Cathy Strange Transcript
Kerry Diamond:
Hi, everyone. You are listening to Radio Cherry Bombe, and I'm your host, Kerry Diamond, coming to you from Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City. I'm the founder and editor of Cherry Bombe Magazine.
Today's guest is Cathy Strange, the Ambassador of Food Culture at Whole Foods Market. That's a great title, right? Cathy says, "Everyone who loves food is an ambassador of food." And I couldn't agree more. Cathy has worked for Whole Foods for decades and she's had a front row seat to all the changes in grocery and consumer packaged goods, or CPG, which is what folks in the industry call all the food and drink products that fill the shelves of your favorite stores. Previously, Cathy was the global cheese buyer for Whole Foods, and you would be pressed to find someone more knowledgeable about the world of cheese and cheese makers. Cathy is a fascinating, thoughtful human and I'm so glad I had the chance to talk to her. Stay tuned for our chat.
Today's episode is presented by Kerrygold. Have you noticed that butter is having a moment? I've seen handbags sculpted out of butter, little couches made from butter pats, tiny butter cherubs, even butter colored nail polish and fashion. The world is butter obsessed, but you know who loves butter more than most? The folks at Kerrygold. They've been perfecting their craft for decades, using milk from Irish grass fed cows to create their famously rich, creamy golden butter. There's a reason Kerrygold is beloved by everyone from home cooks to the world's top culinary creatives. It's just better butter. Kerrygold salted pure Irish butter has a butterfat content of 80%, while the unsalted version has a butterfat content of 82%. And that beautiful yellow color, it's thanks to beta-carotene found naturally in milk from grass-fed cows. Want to get in on the fun, get yourself some Kerrygold and whip up some flavored compound butter, fill some fancy butter molds, or sculpt one of those gorgeous butter mounds for your next dinner party or get together, visit kerrygoldusa.com to learn more, get recipes, and find a stockist near you.
Now, let's check in with today's guest. Cathy Strange, welcome to Radio Cherry Bombe.
Cathy Strange:
Exciting. Thank you.
Kerry Diamond:
You have a cool title and you have a cool name. Your name sounds like a rock star name.
Cathy Strange:
You got probably a lot of questions about your name being Diamond.
Kerry Diamond:
No one believes it's my real last name.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah, Strange, I've heard it all. But, it's a fantastic name, and it inspires a lot of conversation around the world.
Kerry Diamond:
I feel like in the 80s you could have had a Goth rock name.
Cathy Strange:
I did. You didn't know that?
Kerry Diamond:
I didn't. I didn't. Let's talk about this title that you have, Ambassador of Food Culture. I feel like that's a title everybody would like to have. How did you get that title and what does it mean?
Cathy Strange:
Well, first of all, I think everyone who loves food is an ambassador of food and it's our responsibility to share those amazing stories about products you taste, products that have new personality, sharing the stories of individuals behind it and farmers behind it. That's a big part of what I do. One thing that I'm really proud of that through the history of Whole Foods Market, we've always been a part of telling that story and visioning how we can create a world of food culture in a more dynamic environment, starting with John Mackey, but certainly, everyone that's passed through and we have a new CEO, two years ago in November, Jason Beekle. And I don't know if you knew this, but both of his grandparents were dairy farmers. So it's very inspiring to be under the leadership of an individual who has a passion about agriculture and is committed to that. And through that, that's really how we tell the story of food, right? Because, food is about the story of our land, the terroir where it's grown, and the individuals committing to raising growing animals and products in a responsible way.
Kerry Diamond:
I love that idea that we're all ambassadors of food. Even when you think about how much we share our food on social media these days, that's being an ambassador in a sense.
Cathy Strange:
Exactly. Even the commentary if you taste and provide back to the service provider on it, I think, quite often that exchange is lost as we've gone through the pandemic and just to be able to talk to someone, "Do you like this? Have you tasted it?" It's inspiring just to have a conversation and understand what they think. Yesterday, a gentleman said to me on oat cheese, "I have tasted since its inception, that it had a waffle-like component." And I said, "I've never gone there with that." So, it really invited me to imagine how differently he was tasting it than I was tasting it.
Kerry Diamond:
So interesting. Where did you grow up? I detect a little accent.
Cathy Strange:
So I grew up in a little town in North Carolina called Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh.
Cathy Strange:
My father was in the military service.
Kerry Diamond:
Sure, I know Fayetteville.
Cathy Strange:
That's my parents were born and raised in Brooklyn on Avenue U in Flatbush.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, how funny. But you weren't born there. You were born down in North Carolina.
Cathy Strange:
I was born in Queens.
Kerry Diamond:
You were? Okay. And that's why you're so cool. You're a native New Yorker, Cathy.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah, I love New York. And, moved to Germany for a few years. And then, from the time I was really about four, lived in North Carolina.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow. Any food memories from Germany?
Cathy Strange:
Candy. Just the candy stores were amazing. It was like you were going into a dream and were you ever coming out of it? Because the colors, the flavors, the different concepts were so engaging as a child.
Kerry Diamond:
What an interesting childhood. It was a lot of bouncing around.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah, it was.
Kerry Diamond:
An area where you have not bounced around is job-wise, because you have been with Whole Foods since 1990, which is remarkable.
Cathy Strange:
Well, what's more remarkable when I think about it, I was with Whole Foods before it was Whole Foods Market. The company I was with was Wellspring Grocery out of North Carolina where I grew up. And, it was a job that started part-time the month that Whole Foods market was trying to acquire companies to go IPO. So I started working for a very specialized grocer, which was founded by Lex Alexander, just a passion for the highest quality products like Ari from Zingerman's, and so many people that you've probably met through the years. And so, I grew up with the best. We had Neal's Yard Cheese 32 years ago. We had the best produce from the area. We just had the best of everything. And, with Whole Foods Market acquiring us, we brought this unique capability of bringing highest quality products that weren't maybe out of a cooperative style environment. So, it was a really great blend and collaborative vision to grow the business.
Kerry Diamond:
But you have to explain to me how you can stay with a company for 34 years and thrive to the extent that you have. What is your people secret?
Cathy Strange:
Being a part of the journey and trying to be a leader through the journey by engaging, educating, and then being inspired, and hopefully inspiring individuals along the way. My first door was in Chapel Hill. And so, there were a lot of individuals that were working on their masters and PhD and knew a lot more about food than I was. I was a novice, but I was food inquisitive. So I was always asking and learning, and then meeting people along the way that had different things when Whole Foods market wasn't growing in North Carolina, it's like, what's my next chapter? And, Washington D.C. Was only four hours away, so I was a part of opening the region in that particular area right across from D.C. in Arlington, Virginia. So a whole new group of products and people to learn about. And then, of course, being there, everyone traveled worldwide before that was normal that you could get on a plane and go across, and that you had the worldwide web to be able to seek things out, so you were always learning by word of mouth.
So diplomats would come in, ask about products, I would ask about products, and just kept engaging each other, and then we grew that business. So, I got another role within the company that really inspired me and that was expanding stores from Southern New Jersey all the way down to Atlanta, and that time there were 35 stores in the region. That was a lot to manage and satisfied my inquisitive around travel, that nature of my being, and then getting to travel to Spain with our regional president at the time to be inspired around food. That loyalty to education and commitment to you gave me that responsibility back. And I think, through the organization that's what I've had ongoing. So, to the current state, I've worked in four regions, which are now areas, and we have six, and then I've also worked globally as the global cheese buyer, which was an amazing story to talk about.
Also, now in this role, I went from a vice president of specialty food, which included all adult beverage within Whole Foods market and all the specialty food categories. Then to this role, which is really boots on the ground inspiring team members to say, "Yes, I can learn one thing a day. I can taste one thing a day. I can be as inspired..." Remember the first time you tasted something really amazing that it just was a part of you and you still probably tell a story about it. I still have the opportunity to do those things and engage. We were just over in the Bryant Park store, got to hear stories from those team members about things they were inspired about. I think just that communication and learning, it's insatiable with food. I think that's always a part of what inspired me and led me to that growth path.
Kerry Diamond:
We'll be right back with today's guest. This episode is presented by Meridian Printing, the family-owned printing company based in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Meridian has printed Cherry Bombe magazine for the past several years and it's always a pleasure working with the team at Meridian. They are meticulous, and professional, and care more than any other printer we've ever worked with. They are amazing partners. When I wanted to print three covers of our Icons issue, they said, "No problem." When I wanted to put a Molly Baz poster in every copy of our Molly issue, they said “We got it,” and they were amazing about helping us get the pink shade just right for our new Ina Garten issue. If you have an idea for a magazine or a zine, or maybe you want to do books on demand, you should talk to the team at Meridian Printing. Visit meridianprinting.com for more information.
Are you based in Austin now?
Cathy Strange:
I am, yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
How's Austin?
Cathy Strange:
Growing like crazy. It's a beautiful city and it's green. There's water there. People think of Texas... I traveled to France and there's, "Where's your cowboy hat and your horse?" Still, the perception of Texas is quite different. It's a very cosmopolitan state, four of the largest cities in the United States, very diverse food culture, and amazingly creative individuals. So, that's a great part of living in Austin. And of course, the commitment to a green environment and just being a leader and vision for the country in many ways.
Kerry Diamond:
Austin's a great place. Have you been to Birdie's?
Cathy Strange:
I have. Oh, amazing. They're just both so inspiring and their history here in New York City speaks for itself, but they are just truly committed to high quality food, doing it the way they feel is the best service for the food, and the customers, and who they are. And I really appreciate and respect that and super nice people.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah, Tracy and her husband are both great. And do you have a WNBA team down there?
Cathy Strange:
We don't. We used to have one in San Antonio, but I've been a fan, had season tickets of the Mystics from the beginning and followed it. We were just talking about congrats Liberty, what an amazing season everyone's had, and the inspiration and motivation from Caitlin Clark being a part of the league just drew out recognition for all the amazing players. And that's a passion, right? Kerry, I have a passion for food, I have a passion for sports and athletics, and I think if you have different passions that they inspire other passions to continue to grow.
Kerry Diamond:
Absolutely. Caitlin, if you're listening, come on Radio Cherry Bombe anytime. You are welcome.
Cathy Strange:
You should.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay, back to food folks. So curious about grocery and just the changes that you have seen. And I remember, there was one point during the pandemic, I walked into a grocery store and I just thought, "Whoa, grocery has changed so much as a concept." I think back to when I was a kid, one of five, young mom, she would throw us in the station wagon, leave us in the parking lot and go do the grocery shopping, because she didn't want to deal with us. And it's so different today. Every aisle is different, the delivery system is different. What is going on in the grocery category? I sometimes wonder, will we even have grocery stores one day?
Cathy Strange:
Interesting question. I was one of five also. So I understand all of that. I'm number two.
Kerry Diamond:
You're the second. Okay.
Cathy Strange:
So I was listening to one of your podcasts before about talking about number two in the lineup.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, Asma Khan.
Cathy Strange:
Great story.
Kerry Diamond:
Great. What a phenomenal human being, right?
Cathy Strange:
Fantastic. Just how it played out in her life. Back to the question, specific to grocery, I think, it's going to continue to evolve the retail environment in general, not specific to food. But I think, with regards to food, there's so much more to know, not only about how the product's grown, where is it, the food miles, the regenerative or sustainable nature around the products. Just the level of detail we already have that is so enmeshed in the communication. And then, if you want it delivered directly, I like the experience of seeing and touching, not only food, but clothes. That's how I really interpret how to shop accurately for myself. But, everyone's different nowadays. But, I think it'll continue to evolve and there's going to be mixed environments that really support all of those. But the key thing is, let's make sure we're growing and nourishing.
Kerry Diamond:
All right. Let's talk about before... I definitely want to talk about cheese. We are 100% going to talk about that. Because I tried a cheese that I have. You know what? I'm just going to ask you about it now. It was so freaking weird and I had to buy it. It was called ski cheese. Do you know about this? It was in a cube with a red wrapper. It was caramel cheese.
Cathy Strange:
So, what that cheese is called is Gjetost. It's a Norwegian cheese, and it's a breakfast cheese. Typically, it's made with whey. So actually, as you cook cheese down from whey, it's a little bit sweeter and it's not caramel, but it tastes like caramel, and sometimes peanut butter, right? But it's typically a goat cheese and the one you would get in the United States is mostly mixed milk, cow and goat. But, that would be something that in Norway you'd have for breakfast as part of your morning meal. I always bring it as a little bit of a disguise if I'm going with children there, and they're like, "What is this? Oh, it's part of a brownie or it's a caramel." And they taste it, it's like, "Wow, this is great. What is it?" It's cheese.
Kerry Diamond:
So there's no caramel added into that?
Cathy Strange:
Not at all.
Kerry Diamond:
Mind blown.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah. Not the color at all. It's typically made in copper vats. And the way that it's cooked, all cheese is cooked, right, because it's heated, create the dynamics of the exchange and the coloring.
Kerry Diamond:
How interesting. The cheese was on sale. I don't know if it was a wild hit up in Rhode Island where I picked up the square of it. I'd never seen it before.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah. It's maybe a hidden secret, because we do offer it in our retail environment, and it sells a lot, and when I judged the international championships a few years ago in Norway, I actually picked a farmstead Gjetost to be in the final 16 and I think it ended up certainly in the top three, but it was amazingly complex, different layers. And then, a few years later, I picked another similar cheese that was produced in India, but same style. What many people like about it is just that sweetness that you talked about, that is that caramel nature of it. People don't recognize it as a cheese.
Kerry Diamond:
So interesting. Okay, I might have to buy another one and give it another chance. What do you enjoy it with?
Cathy Strange:
Apples.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. Great timing then. Perfect for this time of year. Okay, folks, if any of you out there are fans of the cheese, DM me, because I would love to know where you get it, how you eat it, etc. Want to talk to you about how people get their products on the shelves at Whole Foods. You're probably asked about this a lot.
Cathy Strange:
There is a process to it. There are review schedules, and my biggest advice around that is be clear on your story. Be clear on what makes you uniquely different and your product and understand the category where it fits in, and then still balance following your dream. Because, even if you do all of that and maybe it's not right timing, but if it's your dream, you should pursue it and keep making it happen. But, have the information prepped in a way that's easy to digest, that you're effectively communicating it, that your packaging is clean and ready to go, and that it meets all the criteria. So, if you submit the forms on time and really just stay diligent about your message, I think that always offers an opportunity to anyone.
And I say, I hope the product's delicious, because we like to in Whole Foods market, taste the product first and then ask questions afterwards. We don't say, "The product's this. It's costing this. Here's all the info." We like to taste the product, and then let's ask the questions. So, if it's not, what I call, meeting the deliciousness factor, that's harder, that's always going to make it harder. However, if you have all that information together, and be persistent, don't lose the dream. It takes a long time sometimes. Sometimes you're an overnight hit, but quite often, that's not the way it works.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah, yeah, that's great advice. Lead with delicious.
Cathy Strange:
Exactly.
Kerry Diamond:
I like that. What is it about the CPG category? You've seen a lot of change having done this for as long as you have, but even for me in the past decade, I'm amazed at the number of people launching their own products. What's behind that?
Cathy Strange:
Well, I think the inspiration around innovation is just, "How can I be different? How can I separate myself?" If you look during the pandemic, we all got booked into little silos and just everyone trying to say, "I want to grab my own personality. I want a reflection of something that I truly believe in." And so, I think that's changed it. I can't speak to all of the categories specifically, but I do think people want a sense of ownership, a sense of maybe bringing a nature back to maybe their culture. I mean, when I think about the top trends that we just released, like international snacking, everyone has a different background and the flavors are unique. With that, how do we bring it? But not only that, how do we package it? What's the right size? All of those factors. So, I think just trying to be uniquely different.
Kerry Diamond:
And also, there seems to be a reaction to heritage brands. Everybody wants to improve on what they grew up with.
Cathy Strange:
For this generation, that's not hard, right? It's not a difficult task, but it's identifying what are those unique brands, where are they coming from? Are they truly heritage brands? If not, how do we get back to those basics? As I always say, great taste, clean ingredients, less of them. That's always a winning combination.
Kerry Diamond:
I love what you said about fewer ingredients though for packaged goods. Is that something you're looking for?
Cathy Strange:
I think it's the key winning item. When you're talking about cheese, every cheese is four ingredients. If you look in there beyond that, you want to say, "Why are we having all these ingredients in there?" But, how to create all those different flavors and styles from the same four ingredients, it's just like beer, with the main ingredient being water. So, it's like, how to respect that so many things can be done with minimal ingredients to create unique flavors.
Kerry Diamond:
Let's talk about cheese, because like you mentioned, you used to be the Whole Foods cheese guru. You were America's cheese queen. How did you get that job?
Cathy Strange:
I would say, positioning myself through leadership of the retailing on the floor, I oversaw cheese as a part of the department that I oversaw as a whole. But I had a true passion for it. And that passion began when I was in North Carolina really learning about the cheeses there. We only had four artisan makers in all of North Carolina. I think now that we have about 35 altogether. And I go back to the state fair and judge from time to time there, because I think it's important wherever you start and develop to continue to support that ongoing through your history. It's really important to me, whether it's a producer, or the state, or something that gives credibility back to the environment. I started in North Carolina, learned mostly around the Swiss cheeses, and Neal's Yard dairy cheeses. And there was a big story this week around Neal's shard dairy just had a whole container of cheese scammed from them. And, let's call them MI6 in Scotland Yard to get that fixed, which I think they did, because cheese is that important. Did you know it's the number one stolen commodity in the world?
Kerry Diamond:
Cheese?
Cathy Strange:
More than diamonds, more than anything, it's cheese. It's an interesting fact. But, learning in North Carolina, evolving my passion for it in the Washington D.C. area, having the opportunity to travel and being exposed to different products. And then, I trained at the University of Wisconsin Center for Dairy Science. Also, through the years, have been in many contests as a judge, including many international amazing contests where I got to learn from my partners and other judges. So really, that passion, and then also was involved with the American Cheese Society. I was president of that organization, able to help it evolve from being a smaller organization to a larger, during the boom of the most amazing cheese environment that our cheese makers are an inspiration to the world right now. They are an inspiration. And, everyone now is catching back up with us. But, probably the past decade and a half, we've led that. Even though there are amazing products out there, the cheeses produced in the United States are incredibly innovative and delicious.
Kerry Diamond:
Is their demand overseas for our cheeses?
Cathy Strange:
There is, but it's very difficult to export given the dairy environment. So I think it's one of those products that's somewhat restrictive. There's work that was done, but certainly during the pandemic that was restricted a bit, just because that's not what people were focusing on.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. I'm also thinking how snobby the Europeans are about cheese.
Cathy Strange:
But they love American cheese. In 2019, a cheese from Oregon won the world's best cheese. So, it's a very respected environment for American cheese producers. And, here in New York, you have Nettle Meadow doing some amazing things, a company that Sheila and Lorraine founded up at Lake Lucerne. You have in Vermont, Jasper Hill Farm, internationally known some of my favorite cheeses and committed to community environment animals, just everything all together. It's the package and the cheese is delicious.
Kerry Diamond:
Wow. I want to come to your house and see what you put on your cheese board.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah. Well, you said, "Hey Cathy, what might be in your refrigerator all the time?" Well, it's always butter. Big, big, big cultured butter fan. But there's always cheese. It would just be a different cheese, different time of year, because cheese is very seasonal.
Kerry Diamond:
Mm-hmm.
Cathy Strange:
People don't necessarily realize that, but if you look at what you buy, you understand it.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. Is mozzarella still the number one cheese?
Cathy Strange:
It would be, but think of why?
Kerry Diamond:
Pizza.
Cathy Strange:
Pizza. And, people think cheddar would be also up there. So it's really a blend in terms of that style, the product that you have in your refrigerator every day. Cheese is up there in the high 90 percents in every refrigerator. People feel like they know cheese. I could be at a party in Washington D.C. where there are diplomats and very famous people, and they want to talk to me about cheese, because there's a commonality, I think, in just having those simple ingredients. And for me, I grew up with macaroni and cheese with New York cheddar. That's what I grew up with. So, there's a language of love, or food love around cheese.
Kerry Diamond:
Cheese might be the great unifier.
Cathy Strange:
It is.
Kerry Diamond:
Who knew?
Cathy Strange:
Cheese and music.
Kerry Diamond:
Cheese and music. I want to talk about Thanksgiving and holiday trends, since we're moving really fast into the holidays. What do you do for Thanksgiving?
Cathy Strange:
One thing I do that a lot of people don't realize, and I have to thank a friend for this, he invited me with his children. We go out and harvest the turkeys together off of a heritage ranch, Rome Ranch, outside of, well, Fredericksburg, Texas. It's really just honoring these heritage birds range free. They're not grown just to have a lot of breast meat on them. If I'm going to consume it, I want to be a part of honoring it. So I feel really in tune with that being a part of an activity that young women are a part of and we get to talk about it together. I don't have children. I have a dog I love. But, I don't have the children to be able to have that engagement and that's really dynamic. So I do that, and then I share a friend's table where we all bring things, but my contribution is the Turkey. And, it is delicious. Last year was about a 16 pounder white breed and amazing, amazing.
Kerry Diamond:
That's a lot of pressure to be the person who has to bring the Turkey.
Cathy Strange:
It is, but I don't have to cook the Turkey.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, you don't cook the Turkey. Got it.
Cathy Strange:
I think the person cooking it has a little more pressure.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay.
Cathy Strange:
What I typically bring to the Thanksgiving dinner would be a cheese platter. And I do things uniquely different. I use a pastry knife to cut up my Gruyere, so they look like french fries. And then, I bring a aioli that I'm adding back fresh tomato paste in it, so it looks like a ketchup, but it's really a aioli to dip the fries in. And then, I cut all the cheeses into very unique spacey shape, so that it just engages people. So they're talking more about wanting to try it because it looks unique, versus, "What is that? Tell me about it." They experiment, and they embrace that opportunity, especially around spooning cheeses, which are the cheeses that soft-fried pan wrapped in wood that you cut off the top and just use a spoon to taste. They are delicious. Like the Harbison out of Jasper Hill Farm. Incredible. The Rush Creek that's out now from Uplands. Dairy out of Dodgeville, Wisconsin, just incredible product.
Kerry Diamond:
We've come a long way from the Kraft Single.
Cathy Strange:
A long, long way.
Kerry Diamond:
Did you grow up on that?
Cathy Strange:
I did not.
Kerry Diamond:
You didn't? Oh, okay. I don't know, maybe it was a New York thing.
Cathy Strange:
Getting back to some of the things I didn't have the opportunity. My mother didn't make homemade pies. So really tasting this time of year someone else that's a baker, who's that chemist who's intrigued by the microbiology of it. I'm a great cutter and mixer of things, but someone else share with me how to do it.
Kerry Diamond:
Can do the pies. Okay, great. I want a picture of your cheese board with the unique shapes and the Gruyere fries.
Cathy Strange:
Fantastic.
Kerry Diamond:
Next time you make it, send me a photo. And then, how about holiday? What do you see in stores?
Cathy Strange:
Well, even back to Thanksgiving this year, stuffing became the number one side dish.
Kerry Diamond:
Oh, interesting.
Cathy Strange:
Surpassed mashed potatoes. So, I think about everyone's stuffing is so different, right? What are the basic ingredients? But, just-
Kerry Diamond:
Wait, we got to go back to that. What's behind that?
Cathy Strange:
... I love stuffing, don't you?
Kerry Diamond:
I love stuffing too. Yeah.
Cathy Strange:
My sister and I, she would put it in the side, hide it in the refrigerator. But, for me, stuffing is the key to having a great Turkey using the juices, making sure it's all right, and putting in what you like. My brother doesn't eat onions. I think, you have to have onions in a good stuffing for me, but it's not his preference. So, it's getting what you want to be able to pull out all the flavors is the sage, right? All of those things. So, that, and specifically around just talking about pairings, how do you pair all of the things together? Making that good cranberry to bring out the acidity, to bring out the flavors of the other things in the meal. And then, for me, the trends. You were just talking about some of the trends. With Whole Foods Market, we release a top 10 food and beverage trends. We have on there, of course, some things that you think, "Yeah, I do that every day." But internationalist snacking, sustainable sips, like, "How are we buying our different beverages?" So many things, not only about packaging, but just unique products.
For me, crunch and texture has always been a big part of my food. That is one of the trends and how everyone is looking for that to be a part of their meal, no matter what part, whether it's a casserole, or it's a dessert, or it's a drink. They're looking for that unique crunch in that. We're really excited about being that visionary trend supporter and individual's respect what we have to say, because you may not see them right away, but this is where we feel it's going. But pairings, trends, and the holidays.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell me about Holiday baking. Baking at least in the Cherry Bombe community, everybody is obsessed. And like I said, we see the Google searches skyrocket right at the end of November.
Cathy Strange:
And what I always say is, get out and get your butter now. Be prepared, have all your other ingredients, because when you go down the aisles in many stores, as those trends pop up, gosh, I missed it, you want to be prepared. I'm seeing a lot of fig and things out there. Maybe fig is old to us, but it's coming back again. Just telling that story, and then how do incorporate savory baking? I think that's always a big opportunity out there and the ability to combine different ingredients to reflect it. There's an amazing pastry chef, Sarah McIntosh in Austin, Texas who is great at that. So I think, just embracing things that are keen to your nature, but a little bit different. Not everything has to be sweet, things can be savory. Following recipes around baking is really key. Getting the right flowers. There's so many unique and amazing flowers, even buckwheat, just the different ingredients, speaking of heritage ingredients, that are out there now, really create an amazing palette for anyone that wants to bake.
Kerry Diamond:
We'll be right back with today's guest. Cherry Bombe's next Jubilee conference is taking place in New York City on April 12th. Early bird tickets are on sale right now at cherrybombe.com. If you're an official Bombesquad member, be sure to check your inbox for special member pricing. Jubilee is a conference we started in 2014 as a way to bring women together for networking, conversation, and community. It's a beautiful day filled with friends, new and old, great talks and panels, and amazing things to eat and drink. This year's Jubilee will be our biggest and our best one yet. Again, visit cherrybombe.com for early bird tickets. Prices will go up January 1st. The link is in our show notes.
Let's talk about some of these trends. Hydration hype. That might be my favorite. I can't keep up with all the beverages.
Cathy Strange:
And I'm all about lemonade again. It's so funny, but it's things you loved as a child also coming back and resonating in different ways. The different lemons, how things are harvested, how they're blended, non-alcoholic, still super hot. And then, how are you adding things, even different parts of ingredients that may be leftover from production to be able to get protein in. It's not just about flavor anymore, it's about a lot of different things, because everyone needs to be hydrated. But, the opportunity to add those to really make the experience unique to you and enjoy and create.
Kerry Diamond:
Tell me about the plant-based aquatic ingredient trend.
Cathy Strange:
I know. Don't you love that? I remember being outside Leon, France at a show many, many, many years ago and there was a whole booth just of seaweed. And then, of course, we had some interesting things happen with Japan that infected some of the waters. So, it went away for a while. But, just think, decades ago, we were surviving. Many people live near the coast. I think 70% of people live near the coast. So you would actually be eating with products out of the coast and specifically plant products. And there are so many that are incredible plant products. But, those being added dehydrated to salt and also just with snacking, just the ability to create that memory, how I grew by the sea, I could smell the sea, now I can taste the sea. It's a beautiful thing and very interesting products out there right now.
Kerry Diamond:
Next level compostable. That's obviously about the packaging.
Cathy Strange:
It is. And just what is happening to our future and how are we able to continue to address it, and also be able to get that food to you in the best environment? I think, we go directionally opposite. "Oh, let's do it fast and easy." And then, "Oh wow, that's going to be thousands of years in the dumps." So, how do we really address that to be able to get the product to you so it tastes the best, but also to be able to care about the future.
Kerry Diamond:
Sometimes I feel like the packaging companies and the brands are ahead of what our municipalities can handle, in terms of composting.
Cathy Strange:
Exactly. And also how it looks. If it doesn't have that appeal that what we're used to just being clean and the level of plastics in the environment, just really understanding what that means to you and how it may not be visually the most appealing, but you open it up and it tastes great, and then you're not worried about what's going to happen in a 100 years.
Kerry Diamond:
One trend, and I'm sure it works its way into all your trends that we're seeing a lot more of is regenerative. We had Brita Lundberg on the show from the Lundberg Family Farm, the famous rice farmers. Camilla Marcus was on the show and she just published her cookbook, “My Regenerative Kitchen,” and talks about regenerative brands. Are you hearing more and more?
Cathy Strange:
More and more. And we actually, as a company, prioritized this many years ago. When I started with the company, it was a part of our mantra and mission. Through the years, we've engaged, now we have a vice president of sustainability that's actually leading that. So we released an impact report specifically around this. But, it is one of our key initiatives to follow up on. So, back to, if you're wanting to present products to Whole Foods Market, regenerative thinking is a really good component to be able to address around that. We have a big affinity for understanding that in farming and the continued evolution of that, it would be a differentiator to continue to support that.
So the answer is yes, it's big. It's going to continue to be big for the near future. And it's exciting for all of us, not only around the unique foods, but speaking specifically about Lundberg, they were one of our producers of the years. So Brita got up and spoke at the awards ceremony I was at, and just talking about generationally how she wanted to represent her family and bring a different touch to it and honoring it all. She brought up, "I'm going regenerative. I have ideas of my own, but still honoring the past of what we've established." And the products are delicious and amazing.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah, they have great product. You two remind me of each other in your ability to tell a beautiful story, about what you do and the product you love.
Cathy Strange:
Well, if we love it, that's the key. I think one of the joys of my life is to be able to share the stories of the farmers, which is the story of the land, which is the story of the animal. And, you can taste the finished product.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I know you got to get out of here, so we're going to do a speed round. What beverage do you start your morning with?
Cathy Strange:
I start every morning with the macchiato. And I was just sharing today, it's not necessarily about the sourcing of the coffee because I do love Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and I love the aromatics, but it's really who's pulling the pour for my macchiato. And I like a traditional macchiato, not new-aged, just a little dollop of cream on the top.
Kerry Diamond:
So who's pulling your macchiato in the morning?
Cathy Strange:
Well, this morning was Tarallucci, really great here in New York City. But in Austin, Texas it would be Fleet and Patrick, his company. Amazing. And he was Barista of the Year in the U.S. in 2015. So he pulls a good pour.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay, very cool. I just had this idea pop in my head. I was like, "You should have your own magazine." I feel like you know everybody and every trend.
Cathy Strange:
That would be you. I need to follow in your steps. But, what I do think through the years, like yourself, you've developed relationships that lead to other relationships, and it's people that are engaged, not just wanting to be published but really wanting to talk, and learn, and share. And I think that's what's really important and what I love about being a part the food community of the world, not just within Whole Foods market environment.
Kerry Diamond:
Yeah. I think what you and I have in common is we love all the nerds.
Cathy Strange:
Yes, we do.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. So that's your beverage. What did you say is always in your fridge? You said cheese, butter.
Cathy Strange:
Cheese and butter. You can always count that, and arugula. I would say, there's a local regenerative farm called Boggy Creek. It's a four-acre urban farm in Austin. I go every Saturday when I'm in town. The best arugula in the world, around the world, the best is from Austin.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay.
Cathy Strange:
Come by.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. I absolutely will. What was your favorite food as a kid?
Cathy Strange:
Simply macaroni and butter. That was it.
Kerry Diamond:
What's your favorite snack food today?
Cathy Strange:
Today, it would be Toquettis from Sardinia, which is a flatbread with pimento cheese.
Kerry Diamond:
Who's pimento cheese?
Cathy Strange:
It depends on where I am.
Kerry Diamond:
I don't want to start a war.
Cathy Strange:
That's a hard one. But yeah, pimento cheese.
Kerry Diamond:
You know what I just saw in that same supermarket in Rhode Island where they had the ski cheese? Callie's Little Biscuits.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah.
Kerry Diamond:
She has her own pimento cheese now.
Cathy Strange:
Yeah, it's amazing. It's just grown. There's so many great ones. Sweet Grass has a great one out there. They're in Thomasville, Georgia, but they do a great job and their animals are never barned. They're always out. Really great job down there.
Kerry Diamond:
Have you ever been to Blackberry Farm?
Cathy Strange:
I have.
Kerry Diamond:
They're pimento cheese is so good.
Cathy Strange:
I know their cheese maker was at one time trained by Judy Shad at Capriole, part of that Goat Lady Cheese group with Mary Keene, Judy Shad, Laura Chenel, that group. Those are inspiring women to me.
Kerry Diamond:
Do you cook a lot?
Cathy Strange:
I do.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. What's your favorite kitchen implement or most used kitchen tool?
Cathy Strange:
Kitchen knife. You got to have a good kitchen knife, and then a grater for Parmigiano Reggiano. It's got to be perfect, but I do love my grandmother's potato masher too. It still has that red and white handle, wooden handle on it, so little things like that. But those would be... Oh, and tongs.
Kerry Diamond:
What are you streaming right now?
Cathy Strange:
Oh, gosh, just so much. It's interesting. I'm not really engaged in too many food shows, so I like to do more biography, or action, or what's that... And I binge a lot, because I'm on planes a lot. So, it could be a variety of things.
Kerry Diamond:
What's your favorite food movie?
Cathy Strange:
It's interesting, because the movies overall are very polarizing because you can identify with so many different things. But I do like biographies. So, I do think “Julia” really resonated with me. I lived in D.C. for many years and when they put her kitchen into the museum there, it just really spoke to me about that. I'm in La Dame d’Escoffier and I have friends that were very close to Julia Child. I love martinis and french fries and she loved martinis and french fries, so that always resonated with me.
Kerry Diamond:
There's a beautiful new book about the story behind the kitchen at the Smithsonian.
Cathy Strange:
Oh, I don't know that. But, truly, I was one of the first to go down and see it, just because what an inspiration to so many women. And also to go abroad and learn things, not only around food, but language and culture, it's unique. Food is culture.
Kerry Diamond:
Absolutely. You've traveled all over the world, but anywhere that's still on your dream destination list?
Cathy Strange:
Everywhere is beautiful. I mean, and you can find amazing food, but there's truly beauty. Beauty in colors and water everywhere. I haven't been to the eastern, near east countries, so my father always said that Thailand was the most beautiful country he's been to in terms of the colors and just he was inspired by it. So I would say, probably that.
Kerry Diamond:
Okay. All right. Last question. If you had to be trapped on a desert island with one food celebrity, who would it be and why?
Cathy Strange:
Well, all my friends. But I would say, if I had to pick one, I truly love Massimo Bottura and his wife Lara Gilmore. They're so insightful, and truly human, and committed individuals that I like. I mean, I knew Massimo many, many years ago before his restaurant was rated. How do I know Massimo? through Parmigiano Reggiano. And then, he turned around and saved... When the earthquake was over there, it was just so industrious around trying to save that. He's done so many amazing things. Laura's done so many amazing things. And together, they have. I would say, that's always engaging. But, Andy Nusser and Patty his wife here in New York City, Jamie Powell and Ronnie Willie. There are so many wonderful people.
Kerry Diamond:
You just need to hold Noah's Ark of friends.
Cathy Strange:
I do. Wouldn't you like to be like, "Let's just go through day after day"?
Kerry Diamond:
Well, Massimo and Lara, they're a great choice. And also, you're never going to go hungry if you've got Massimo Bottura on the island with you.
Cathy Strange:
I love it. And you're never going to be out of music. You're going to have great vinyl, and you're going to talk about the theory behind revolutions and inspiration. I mean, it's never ending.
Kerry Diamond:
And what's your contribution?
Cathy Strange:
For me that I'm always engaged and asking questions. And my difference is, I'm so different from what they grew up with. But, I'm relatable in ways that we are sharing food thoughts. So, that would be my contribution.
Kerry Diamond:
You'll keep the conversation going.
Cathy Strange:
Exactly.
Kerry Diamond:
Well, speaking of which, I could interview you for hours. I know we jumped around a lot of different topics, because you've just done so many different things and have led such an interesting life and had such a fantastic career. So, thank you for taking the time.
Cathy Strange:
Well, thank you.
Kerry Diamond:
That's it for today's show. Did you know The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network has a baking podcast? We do. It's called She's My Cherry Pie. It is the number one baking podcast in the country and new episodes drop on Saturdays. It's hosted by Jesse Sheehan. If you are a baker, a baked good lover, a baker lover, whatever, give a listen. Radio Cherry Bombe's theme song is by the band Tralala. Joseph Hazan is the studio engineer at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center. Our producers are Catherine Baker and Jenna Sadhu. And our editorial coordinator is Sophie Kies. Thanks for listening everybody. You are the Bombe.