Specialty Food Magazine

Ethan Frisch & Ori Zohar C O › F O U N D E R S , B U R L A P & B A R R E L Ages: 33 and 34 Gabrielle Eitienne C U LT U R A L P R E S E R VAT I O N I S T, C O › F O U N D E R , TA LL G R A S S F O O D B OX Age: 30 Food is the foundation of the decade-long friendship between Ethan Frisch and Ori Zohar, co-founders of Burlap & Barrel, which ethically and sustainably sources spice from all over the world. "Ethan is a chef, so we kind of built our friendship around that," says Zohar. But Burlap & Barrel isn't the first company that the pair launched together. Back in 2010, they launched Guerilla Ice Cream, an activist ice cream brand, which had four successful months before closing when Frisch went to London for graduate school. After graduating, Frisch took a job at an NGO, building roads and infrastructure in Afghanistan. It was there, in 2012, that he discovered a variety of cumin that grows wild in the mountains. After realizing how much flavor the cumin added to his own personal cooking, Frisch considered bringing the ingredient to the global market. He brought the cumin on trips home and shared it with his fellow chefs, whose enthusiasm for the spice led to Burlap & Barrel. They began by connecting with farmers in Afghanistan, Zanzibar, and Guatemala to export spices to the U.S. "One country, once spice at a time, we built a network," says Frisch. From there, they began selling the spices in bulk, to restaurants/foodservice, and direct-to-consumer. As the coronavirus pandemic began to take hold, foodservice sales slowed considerably. However, due to the increased number of consumers cooking at home, Burlap & Barrel's e-commerce sales soared. "People were buying ingredients they hadn't been interested in. It's given us a license to introduce ingredients that may be new to people but will elevate their home cooking," says Frisch. Burlap & Barrel has begun partnering with other companies to create co-branded products like jam and soap. The owners also hope to continue their support of small businesses. At its heart, Burlap & Barrel is a company devoted to social change. "We want to create a richer and more representative food system," says Zohar.—A.F. Gabrielle Eitienne has been working not only to keep the agricultural traditions of her ancestors and others in the Carolinas alive, but also to use them to inspire today's food enthusiasts. Eitienne is a cultural preservationist and co-founder of Tall Grass Food Box, a community- supported agricultural program that helps distribute products from Black-owned farmers in North Carolina. She also runs Revival Taste Collective, through which she is planning a Sunday Supper Series featuring items from Black farmers in the area, along with stories about their agricultural traditions. After working with some chefs in New York City in various capacities—Eitienne has been a sous chef, food writer, assistant photographer, and videographer—she moved back to North Carolina, where she grew up, seeking to learn about the local farming practices. Her efforts were inspired in part by local farmers who had been displaced by modern development (part of her family's land was acquired by the Department of Transportation). "People who had been here for generations were connected to the land in a unique and special way," Eitienne says. As she began to gather local stories, she created a short documentary on her research, called "Tall Grass." When the pandemic hit and many growers suddenly saw demand from restaurants drop off, she teamed up with Tall Grass Food Box co-founder Derrick Beasley to create the CSA. A third partner, Gerald C. Harris, is also involved in the initiative. The boxes are distributed every other week through two locations in the Raleigh-Durham area, which Eitienne said is helping farmers earn a good price for their crops and providing food to the local community. "This is the kind of work our communities have always done," she says, explaining that her grandmother and others in the area have long looked out for their neighbors. "When someone needed food, they would make sure people had what they needed," Eitienne adds.—M.H. PHOTOš BURLAP & BARREL PHOTOš DERRICK BEASLEY Œ¢ SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM ‹ UNDER ŒŽ

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