As Peter Kaminsky says in his book, <i>Culinary Intelligence</i>, “Think before you eat, choose good ingredients, understand how flavor works, and make an effort to cook.” If you follow Peter’s philosophy for eating only delicious, flavorful foods, in the end you will be more satisfied with smaller portions while enjoying more one of life’s greatest pleasures – food. But you can’t talk about exceptional food without talking about people; the people who grow or make amazing food products, seek out those products and bring them to “the masses”, and buy and eat those products in their restaurants and homes; it’s that it takes all three for a market to exist and thrive. We have been supporting family owned artisan food producers who both preserve old and create new food traditions since 1997. It’s these small producers who keep us close to the roots of where our food comes from. It’s the creation and distribution of these real foods that helps those foods survive and thrive, and helps fight off the continued commercialization and mechanization of food production in the US. At ChefShop.com, we live by the purity and provenance of our products; we travel the countryside to find the perfect Rainier cherry or taste hundreds of chutneys to select the most perfect and delectable balance of exotic spices with tart, pungent, and fruity flavors. We feel that delicious, quality foods nourish our bodies and our minds in equal measure. We also work closely with the farmers and artisans who share everything from freshly harvested emmer to individually dipped chocolates; we care about supporting family farms and preserving authentic foods. We care about sustaining small purveyors by bringing their handcrafted, hand-grown products to market. When you buy from us, you are getting the purest foods made by small producers individually selected for the quality ingredients and their adherence to tradition and purity. It’s mouth-watering food born from passion and commitment.