When Chef Matt Taylor answered our call for a chef for Farmhouse Kitchen, our in-house private label, it was love at first sight. Luckily, the feeling was mutual: “I wanted to work somewhere that was working more closely with Austin farmers and seasonal produce,” he recounts. “I was happy to find out that Farmhouse had deep relationships with food producers all over Texas, and not just produce! Meat, dairy, eggs, locally made products, everything. I was impressed. A friend introduced me to Farmhouse Delivery’s founder Steph and I just knew I had to come aboard. Honestly, it didn’t take much for her to sell me on the job. Within a few minutes of meeting her, I could see her passion. Plus, she’s got a great smile. She’s genuine.”
After 15 years of cooking professionally in restaurants, Chef Matt came on board to transform what we like to call “meal solutions,” offerings ranging from heat-and-eat prepared meals, meal kits that you put together yourself, and dressings, sauces, spice rubs, pickles, and long-simmered stocks for soups and stews. What we and Chef Matt are most proud of is our use of the bounty of Texas to make it all. It’s all about local, seasonal, simple cooking – but as Chef Matt knows, keeping it simple can be a lot of work.
And that’s his mission – doing the preserving and planning for you to use everything coming in from our farmers and to keep amazing food on your table all year long. “I’ve been into preserving the moment and trying to get the most out in-season products,” he says. “We juice and preserve everything we can and save it for the perfect moment. In the summer, we pickled habaneros because i love jerk sauce, but I needed to keep them until we could get limes. Pickling preserved the season until the right moment came to make jerk sauce. This technique isn’t groundbreaking or new but rather simple, time-honored and thoughtful cooking.”
At the end of the day, it comes full circle back to our culture of authenticity. We’re all busy, but we want real food. Grown in our soil, under our skies, made by people who care about product, flavor, and Texas growers.
___
Interview contributed by Elizabeth Winslow, Co-Founder of Farmhouse Delivery.
You can find Matt’s Meal Kit creations HERE and other Farmhouse Kitchen sauces, spices, dressings, and meats HERE.