Restaurateur Gabe Georis and his partner, longtime local Chef Brandon Miller Launch The Chef’s Stash Locals can now get their Stash of the best locally sourced foods through TheChefsStash.com and pickup box of ingredients for a weeks worth of varied, healthy, and delicious meals.
Carmel, CA, August 21, 2020 - Say your best friend is a chef and a restaurant owner. Now imagine that friend putting together all the best foods that your area has to offer from fruits and veggies, to the freshest fish and tastiest meats, to the best farm eggs and milk, to homemade jams and pickles and handing you a box out the back door of the restaurant. Well, imagine no more. Locals can now get their Stash of the best locally sourced foods through TheChefsStash.com and pickup box of ingredients for a weeks worth of varied, healthy, and delicious meals. Depending on your choice of Vegetarian, Pescatarian, or Original All Things Stash, you’ll get an assortment of vegetables, fruits, fish, meats, eggs, milk, fresh pasta, legumes, and gourmet goodies such as olive oil, honey, jam, pickles, cheese, or specialty sauces. The Chef’s Stash is the brainchild of chef and restaurateur Gabe Georis and his partner, longtime local chef Brandon Miller, who previously worked together to make Carmel Spanish tapas eatery Mundaka one of the top restaurants in the village. And the idea of getting the box curated by the two food mavens out of the back door of a restaurant is precisely what they envisioned “That’s the feeling we wanted to convey — getting the hook-up from us out the back door,” said Georis, who literally grew up in the restaurant business. “We know who has the best stuff locally, the best produce, the best fruit, the best chickens, and our Stashers get to take advantage of that inside scoop. It’s fun.” The concept grew out of necessity stemming from sheltering in place. His restaurants shuttered, Georis found himself cooking at home more than usual, and being a well-connected chef and restaurateur, had access to the best produce and meats available from vendors who, in normal times, supplied his restaurant. However, as a wholesale buyer, he found himself with far more food than his family could use. So he recruited about a dozen of his friends who also like to cook at home and would divvy up the boxes of produce, meat and other items Georis was able to source. “People who signed on were excited about it, because they were getting higher quality ingredients at a good price, and avoiding the exposure of going to the store” he said. “They were surprised each week to see what they got, and we started sharing recipe ideas on a text thread and later Instagram. People would take photos of what they were cooking with the boxes to share and inspire each other to cook tasty dishes. And what started as a casual thing between friends grew into a full fledged business after word spread and more people wanted in. The new website Chef’s Stash (TheChefsStash.com) launches at the end of August and allows customers to sign up for a weekly stash of their choice or sign up for a subscription to get a stash weekly and save some money on the weekly box. The website also is host to useful and inspiring content such as recipe ideas, tips and tricks on cooking, and videos of the
Chefs preparing fun and easy dishes like mackeral salad with arugula pesto or melon and mint gazpacho. Here’s how it works: Go to the website and sign up for which stash you want and if you want it for 2 or 4 people (by Tuesday at 5pm). Select any addons like local wine, a bouquet of flowers etc... and pick up your Stash on Friday between 3-7pm. Voila! Just like that you’re a foodie insider and set up with inspiring ingredients to cook great meals at home! The pickup location is on Mission St. Between Fifth and Sixth Avenues (across from Katies Place Restaurant) All of the products the chefs source are organic, natural, grass-fed, sustainably caught, hormonefree, antibiotic-free, pasture-raised, local, fresh, and top quality. All seriously happy food with a conscience that will make you the dinner hero in your home. The ingredients in a box changes week to week, depending on availability and what’s fresh or in season that week. So, patrons often don’t know exactly what they’re getting until Friday, which appeals to them. One customer commented “The Chef's boxes have saved us and inspired us during the crazy time of COVID. It's the highlight of our week to go pick it up on Fridays!” Another happy Stasher says “We’re so excited on Friday to see what we get, it feels like Christmas!” „We reach out to cool local small businesses, such as getting cheese from The Cheese Shop or sausage from the Pig Wizard, jams from Happy Girl Kitchen, even green soap from Eco Carmel,” said Georis. “So, you’re not just supporting us, you’re supporting a lot of small local businesses. We’re all trying to make it through this craziness!” “This is more than a box of delicious, locally sourced food, it’s an experience curated by a professional chef! You can’t buy produce like this in a store! Five stars for freshness and variety. … tomatillos, fresh English peas, kumquats, squash blossoms, fava beans…” Sara M. Some of the locally owned businesses they source from include (but is not limited to): Farms •
Coke Farms
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Mariquita Farms
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Borba Family Farms
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Pinnacle Farms
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Prevedelli Farms
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Lonely Mountain
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Everlasting Garden
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Yerena Farms
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Blue Heron Farms
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Alberto’s Farm
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P+K Farms
Ranchers/Fishermen/Food Producers/Purveyors •
Savor the Local – farm and dairy deliveries
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Coral de Tierra Cattle Co. – beef and lamb
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Pig Wizard – sausages and bacon
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Real Good Fish – fish and shellfish
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Sea Harvest - Fish
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Happy Girl Kitchen – jams and preserves
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Pasta Palatte – fresh pasta
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Living Circle Farm – honey
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Schoch Family Farmstead – milk and cheese
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Cheese Shop Carmel – international and local cheeses
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Cousin’s Dozens – eggs
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Ad Astra – bread
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Far West Fungi – mushrooms
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Sightglass – coffee
A typical box might include these ingredients (this one from July 17, 2020): •
Monterey Bay Mackerel – whole
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Fogline Chicken
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Pig Wizard Spicy Sicilian Sausage
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Mike Jone’s house ground half steer
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Chef’s Stash Apricot-Plum-Corn Chutney
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Chef’s Stash Salsa Verde
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Gabriela’s Pierogi Soup
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Bell Peppers
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Italian Heirloom Brocollini
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Beefsteak Tomatoes
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Cherry Tomatoes
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Yellow Onions
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Persian Cucumbers
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Rainbow Carrots
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Rainbow Chard
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Chanterelle Mushrooms
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French Green Lentils
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Baby Gem Lettuce
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Mini Squash
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Watermelon
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Nectarinas
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Blackberries
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Dill
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Fennel
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Mint
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Parsley
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Verve Coffee
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Flowers
Photo #1 (both vertical and horizontal): Chefs and restaurateurs Gabe Georis (left) and Brandon Miller toast to the success of their new venture, Chef’s Stash, a box of meats, seafood, fruits, vegetables and more curated by the two chefs for weekly pickup. #2 Chef’s Stash boxes are packed every week with organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables.
#2A. Chef’s Stash boxes not only include organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables, but locally sourced milk and cheeses. #3A Chef Brandon Miller prepares containers of homemade panna cotta to be included in Chef’s Stash boxes. #3B Chef’s Stash curated boxes are packed with seasonal fruits and vegetables, poultry, meats, and seafood as well as rustic breads, eggs and cheeses, and varies week from to week. #4 Chef’s Stash boxes (and bags!) can be picked up from 3-7 p.m. every Friday at Mission Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, across the street from Katy’s Place, in Carmel-by-the-Sea. #5 Homemade panna cotta with fresh organic strawberries, blackberries and figs, prepared from ingredients in a typical Chef’s Stash box. Contact: Marci Bracco Cain Chatterbox PR Salinas, CA 93901 (831) 747-7455 http://www.TheChefsStash.com