Homestead and Delmonico’s in NYC. And the kids who were bussing and helping run food were also wonderful and friendly and very poised. All of the employees were terrific, truthfully.

The silverware has good weight to it and the steak knives are a well weighted knife and not some hulking exaggerated size, they are more like a Laguiole style knife.

Suggestions are they need larger water glasses, however. They are cute and I know little water glasses are a trend, but I am a big water drinker and these were the size of little juice glasses. And they need bigger candles on the tables or more than one.

We sat in the banquette seating underneath the windows . Very comfortable and pretty chairs. The big velvety curtains make you forget you are in a strip mall parking lot. And that is not the fault of the restaurant. It just happens to be in Lincoln Court Shopping Center in Frazer/Malvern. It took over and reinvented the space that was once Carrabba’s Italian Grill.

We had started in a booth (and no didn’t request a booth, it just happened), but like most modern restaurants, they are a bit uncomfortable, so they were super accommodating and moved us. The banquette seating was just perfect.

The banquette seating and tables are the way to go for sure. The chairs for the round tables that run down the center of the dining room are like a modern Windsor style chair, and they looked quite comfortable. If this were my restaurant, I’d replace the booths with additional banquette seating, or smaller tables with regular chairs. Sorry not sorry, but modern booths in a lot of restaurants are like what airlines are doing to seating unless you pony up for first class: just not enough room, space, depth.

The place was very clean, but they do need to fix one of the doors in the ladies room. Three of the louvered slats in the bottom of the door are broken.

But we had a wonderful night. It has been quite a while since I had a higher end dining experience that flowed as well as this and had good ambiance.

I am a little obsessed with the simply gorgeous sofa with its brilliant pop of color across from the hostess stand in the little alcove area.

We will definitely be back.

Thanks Joey Chops for a great meal and experience!

⭐️Please note that this is my honest review. I was not compensated in any way for this. I’m not a compensated blogger or some weird influencer. It’s where we went to dinner for a big birthday.⭐️

are you ready for it?

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This weekend is, at long last, the spring barn sale at Life’s Patina in Malvern!

SPRING BARN SALE DATES:
Friday, April 26th: 10am to 7pm
Saturday, April 27th: 10am to 5pm
Sunday, April 28th: 10am to 4pm

I previewed it yesterday, and it was amazing!

1750 N. Valley Road, Malvern, PA

Remember that this is literally a barn sale, so wear appropriate footwear because you will be crossing a field to get to the barn.

Part of the proceeds from this springs sale goes to one of my favorite local nonprofits Surrey Services.

Also, if you want to make a Chester county day of it, Life’s Patina has their Café and Mercantile in historic Yellow Springs Village. And starting Saturday, the Yellow Springs Art Show opens.

So what does that mean? It means you can start at Life’s Patina barn sale and then go to Yellow springs Village and taking the art show starting Saturday and have lunch in the café or coffee! The café, located in the historic Jenny Lind house is located at 1657 Art School Rd., Chester Springs PA. And the Mercantile is also full of amazing things for your home.

Make it a weekend in Chester County!

real farmers matter.

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Look! It’s that person who is increasingly elusive in Chester County known as a real farmer.

This guy doesn’t farm on the roof top of the Whole Foods in Exton, and he doesn’t have a glam squad that sets him up for photo shoots, wardrobe, hair, and nails. He also doesn’t have a publicist to tell the world that he’s a farmer. That is profession and his calling, and you can tell by what he does that he’s an actual and real farmer.

This is a farmer like many others who works hard. I think undoubtedly could use a big juicy federal grant, but you won’t see him wishing to collect a James Beard award because he would probably look at you funny.

So politicians and others take note. This is a real farmer on a real tractor in a real field.

And if you folks out there know any real farmers, you will know that not only do they work hard, they are fairly down to earth and humble. They will always tell you about their crops, but they won’t brag. They are genuine.

Support your farmers. They are all important. Even the ones without glam squad and professional publicists. Think of them as agricultural influencers without social media, only blood, sweat, and tears, and Mother Nature.

We also need more real farmers and less development.

Thanks for stopping by.

what kind of farmer would she prefer?

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This popped up on NextDoor. Mind you the platform itself is the social media for literal dummies site. I don’t know why, but this is the type of people it attracts who post the most.

This woman is sharing this post from literally a farming community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Of course a lot of the comments about this have disintegrated to stupidity in politics. Calling her a leftist Karen who’s probably vaccinated was one of my favorite comments when I shared this on Facebook that I removed. Politics has nothing to do with us. This is plain old, ordinary ignorance, and very humorous to me because politics, don’t come into it, considering where the poster is from which is rural Lancaster County.

I have always been grateful when I see a hay truck or a tractor on the road because it still means there are farmers around in spite of all of the development which pushes us all out and artificially inflates land prices.

And I have to ask this woman what kind of a farmer would she rather have? One who does glam photo shoots sitting on tractors etc and has a publicist or an actual getting hands dirty in the dirt farmer?

And speaking of farmers, again how many do you know who have a professional publicist and seemingly tons of time on social media making bold claims?

I am also just astounded that for all the people who are deserving and kill themselves working towards a James Beard award and she gets one for what exactly? If it’s a choice between an actual farmer on a tractor and a fauxmer, I will go for the real deal. Kind of like giving all puff and no substance (or track record) a huge federal grant when that could be a farming game changer for more deserving folks, right?

And so we are clear, I don’t care about the race, creed or color of a farmer. I care about those rare individuals who are actual stewards of the land and not just chin wagging selfies and reels on their self perceived fabulousness.

One of my favorite farms in Chester County is Queen’s Farm in West Chester. It is owned and operated by the Yin Family. You can buy produce from them at the West Chester Growers Market and other local markets.

Lancaster Farming: Farmer’s Taste of China Grows in Chester County
Philip Gruber, Staff Writer

Let me know who some of your favorite Farmers in Chester county are. I’m thinking maybe we should start to feature some of them so people know about our farmers. You know the ones who don’t have time for photo ops and professional publicists.

Thanks for stopping by.

A real Chester County farmer. Farmer Zuohong “Ed” Yin of Queen’s Farm, West Chester, PA

my inner foodie awakens…

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My husband is always finding cool food things for me to try. And I am very excited about the package that arrived today from American Vinegar Works in Massachusetts!

Here is their story:

Modern vinegar production has come a long way. In our opinion, it has come a little too far. Even ‘premium’ labeled vinegars are often produced at an industrial scale that short-cuts the fermentation process to hours instead of the needed months or years. While the bottle may be pretty, often the end result is a one-note vinegar lacking depth of flavor and overwhelmingly acidic.

We have gone a different way. We have embraced the value of time and revived a production method from the early 1800s to create vinegars that are naturally fermented and deliver complex flavors. All of our vinegars are produced, aged and bottled by us in our vinegar works here in the Bay State. No outsourcing, no co-packing, no short cuts. It takes more effort, it takes more time… but the results are brilliant.

How We Make Our Vinegar

Our process is really unique and we believe it produces the best small-batch American vinegars you will find.

We know we are unique because we literally had to custom rebuild the machines we use by consulting historical records and partnering with local universities. The old academic etching you see at the top of this page is a graphic of how our machines looked when they were invented.

Our fermentation process dates from the early 1800s and this was how many quality vinegars were made centuries ago. The problem is that there was a wave of ‘innovation’ in vinegar manufacturing in the 1900s and this led to faster and cheaper vinegar. You will notice that I did not say it led to better tasting vinegar—in fact quality and flavor both suffered materially and this is how vinegar became the one-note acid bomb we now find in most supermarkets.

Our vinegars are fermented in small-batches and take two to three months just to ferment. After fermentation we age our vinegars for up to one year. Our aging process varies depending on the flavor profile we are looking to achieve. The vast majority of our vinegars are aged in 25-gallon American oak barrels previously used to make rye whiskey and bourbon. Aging in old barrels gives our vinegars complexity but does not add a woody or whiskey flavor. We source all these barrels directly from a craft distillery from our neighbors in New York.

What about ingredients? We only use quality American beers, wines, ciders, and sakes as our alcohol base to ferment our vinegars at our vinegar works in New England. Why? Because the taste of the underlying alcohol used directly impacts the flavor of the vinegar. Beyond that we are focused on creating great vinegars with a sense of place. We do not think there is something better or worse about an American wine or beer versus one from Europe for instance. We do, however, think it is important for real food like our vinegars to reflect where it comes from. In this way American Vinegar Works is building great vinegars on the shoulders of the craftspeople that are creating great and uniquely American wines, beers, sakes, and ciders. We are immeasurably grateful to them.

To find the right beer or wine for our vinegars we go through an extensive taste and test process to ensure it has the best taste profile. 

~ American Vinegar Works

I’m very excited to try these. I will let you know what I think.

Another thing in this independent company’s favor? They sent a thank you note with the order. A little hand written note. Little touches like that make all the difference when you’re dealing with a company.

And here I thought The most exciting food part of my day was making dinner with Vadouvan French Masala Curry!

New York Times review

favolosa!

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I have been a customer of Mangia Famiglia! for a few years now. Christine Familetti is a mad talented Italian cook. Usually I just buy her homemade Italian sausage (which tastes like 9th Street AKA the Italian Market), but this time on a whim I ordered her bake at home Stromboli .

Favolosa!

Full disclosure: I am not usually a Stromboli fan, my husband likes them. But Christine’s have made me a believer…at least of her Stromboli.

https://mangiafamiglia.com/

They were really good and really fresh! From freezer to oven, just followed the instructions on the package.

I am not compensated for writing about this- I am a customer and glad they are out there!

#shoplocal

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still not fan girl of chesco jawning so stop asking

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One of the things people always send me are things having to do with this “Farmer Jawn.” I thought I should set the record straight and say I am still not buying what she is selling, so kindly stop asking. She loves her socials so I am not breaking any rules by sharing screenshots. Everything I have screenshot is PUBLIC.

And I think this is still like the Emperor’s New Clothes at Westtown. I think this is smoke and mirrors and I also think eventually I will be able to say I told you so.

And she can sit up there in her domicile now in West Chester or wherever she lives and call me whatever pejorative term she wishes or say whatever she likes. I am entitled to my opinion until this woman proves me wrong, my opinion stands.

Text received today

I don’t hate this person, I don’t know this person, I don’t want to know this person. This is solely my opinion on what I have seen to date and that includes going back to Philadelphia and where is the actual business there these days?

The Constitution of this country, and the First Amendment allow me to have my opinion. My opinion is not based on race.

I don’t judge farmers by race, creed, or color. I will note that farmers in Chester County PA come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, colors, and sexes. Farmers work hard. Farmers deserve respect.

But Fauxmers are something else entirely. If this woman proves me wrong I will own it. But thus far? She’s sadly proving me right it seems?

So I have to ask is it true last year when the mowing finally got done to cut the weeds, it was actually done by some Westtown School employees in part? Is The Westtown School paying her to farm? is she paying The Westtown School rent? How is the rent calculated / covered while the land lies fallow pending the organic of it all?

Why does The Westtown School not seem to ever answer any of these questions? Is The Westtown School setting her up to fail so they can just sell the land for development down the road?

The Westtown School has a “Dean of Communications” named Anne Burns. She never answers her phone. Her email is anne.burns@westtown.edu

And yes, I’m probably stating things that people aren’t comfortable with saying out loud and asking questions that people aren’t also comfortable with. But I’m genuinely curious because I’ve been out here in Chester County for a while now and I have never met farmers with the glam photos on farm equipment, and PR wizards, have you? Is this a new Bravo show waiting to happen?

So she can pose for photos with Governor Josh Shapiro and she can say she’s going to grow 1,000,000 pounds of food. But in the end, what will actually happen and why is her nonprofit registered to an address in Philadelphia where she doesn’t seem to have a business any longer? Why is her non-profit information incomplete on the PA Bureau of Charities website?

So I have not to date changed my opinion. Again, hopefully she will prove my suspicions wrong. But realistically I don’t know if that will happen.