One Year In…..

May 3, 2012

Here we are, one year almost to the day after we moved our entire operations across the street from 571 to 564 Gladstone.  And almost 6 years after we launched our concept, we could not be more pleased.

In the last 12 months we have doubled our team (to 20 committed and passionate Foodies), while expanding our retail store revenues beyond our expectations.  While our Fresh Meal Service continues to be enjoyed by hundreds of people every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday (275 to be exact tonight), we feed at least as many customers through our front door every day of the week (Monday through Saturday).

So tonight, in celebration, we have created a menu that features all of our ‘favourite things’.

Fitzroy Beef Farmers have been our primary supplier of quality hormone and antibiotic free beef for more than 3 years. Although Flank Steak is tricky for us to serve, we felt that it really represented the best we had to offer when it comes to beef.  Enjoyed rare, and re-heated gently, this flavourful cut is a real treat that we only put on the menu once every 8-10 weeks.

Beau’s Beer has become an Ottawa favourite in the last few years, and aside from enjoying a pint or two, our staff love to cook with it, and it has become a staple ingredient in our Amazing Beer & Caramelized Onion dip – available every week in our retail store.

The potato salad in our celebration dinner is flavoured with a variety of mushrooms from Le Coprin and Aldergrove mushroom farms, both local and organic mushroom suppliers who deliver to us on a weekly basis.  We have also added Blue Ermite Cheese, made at the Abbaye Saint-Benoît-du-Lac cheese factory, part of a Benedictine monastery 150 kilometres southeast of Montreal.  We have been carrying this cheese in our retail store for almost 3 years.

The slaw in tonight’s meal contains the last Apples from the overwintered cellars at Hall’s Orchard, You can buy from this family owned business every weekend at both the Ottawa and Main Street Farmer’s markets.  We also carry their ciders in our retail store (fresh & sparkling).  They also supplied us with pears well into the winter this year.

The  maple syrup used to sweeten the vinaigrette in tonight’s meal, and sold in our retail shoppe comes from La Ferme Älska where Geneviève & Gabriel tap trees in their family owned sugar bush.

The yogurt flatbread comes from Rinag foods, a local business that makes specialty Indian foods for the Ottawa market, and has been a supplier of Naan bread & Samosas to the Red Apron for almost 6 years.

And finally to finish this meal, we are making our extremely popular and somewhat famous Red Apron Nut Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.  This recipe came to the Red Apron with Jo-Ann and has been a customer favourite since day 1.

And to top it off, Megan has made 275 hand rolled rose buds out of – you guessed it – Carrot!  A flower for every staff member and customer who is enjoying this special anniversary dinner with us tonight.

Thank you for another fantastic year!

Jennifer & Jo-Ann

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