People
Jen Musty, along with 6 full-time and 2 to 3 part-time staff
About
Jen Musty has been baking for as long as she can remember. She dreamed of opening her own bakery, even while she studied accounting. In 2006, she started building a name for her-self as a caterer, and in 2009, she opened a kiosk in downtown San Francisco. Two years later she launched a brick-and-mortar kitchen and storefront on Polk Street, which has relocated to Nob Hill. Jen is driven by a love of sharing old-fashioned American treats, including cookies, brownies, and cakes, with a modern twist and an emphasis on premium ingredients and seasonal produce.
Sourcing
Batter uses organic products when possible, including all organic flour. All produce (with the exception of banan-as) is sourced directly from local farmers, including many that sell at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
People
Kendra Kolling, along with 3 full-time employees
About
Kendra Kolling, an apple farmer’s wife and mother of three, began serving “farm to face” market salads and sandwiches in 2010. What began as an effort to help support the bottom line of the family farm—Nana Mae Organics in Sonoma County—has evolved into a rewarding career for Kendra, and a loving community of farmers and friends. At the Farmer’s Wife’s market stand on Saturdays and at their new location in Point Reyes Station from Thursday to Monday, you’ll find intricately layered sandwiches, beautifully composed salads, and whatever treats the harvest inspires.
Sourcing
The stand’s offerings rotate with the seasons. Fresh ingredients are sourced directly from local farms including from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
People
David Jablons and Tamara Hicks, their daughters Josy and Emmy, along with 7 full- and 6 part-time employees
Farmland
160 acres in Tomales, about 60 miles to San Francisco
About
In 2003, David and Tamara purchased 160 acres of rolling pasture a few miles from Tomales Bay and dubbed them Toluma Farms. In 2012, after several years of intensive land restoration, Tomales Farmstead Creamery was born.
The family raises several animal breeds recognized for their high-quality milk, including Alpine, La Mancha, Nubian, Oberhasli, Saanen, and Toggenburg dairy goats and East Friesian sheep. The creamery’s award-winning farmstead cheeses are produced exclusively with milk from Animal Welfare Approved herds raised on certified organic pastures.
Sourcing
The creamery’s farmstead cheeses are produced exclusively with milk from Animal Welfare Approved herds raised on certified organic pastures.
People
The Baker Family (Kenny, Molly, River, Ruby, and Uma), along with 4 full-time employees, and many seasonal hands
Farmland
15 acres in Corralitos, about 90 miles to San Francisco
About
First-generation farmer Kenny found his calling in agriculture working at local farms in Santa Cruz County. The farm began putting down roots in 2009, and is currently operating 15 acres of organic production. The intensively farmed parcel is very dynamic. “Our philosophy is embedded in organic principles and strongly influenced by systems thinking, natural resource conservation, and diversity,” says farmer Kenny. Intercropping flowers with orchard crops, establishing perennial hedgerows for pollinators, as well as planting diverse successions of annuals make the farm a visual and edible paradise. Lonely Mountain produces around 50 different commodities and their market stall shines throughout the seasons. The farmers have found their niche growing specialty fruit, vegetable, and herb varieties, as well as beautiful cut flowers. They market most of their products directly through farmers markets and to chefs in the greater Bay Area.
Certification
California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
People
Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak, Mark Pasternak, Lydia and Kyla Pasternak, with 6 full- and 2 part-time employees and 2 MESA interns
Farmland
75 acres in Nicasio, 10 acres in Novato, and 20 acres in Petaluma, each 30 to 40 miles to San Francisco
About
Devil’s Gulch Ranch is a diversified family farm in Marin County. Mark and his wife, Myriam, who is also a veterinarian, raise rabbits, pigs, sheep, heritage French Bresse chickens, heritage Silkie chickens, poussin, squab, and quail. The rabbits are raised without hormones and antibiotics, and they are fed a locally milled, corn-free pelleted alfalfa ration. Sheep graze in the vineyards, and the pigs’ diet includes byproducts and returns from local producers, including whole milk, cheese, whey, tortillas, and spent brewer’s grain.
Education is key to the Pasternaks’ mission, and the farm regularly hosts summer camps for kids. Myriam also works with families in Haiti to help them raise rabbits for income and food.
People
Lenore Estrada, with 14 full-time employees
About
Three Babes Bakeshop is a woman- and minority-owned business. Since it was founded in 2011, Three Babes has grown from a tiny pop-up into San Francisco’s most popular purveyor of artisanal pies. Three Babes makes pies by hand each day using the finest local, seasonal, and organic ingredients. They recently opened their long-awaited shop in the Mission.
Sourcing
The Babes source liberally from local farms, including Old Dog Ranch, Hidden Star Orchards, Yerena Farms, Balakian Farms, Tory Farms, Frog Hollow Farm, and G.L, Alfieri, among others. The use organic pastry ingredients, down to the sugar, baking powder, cream, eggs, and flour, locally milled at Giusto’s.
People
Tory and Rebecca Torosian and their sons, Tory Jr. and Sarkis, with 2 long-time, full-time field workers
Farmland
80 acres situated at the base of Smith Mountain in the town of Dinuba, located 212 miles south of San Francisco
About
Owned and operated by the Torosians for the last 50 years, Tory Farms is a treasured family asset owing to its scenic beauty, rural feel, and abundant wildlife. Egrets, red-tailed hawks, white-shouldered kites, barn owls, and doves are among the many bird species that inhabit their fields, vineyards, and orchards. California quails and pheasants nest in 30 acres of uncultivated open ground. The Torosians maintain soil fertility by cover-cropping, mulching and turning raw vegetable matter into the soil. They control pests by creating habitat for insect predators, using pheromone disruption, and occasionally applying organic and synthetic pesticides (no organophosphates are applied). Night-time irrigation and mulch help conserve water on the farm.
People
Hans Haveman and Heidi Rhodes, with 12 full- and 15 part-time employees
About
In 2003, spouses Hans and Heidi founded H&H Fresh Fish Co. Hans, born and raised in Santa Cruz, comes from a family of watermen. After decades of experience in commercial fishing, he bought his own salmon-fishing boat and began selling his catch to buyers. Heidi, who had studied business in college, brought her knowledge of marketing, sales, and business operations to help expand H&H into what it is today. Their iconic fish market in the heart of the Santa Cruz Harbor is complete with picnic tables and an array of housemade specialties like poke and ceviche.
Sourcing
When not caught by Hans and his team, H&H sources seafood from other Santa Cruz fishermen as the Resident Seafood Buyers of Santa Cruz Harbor. The commitment to local and sustainable fishing is unwavering, with much of their seafood caught by hook-and-line within a 50-mile radius of Santa Cruz. Additionally, H&H extend their reach to bring you the best from sustainable fisheries in Southern California, Alaska, and Hawai’i.
People
Evan Bloom and Leo Beckerman, along with 100 full-time employees
About
College friends Evan and Leo founded Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen after years of witnessing a decline in the quality and abundance of authentic Jewish deli food. Taking matters into their own hands, they started out by tinkering with pastrami recipes on a gas smoker in Evan’s backyard, and in January 2011, they began a weekly pop-up in a restaurant space. They now have five Bay Area locations, including their flagship deli on 24th Street in San Francisco’s Mission District.
Sourcing
Wise Sons’ makes their pastrami and corned beef with beef brisket that is never administered hormones or antibiotics. They brine the meats in a proprietary blend of spices and smoke the pastrami for nearly 7 hours over real hickory wood.
