I'm sure we are all familiar with the beloved Jackie's Jam's, and if you have not yet had your tastebuds graced with the delectable jamminess of BRB, or Blood Orange Marmalade, treat yourself the next time you are at the Farmer's Market!
Once again, our very own Jeremy Ison has gotten his network-on, and has been given the incredible opportunity to work for Jackie Anderson herself. Jerry has been working with Robert, a partner of Jackie, and is being mentored in the business aspects of the operation. Eventually, he will be at the Farmer's Market, slangin' jam and learning the business from the inside-out.
The very first thing Robert taught Jerry was the importance of cleanliness, which is considered the most crucial part of the operation. "It's really great working in the kitchen with older, highly experienced people who are really agressive when it comes to selling their jam" Jerry said to me. "It is run like a family business where everybody cares about each other, and the working conditions are great because they all care about the quality of the product as well as one another." I personally believe that it is this characteristic of a business that can really make it take-off; if morale is high, and the employees feel as if they have more personal investment and pride in what they are doing, the quality of the product is more likely to be consistently excellent.
Aside from the general attitude of the staff, the quality of Jackie's Jam's is unrivaled because of the labor-intensive process by which the jam's are produced. All of the jam's are made by hand start to finish in order to preserve the old-school way of doing things; and any culinarian knows that there is absolutely no way of replacing something like that. Jerry commented that there "is some sort of inexplicable phenomenon that happens when you actually put care into what you do...if there were any other way, it would just taste different."
I am definitely a fan of Jackie's Jam's, and believe that because every single batch of jam is made with the utmost care and diligence, this is one business that can truly claim 'made with love'. So let's all head down to the Farmer's Market and say hello to Jerry while he is slangin' the delicious and unique Jackie's Jam's!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Slow Food on Campus AICASD Introduction
It's official! The Art Institute of California, San Diego now has a chapter for Slow Food USA; recognized as Slow Food AI San Diego. Kudos to our President Jeremy Ison for all of his hard work to get this chapter started, and to all of the wonderful, charismatic students who have contributed as well.
Slow Food on Campus AISD recently hosted a 'Meet and Greet' in the Palette restaurant on campus in Mission Valley to try to get students and faculty from other major's other than culinary involved in the movement. The turn-out was encouraging, and it seems that the tight-knit group of students who have embraced slow food may soon be expanding. Our chapter has some ambitious plans for the future incuding a school garden completely run and maintained by the students, as well as other activities involving the San Diego community. As young culinarians and artists alike, our vision for Slow Food on Campus is not only to spread the word, but also to show the movement in a light which will appeal to the younger generations. During a couple of our meetings the question "what is slow food to you" has been tossed around, and some words and phrases that have come up are: sustainability, supporting local farmers, supporting the local economy, urban farming, no sprays no chemicals, a lifestyle, the opposite of fast food, a push/movement to bring it back to the basics, roots, awareness of where our food comes from, and so on and so forth.
There are a great many dedicated and amazing people not just in our community, but everywhere who want to share a bounty of knowledge with us as students, visionaries, and average people who want not to wait for something to happen, but want to instigate change. It has been and will continue to be an incredible experience to work with people with so much creative brilliance and passion for such a cause.
Welcome to Slow Food on Campus AICASD, we look forward to what the future may bring.
Slow Food on Campus AISD recently hosted a 'Meet and Greet' in the Palette restaurant on campus in Mission Valley to try to get students and faculty from other major's other than culinary involved in the movement. The turn-out was encouraging, and it seems that the tight-knit group of students who have embraced slow food may soon be expanding. Our chapter has some ambitious plans for the future incuding a school garden completely run and maintained by the students, as well as other activities involving the San Diego community. As young culinarians and artists alike, our vision for Slow Food on Campus is not only to spread the word, but also to show the movement in a light which will appeal to the younger generations. During a couple of our meetings the question "what is slow food to you" has been tossed around, and some words and phrases that have come up are: sustainability, supporting local farmers, supporting the local economy, urban farming, no sprays no chemicals, a lifestyle, the opposite of fast food, a push/movement to bring it back to the basics, roots, awareness of where our food comes from, and so on and so forth.
There are a great many dedicated and amazing people not just in our community, but everywhere who want to share a bounty of knowledge with us as students, visionaries, and average people who want not to wait for something to happen, but want to instigate change. It has been and will continue to be an incredible experience to work with people with so much creative brilliance and passion for such a cause.
Welcome to Slow Food on Campus AICASD, we look forward to what the future may bring.
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