Of Bacon And Bondage::

Examining the food of enslaved African Americans in the low country

Guest author, Christopher Wilson, Director of the African America History Program at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History,
and featured speaker at Zingerman's Camp Bacon, offers the following excerpt from his upcoming publication.
As the Georgia weather began to turn crisp and cool one December just before the Civil
War, Cordelia Thomas felt excitement in the air. On cool evenings as she lay awake on
the cramped cabin floor, sounds echoing out of the piney woods and across the rice
bogs foretold what was to come. Dogs barked and bayed, men shouted and whooped,
pots and bells clanged, and hogs squealed. Killing time was approaching and the men
and boys from the plantation where she and her family were held in bondage went out
to round up the hogs that had been foraging unfettered through the upland woods and
down into the swamps since they were last rounded up in early summer so the shoats
could be marked with the plantations distinctive ear marks. Now hogs were cornered
by the dogs and men, and those with the right cut marks on their ears were brought back
to pens on the farm.
On big plantations in the Lowcountry, killing time was serious work, just like everything
else in these forced labor camps. Hundreds of hogs had to be slaughtered and butchered
to provide the 20,000 or 30,000 pounds of pork it might take to sustain the enslaved
workers toiling all year to produce rice and wealth for the few, incredibly rich, white
families of the region. Mostly hogs were used as a way to extract resources from the
surrounding wilderness without a great deal of management. The piney woods hogs of
the region (which most closely resembled the rare Ossabaw Island breed of hogs) were
left to fend for themselves and then, as depicted in the film Old Yeller, with the help of
good dogs hunted down and subdued either for marking or slaughter. As this process
could take weeks, it added to the overall anticipation for killing time.
Thomas looked forward to killing time all year. Living in Athens, Georgia when she was
interviewed by the Federal Writers Project at age 80, she remembered: Children was
happy when hog killing time come. Us wasnt allowed to help none, except to fetch in
the wood to keep the pot boiling where the lard was cooking. She remembered rendering the lard in big washpots set on rocks over a fire, and she didnt mind at all being
tasked with gathering the wood for that fire because when them cracklings got done
they let us have all us could eat. Just let me tell you, missy, she said to her New Deal
interviewer, you aint never had nothing good less you have ate a warm skin crackling
with a little salt.
Thomas also relates that the rare treat of cracklings was so enticing that all the children crowded around the rendering pot. Despite warnings from the planters and elders
in the slave community, she fell into the fire after she was pushed by another child.
Thomas, who said she had to keep her burnt arm and hand in a sling for a long time
after that, remembered the planter laying down the law after that as he threatened
what he would do if the slave children, his valuable property, crowded around the lard
pot again.
This is the essence of many of the stories of slavery that we use as evidence in research.
Enslaved African Americans found some joy in small things we can relate to, like cracklings at butchering time. They also faced the dangers everyone faced on farms in the
19th century when accidents with fires were only slightly less deadly than childbirth and
disease, but those dangers were elevated because of everything that went along with
the nature of plantations as crowded work camps. And, in the end, human concerns for
health, happiness, and safety were absent, as profit and labor reigned supreme.
One of the things we consider and study over and over at the Smithsonian and in the
museum field in general is the relationship between history and memory.
As historian David Blight wrote, History is what trained historians do, a reasoned
reconstruction of the past rooted in research; it tends to be critical and skeptical of
human motive and action, and therefore more secular than what people commonly call
memory. History can be read by or belong to everyone; it is more relative, contingent on
place, chronology, and scale. If history is shared and secular, memory is often treated
as a sacred set of absolute meanings and stories, possessed as the heritage of identity
of a community. Memory is often owned; history is interpreted. Memory is passed
down through generations; history is revised. Memory often coalesces in objects, sites,
and monuments; history seeks to understand contexts in all their complexity. History
asserts the authority of academic training and canons of evidence; memory carries the
often more immediate authority of community membership and experience.
As historians, we study and research the past and tell complex stories with long, complicated answers to questions, but in the public sphere, whether at a museum or in a
film, TV show or popular magazine article, we expect simple, direct answers that reflect
myths we can use to understand the past and present. When I say myths I dont necessarily mean stories that are untrue either just history that is mythic or held in common. There are, of course, history myths like George Washington and the cherry tree or
the American birth myth of the Pilgrims, which are either partially or totally untrue.
But there are history myths we share where everyone knows the story and our understanding of it matches history pretty well when I worked at Henry Ford Museum and
we acquired the Rosa Parks bus we saw a good example of this.
Over the 30 years I have been involved in public history, a subject that has acutely demonstrated that history and memory can be at odds is the subject of slavery. This is true
for many reasons. First, there can be problems with evidence most written records
are from the point of view of the slaveholder and the oral histories of people

who experienced slavery like Cordelia Thomas can be tricky sources. More problematic
is the fact that the interpretation of slaverys history has always been associated with
power. In the same way as the institution of slavery was imbued with issues of power,
our memory of it is as well.
I came head to head with these issues when we began to explore the history of slavery
in Lowcountry Georgia at Henry Ford Museum in the early 1990s. We restored and reinterpreted two brick houses that housed enslaved families on the Hermitage Plantation
from Chatham County, Georgia, just outside Savannah and in the kingdom of rice. As
we began to outline how we would present one story of slavery, we ran squarely into
what Blight called sacred sets of absolute meanings. Whether it was our decision to
call the buildings houses rather than quarters or cabins, or to concentrate on family life and culture rather than work and oppression, it involved power and memory
and sometimes ran contrary to what the public wanted from an exhibit. And what many
people wanted soon became clear when I took on the heavy responsibility of training
the first group of staff to work in the slave houses and present and discuss this traumatic history to visitors. Many visitors wanted short, simple answers to questions they
had that confirmed their memories. Slaves werent allowed to read and write, right?
Slavery was only in the South, wasnt it? Or quite often, These buildings are pretty
nice. Id like to have a cabin like this up north. It couldnt have been that bad, could it?
This was certainly the case when we discussed food. It didnt take long in discussing
food on a Lowcountry rice plantation for me to encounter the publics mythic understanding of the origins of soul food. The master took the best parts of the pig, the story
goes, and the slaves were left with pigs feet and chitlins. In some ways this story perfectly fit some of the themes we wanted to present enslaved African Americans were
oppressed, but undefeated. They took what they had and made due, creating a culture
and keeping their families together against great odds.
But as with so much of the story of life on a rice plantation, the particular details of this
unique region were not commonly known and did not fit our common understanding.
Rice plantations were distinctive in a number of ways. First off, they were rare. The way
the famous Carolina Gold rice (which has been brought back to life and dinner tables
by Anson Mills) was grown in the 19th century required tidal action to move massive
amounts of water in and out of rice fields. Rice, however, can only take so much salt,
so the fields cant be too close to the ocean that the water is too saline, nor can they be
too far away that it doesnt move with the tides. That meant rice could be grown only
in a narrow strip of land along southern North Carolina, coastal South Carolina, Coastal
Georgia, and a bit of northern Florida. Historian William Dusinberre estimates that in
the late 1850s, Virtually the whole low-country rice crop was produced on about 320
plantations, owned by 250 families. Secondly, rice plantations were big. Despite what
we see in everything from Gone with the Wind to this summers remake of Roots, the
typical experience of slavery was living on a small farm with a few enslaved workers.
About 1 percent of slaveholders in the South owned more than 50 slaves, but it was typical of rice planters to hold 100 or 200 people in bondage, sometimes more. At the start
of the Civil War, 35 families owned more than 500 enslaved African Americans and 21 of
those were rice planters.
As I began to contemplate peculiarities of rice plantations like these and cross reference that with our commonly held myths of slavery, I began to see conflicts. This was
especially so with the master took the hams and chops and the slaves ate the chitlins
story. It was commonly held across the rice growing region that the ration of pork for
enslaved people was 3 pounds a week per person. On plantation like the Hermitage
enslaving more than 200 people, that amounts to slaughtering more than 200 hogs producing some 30,000 lbs of pork. It doesnt stand to reason that the white planter family
would eat all the high on the hog parts, because there would just be too much (although
some plantations did send hams and bacon to cities like Savannah or Charleston for
sale). Furthermore, due to the malaria and general pestilence and oppressive heat of
the lowcountry in the 19th century, white families generally left the plantation for the
half of the year they called the sickly season, leaving only the enslaved and a few
overseers there to work the rice.

story continues on p. 5

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

Catering
& Venues
Planning a tailgate?

Dreaming of a romantic, farmhouse wedding?

Planning a corporate event that will show guests the beauty of Ann Arbor?

ZINGERMANS HAS YOU COVERED

WITH GREAT CHOICES IN VENUES AND CATERING!

VENUES

CATERING

CORNMAN FARMS IN DEXTER

Cornman Farms is an award-winning event space, wedding venue, and working farm
in Dexter, Michigan. We pride ourselves on our level of service, quality of staff, impeccably maintained buildings and grounds, and our attention to detail. This 42 acre farm
and its venues were restored with the most discerning guests in mind. We offer a beautiful exhibition kitchen, a chefs garden, bride and bridegroom suites, a classic farmhouse, four-seasons barn, and a stunning tent pavilion. From the moment you decide
on Cornman Farms for your event, you can rest assured that you will be looked after
by our owner and lauded chef Kieron Hales and our talented and caring staff members.

734.619.8100
cornmanfarms.com
8540 Island Lake Rd., Dexter

GREYLINE

Ann Arbors downtown venuefor private events! The space is operated exclusively
by Zingermans Catering and Events. Greylines entrance is located at 100 N. Ashley,
under the historic Ann Arbor bus depot sign and connected to the Marriott Residence
Inn. The interior highlights aspects of the Art Deco history of the bus depot with a
modern flair. Floor to ceiling windows, a beautifully designed built-in bar and full
catering kitchen provide guests with an in-town experience highlighting Zingermans
great service and exceptional food. It is the perfect space for groups: 40 to 150 guests
for seated receptions and up to 200 guests for strolling events.

ZINGERMANS EVENT SPACE

734.663.3400
zingermansgreyline.com
100 N Ashley St, Ann Arbor

ZINGERMAN'S ROADHOUSE

We love to host any personal or professional milestone that youd like to mark with
a celebration: weddings, graduations, birthday parties, business meetings, rehearsals,
showers, or cocktail receptions.
We can cater breakfast, lunch, or dinner events ranging from cool and casual, to traditional and formal. We provide full-flavored all-American food and enthusiastic, engaging service for both in-house parties and off-site events.
Groups often prefer to reserve the Common Room (up to 80) and the outdoor covered
Patio (up to 100) in order to ensure privacy. In the summer season, we also have a portion of the covered patio that seats up to 30 nicely if your party is a bit smaller, with
sliding doors for a private party.

734.663.3663
zingermansroadhouse.com
2501 Jackson Rd., Ann Arbor

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

ON THE ROAD BY THE ROADHOUSE

Led by James Beard award-winning Chef Alex Young, the Roadhouse focuses on fullflavored and traditionally-made foods using local produce from Cornman Farms and
other local farms in the area. We have a deep love for Southern-style comfort foods,
such as fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and pit-smoked barbecue meats. We
also love customizing menus around your favorite cuisine, region, season or theme.
Whether planning a traditional Indian meal, a Spanish tapas-style evening or a New
England clambake, we can work with our chefs to create the menu that best fits what
you are looking for. The sky really is the limit! When we talk about your dream menu,
dont hesitate to tell us exactly what you are looking for.

734.663.3663
zingermansroadhouse.com
2501 Jackson Rd., Ann Arbor

ZINGERMAN'S DELI

Whether your event is a tailgate, an intimate gathering or you are looking to feed a
thousand, we want you to feel that choosing us to cater was the best decision you
made. Since we opened our doors in 1982 we have been bringing the Zingermans experience to full-flavored food lovers all over Michigan and the Midwest, reaching as far
as Chicago, Cleveland, and Indiana. We source ingredients from around the world.
Whether it is the exotic flavors of Epices de Cru spices (gathered by our friends, Ethne
and Philippe de Vienne of Montreal) or the Marino familys golden orange polenta from
the Piedmont, we only offer what is exceptional. Locally, we have long standing relationships with Michigan farmers and use local produce whenever possible. We also
have the luxury of turning to Zingermans Bakehouse and Creamery in addition to having the Delis world renowned meats and cheeses with which to woo your guests.
We want your event to be fun, flavorful and engaging! Our catering service team is
ready to give your guests the attentive service that has made ZIngermans famous.

734.663.3400
zingermansdeli.com
422 Detroit St., Ann Arbor

KOEZE CREAM NUT

PEANUT BUTTER

By Val Neff-Rasmussen

The recipe for Cream-Nut peanut butter from Koeze (rhymes with
Susie) in Grand Rapids, Michigan hasnt changed since Albertus
Koeze started making it in 1925. The equipment is old, too, from the
middle of the last century. Even a lot of the staff have been there for
decades. As Martin Andree, vice-president of Koeze puts it, Were
not new. Were not improved. Were making the same product weve
made all along.

Koeze peanut butter contains just two ingredients:

roasted peanuts and salt.

Cornman Farms is an award winning event and wedding venue in Dexter, Michigan.
We pride ourselves on our level of service, quality of staff, impeccably maintained
venues and grounds and our attention to detail is second to none. From the moment
you decide on Cornman Farms for your wedding, you can rest assured that you and
your families will be looked after by our talented and caring staff members. We host
both large and small weddings and celebrations we invite you and your families out
for a private tour!

Cornman Farms Red Barn Weddings

Our 1837 Red Barn holds years of beautiful memories under its lovingly restored,
time-weathered beams. The organic beauty of our Midwestern setting serves as
the idyllic backdrop in every season, ensuring a memorable day for all our guests.
Our Red Barn Weddings are designed for up to 100 guests and includes:
- Exclusive Access to Cornman Farms from 10:00 am - Midnight
- The Classic Cornman Farms Bar Menu
- A beautiful and delicious wedding cake by Zingermans Bakehouse
- Zingerman's Coffee, Rishi Tea, Seasonally Infused Waters and Soda
- Your choice of seasonal beverage station
- All essential rental items for your wedding day
- Valet Parking

Prices range from $13,000 to $21,000

Intimate Wedding Package

Relax as we arrange all key components of your wedding with as little as two
weeks notice, for between 5 and 50 guests.
- A three-course gourmet meal prepared by Zingermans Chef Kieron Hales
- A sparkling wine toast
- A beautiful and delicious wedding cake by Zingermans Bakehouse
- Choice of picturesque location on the venue property for the ceremony
- Officiant
- Photographer
- Bouquet and boutonniere (one of each, or two of either!)
- Zingermans Coffee & Rishi Tea Bar

Prices range from $6,500 to $12,900

For more information

visit www.cornmanfarms.com
email: cornmanevents@zingermans.com
call: 734-619-8100

Since Koeze doesnt add any sugar (which hides off flavors in the peanuts), theyre choosy about
the peanuts they use. There are four basic kinds of peanuts: runner, Spanish, Valencia, and Virginia.
At Koeze, theyve been using a high grade of Virginia peanuts since day one. Theyre large, very
flavorful, and typically rather expensive so they dont end up in peanut butter too often. Instead,
most Virginia peanuts are roasted and sold for snacking (like our Virginia Diner Peanuts).
It wasnt always this way. Until the 1970s, peanut butter was usually made from a mix of Spanish and
Virginia peanuts. But then a new type of runner peanut called the Florunner was introduced, and
in a few short years it nearly monopolized the peanut butter market. Florunners were popular with
commercial peanut butter makers because theyre very high yielding (read: inexpensive). However,
they dont taste that great. They lack the rich flavor of Virginia peanuts. Today Florunners have
fallen out of favor (as a monocrop they quickly became very susceptible to disease) but related
runner peanuts are still used to make 99% of commercial peanut butter. To mask the lackluster flavor of the nut, peanut butter makers add a bunch of sugar. This isnt the only place an added-sugar
trick shows up in our food; its the same thing with 100% cacao baking chocolate, which usually
tastes terrible because its typically made with very poor quality cacao. The baker is expected to
add a lot of sugar to the crummy chocolate so that the brownies wont taste horrible.

Koeze peanut butter is made using vintage machines

that have been around for generations.
The peanut roaster is an old coffee roaster from the 1940s. Inside the
roaster, 300-pound batches of peanuts are turned slowly over a flame,
roasting gently until they reach a rich golden-brown color. Thats caramelizationthe same thing that makes a crusty end of bread or a
seared steak so delicious. It imparts a sweet, roasty flavor to the nuts.
It also makes the production space smell incredible, like fresh peanut
butter cookies that have just come out of the oven.

Pick up
a jar at:
Zingerman's
Roadhouse, Deli,
Mail Order
and Creamery

Using the old equipment isnt more efficient; compared to most industrial peanut butter production, which employs very hot ovens and conveyor belts to quickly roast
thousands of peanuts every hour, the production at Koeze is fairly slow. But while faster production is less expensive, the savings come at the expense of flavor. That fast, hot, conveyor belt roasting doesnt give the peanuts much of a chance to develop coloror flavor. A lot of commercial peanut butters add molasses (more sugar!) to darken the color and mask the products shortcomings.
The roaster isnt the only old piece of equipment; essentially all of the machinery is old enough
that if Albertus Koeze were to walk into the production area today hed know how to use it. How
do they maintain these antiques? We make our own parts. And we have a really good mechanic,
Martin told me. But they were made to last. I have a lot more trouble with the new labeling
machine than with any of the old ones.

Making a batch of peanut butter at Koeze takes three people

and zero computers.
One of the most important jobs for these three people is to taste. In spite of years of experience
making peanut butter, they still taste every batch. Theyre checking to make sure it has the rich,
roasted peanut flavor and velvetybut still slightly chunky, with small bits of peanuts intentionally
left in, even in the creamy peanut buttertexture. They make peanut butter frequently enough
that its usually not more than a few weeks old before its shipped out.
Since peanut oil is more likely to separate from the butter the longer it sits around, fresher peanut
butter is more likely to be homogenous. Most commercial peanut butters whip in hydrogenated
vegetable oils to keep the peanut oil from separating, but in addition to adding trans fats they can
also give the peanut butter a gummy texture. Since Koeze doesnt have those oils added, it may
separate over time. Store it in the fridge to reduce that separation anxiety, and as a bonus, seeing
it every time you open the fridge will help you remember youre never more than a few minutes
away from the best PB&J you can imagine.

Val Neff-Rasmussen

thefeed.zingermans.com

Our once-a-year summer sale is on now, featuring stock-up deals on all our tasty favorites.
Choose from Koeze's Cream-Nut peanut butter, perennial best-seller tuna and other tinned
fishes, sauces, jams, nuts, pastas, and lots of other deeply discounted deliciousness.

Sale prices good through through July 31

at zingermans.com, by phone at 888.636.8162 and in person atZingerman's Deli

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

JULY
ORTIZ BONITO DEL NORTE TUNA BY THE CASE
Now $48 was $72
Everyone's favorite tuna is back, and it's bigger than ever!
Fresh, meaty and delicious, this line-caught classic from the
Ortiz Family in Spain is on sale in 12-tin cases. Stop by for
a taste and see why everyone will be stocking up on what's
sure to become the only tinned tuna you'll ever eat again!

Available as the dinner plate of the month

starting at 11am.

JULY
BBQ PICNIC
ON THE PATIO
$14.99

Celebrate the height of

summer with this classic
backyard picnic spread.
Creamy caraway coleslaw,
mustardy old fashioned
potato salad, smoky baked
beans and your choice of
one of our hand pulled,
slow cooked BBQ specialties: beef brisket or Amish
chicken slathered in a
sweet and tangy red sauce,
or zesty Cuban-style pork.

AUGUST
NESTORS
PLATO CUBANO
$13.99

Rapprochement is in the
air with our Caribbean
neighbor so we decided to
celebrate with a plateful
of Cuban inspired offerings. Piquant pulled pork
combines with saffron rice,
tostones (fried plantains)
and saucy black beans to
create a plate steeped in
revolutionary vigor. Taste
the dtente!

JULY
GRANDPA K'S
FOWL-MOUTHED
RANCH HAND
$14.99

A first-rate quartet of bright,

summertime flavors favored
by even the most colorful, hard working sandwich
cooks! Grilled chicken breast
pairs with house made ranch
dressing, garlicky hummus,
cucumbers, and exemplary
house made, quinoa & chickpea tabbouleh salad, all on
rustic Italian bread.

AUGUST
THE MORGAMATRON
$14.99

Transforming the hum-drum

ham and cheese pairing of
days gone by into a bold, yet
refreshing, sandwich experience. Swiss and scallion
cream cheese envelop rosemary ham, and the crunchy
sweet duo of sunflower
sprouts on ultra-soft challah
bread.
Rosemary ham, scallion and
swiss cheese, sunflower
sprouts and tomatoes on
challah.

Chicken breast, ranch dressing, hummus, & housemade

"chicks and tabbouleh" salad,
on rustic Italian bread.

ZINGERMANS EVENT SPACE

100 N ASHLEY ST., ANN ARBOR 734.663-3400 ZINGERMANSGREYLINE.COM

We are getting ready to open our newest event
space, Greyline! Greyline is operated exclusively by Zingermans Catering and Events and
available for social events, weddings, meetings and training sessions. Located at 100 N.
Ashley (the same building as the downtown
Ann Arbor Marriott Residence Inn), its the perfect venue to host your next event, whether its a reception,
corporate event or family party. We are creating a gorgeous
downtown venue thats ideal for 40-200 guests and includes a
dining area, built-in bar, dance floor, and full working kitchen
to accommodate your vision.

OPENING
JULY
21ST!

Located in the heart of downtown, we hope to be the local

venue for Ann Arbor natives as well as out of town guests.
Reminiscent of the days when it was the Ann Arbor bus depot,
much of the interior design highlights aspects of the Art Deco
style while adding a modern touch of our own. To get a glimpse
of what it could look like to host your event with us, visit our
website for artistic renderings of the space.
When you have an event at Greyline, you can rest assured
that youre in good hands. Being an exclusive caterer in the
space allows us the flexibility and attention to detail that you
deserve. All events are serviced by our professional and knowledgeable staff and the facility fee includes everything you need
for a seamless event such as linens, dishware, flatware, tables,
and chairs. Having a corporate training event? Were happy to
help coordinate any AV equipment and set the room for breakout sessions. Dreaming of the perfect wedding? We work with
trusted vendors all over town so that everything from the floral arrangements to the DJ to the custom favors fit your vision.
Hosting a birthday party or bar/bat mitzvah? Our staff can help
you create a fantastic menu and custom bar package to make
sure everyone has a memorable time.

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

Being in the same building as the Marriott Residence Inn makes

renting hotel rooms a breeze and were happy to put you in
contact with the Marriott staff or set up valet service. Rental
rates for Greyline vary depending on the day of the week, and
our planners are happy to speak
with you about putting together
August 3rd, 4:30 - 7PM
a custom proposal that includes
Free To Attend
everything you need for a suc-

GRAND
OPENING PARTY

cessful event. Whether you want

to dance the night away with the
city lights sparkling through the
windows or looking for a place
to hold meetings that will give
your guests the perfect taste of
Ann Arbor, we would love for
you to join us at Greyline.

Get a chance to see us in

action, taste a smorgasbord of delicious fare,
enter to win a contest
and experience the space
that could host the event
of your dreams!
Stay tuned to our website

Excited about booking Greyline?

for more events to come.
We are now accepting event reservations for dates after August 1st 2016 and any of our friendly
sales and events staff would be happy to speak with you. Give
us a call at 734-663-3400 to begin planning an event that will
have your guests talking for years!

AUGUST
RIZZOLI ANCHOVIES
Now $8 was $11.99

Whether you get them packed in extra virgin olive oil or in

a 'salsa piccante', the recipe for which is known only by the
first born of the Rizzoli family, these anchovies will enhance
your culinary life in ways you've never imagined. Cook them
down with butter and herbs to drizzle over pasta, or lay them
across slices of freshly baked bread rubbed with raw garlic.

JULY
OAXACA CHILES

AUGUST
DUKKHA SPICE

Now $15/tin was $11.25/tin

Now $8.25/tin was $11/tin

These chiles come from way

up in the Sierra Mixe, high
into the mountains. The
remote location and relatively limited production has
meant that these special
chiles are little known outside their region. They're prepared pretty much as they've
been for thousands of years.
The result is big, bold and
smoky flavor. Modest in heat,
but show-stoppingly superb!

Quite simply, the star o the

Egyptian world. Delicious,
versatile, sensual, zippy,
zingy- a xylophone of flavors
all in one little tin! The pice
de Cru version is made with
sesame seed, coriander seed,
cumin, termeric, Quebec
thyme, Spanish paprika and
Indian black pepper. To enjoy
dukkha la Egyptians, grind
in some nuts with the blend,
making a dip to be eaten with
bread and olive oilits a
must at cocktail time.

r
e
m
m
u
S

Picnic
Package

Summer is here!
Heading to the U.P.?
Picnic at the Arb?

Call Zingerman's Catering and we'll set

you up with the perfect summer food.
Zingerman's barbeque chicken or beef with challah
buns, Old Fashioned Potato Salad, Baked beans with
Applewood smoked bacon, Watermelon, mint and feta
salad, Zingerman's Bakehouse Cheery Cherry Pie, Freshly
squeezed lemonade or iced tea.

$22 a person
Need it to travel?
Provide the cooler and we'll provide free ice!

FREE
DELIVERY
IN JULY!
for all catering orders
of $150 or more
(applies to orders delivered
within Ann Arbor)

continued from pg. 1

Of Bacon
And Bondage
At least in the Lowcountry rice plantations, the conventional view of what
slaves ate doesnt stand up to evidence. It also doesnt stand up to the science and traditional methods of food preservation. Offal, like chitlins, and
the cracklings Cordelia Thomas loved, were only available right at killing time
and couldnt be preserved throughout the year. What does ring true about
the mythic interpretation of soul food is that it was one of the only times of
the year when enslaved people could experience the joy of excess. In the
reminiscences of the men and women collected by the WPA slave narrative
project, hog killing time arises over and over as a joyous memory. Its likely
no coincidence that butchering is also remembered so fondly given it took
place near Christmas, a time of time off work in the rice fields, but its probably more due to the feast that occurred. Certainly killing, butchering, and
curing scores of hogs was a great deal of work for the whole slave community,
but it also created a festive atmosphere where men, women, and children
normally driven hard to produce wealth for the rice planters could eat to
their hearts content. Where the conventional soul food myth does ring true
on Lowcountry plantations is that enslaved people were generally allowed
to prepare for themselves all the excess pork that couldnt be preserved. In
other words, the enslaved community was given all the pork parts that the
master didnt want, but that wasnt necessarily all they were allowed to eat.
Despite the fact that in the Lowcountry enslaved African Americans were not
solely eating the leftover, unwanted parts of the pig, that doesnt mean they
were living high on the hog. There is disagreement among scholars on the
level of nutrition for bondsmen and women throughout the south, as well as
in the rice growing region. Even the testimony of former slaves varies, with
some saying they always had plenty to eat and others recounting malnourishment and want.
In public history of slavery, there is always a conflict in how the story is presented we often choose between presenting the story as one of oppression
vs. resistance, subjugation vs. survival, property vs. humanity. Because the
legacy of slavery is still so contested, if one shows a story of survival, audiences may consider the oppression given short shrift. If, on the other hand,
we focus on brutalization, we run the risk of suggesting our enslaved were
defeated by the experience of slavery.
This conflict is certainly at work in how we remember food on plantations.
Missing from the common understanding of pork on the plantation though, is
the skill of the enslaved butchers, cooks, and charcutiers. Shadrack Richards,
born in 1846 in Pike County, Georgia, remembered more than 150 people
working for over a week on butchering and curing, preserving the sides of
bacon and shoulders and other cuts to keep on the plantation and taking time
to create great hams for sale in Savannah. Another survivor of slavery Robert
Shepherd remembered with pride just how good the hams and bacon were
that his fellow butchers created despite the cruelty of slavery. Nobody never
had no better hams and other meat than they cured, he recalled.
At a conference at the Smithsonian in May 2016, Harvard historian Walter
Johnson said, It is a commonplace in the historical literature that slavery
'dehumanized' enslaved people. Johnson went on to admit there are plenty
of right-minded reasons for saying so. It is hard to square the idea of millions
of people being bought and sold, of sexual violation and natal alienation, of
forced labor and starvation with any sort of humane behavior: these are
the sorts of things that should never be done to a human being. By suggesting that slavery, Johnson continued, either relied upon or accomplished the
'dehumanization' of enslaved people, however, we are participating in a sort
of ideological exchange that is no less baleful for being so familiar.
Slaves and slaveowners were human. Slavery depended on human greed, lust,
fear, hope, cruelty, and callousness. To remember it as an inhuman time positions us incorrectly in a purer, more moral moment. These are the things that
human beings do to one another, Johnson argued.
When I think of killing time on a plantation, like the one on which Cordelia
Thomas lived 150 years ago, I think of people reveling in the taste of expertly
prepared food they put their heart, soul, and artistry into. The taste of the
cracklings around the rendering pot, or the anticipation of cowpea gravy
with fat bacon during the steaming Georgia summer, was one way black families in the Lowcountry exercised control over their lives in the midst of the
ruthlessness of the central moral event of our nation.

A LETTER TO

ZINGERMAN'S ALUMNI
Dear Friends,
More likely than not, its been a while since weve talked. Given that we dont work
together like we once did, we probably see each other a lot less frequently these days.
Which is really the biggest reason that Im excited about this letter and the project that
goes with it. After a couple of years of conversation, were ready to officially launch
ourhopefully yourZingermans Alumni Group. Were pretty jazzed about it, and we
hope you will be, too.
What got us thinking about it? Over the years its become ever clearer that theres a
really wonderful community of ex ZCoBers out in the world. Hundredsmaybe thousands nowof folks who love good food, get good service, care deeply about community,
and live the spirit of generosity every day. People who continue to stay connected to
their Zingermans Experience. Some live in town and remain regular customers. Others
have moved away but keep buying Mail Order. Many are regularly connecting with folks
they worked with while they were here. Others still, have put ZCoB principles and recipes to work in jobs long after they left town. Its what former ZMO and catering crew
member Annie Kopicko once called the meta-ZCoB.
Pretty clearly most of those good folks share valuesthats why we all worked in the
same organization for so long. Similarly , nearly every one of us could use a hand now
and then. A connection for a new job; a recommendation for coffee, bread, or a restaurant in a new town. Others still are looking for jobs and want to find a place to work that
shares the ZCoBs values and approaches. Others of you now run your own businesses
or manage departments and are frequently hiringand youd love to find someone who
already knows the 3 steps to great service, the 5 steps to handling a complaint, and how
to write a vision.
So with all that in mind, we thought, why not create a construct in which we could honor
all of those things? We couldnt think of any good reason not to. Which is why the
Zingermans Alumni Group was created.
What will the group do?
Well, were gonna be figuring that out in the years to come. Heres some of what were
already imagining:
- a regular presence on social media
- an enews that helps you all keep up
with us and with each other
- regular special offers of products,
pricing, etc. for Zing alumni to help
keep you in the culinary loop and eating really well.

- same sort of thing with ZingTrain,

books, pamphlets, events, etc.
- some way for Zing alumni to let others know what theyre looking for or
willing to help withshared resources
within the community can only be a
good thing!

Interested? We hope so!

The vision and compelling reasons for this project (you do remember Bottom Line
Change dont you?)) on our Facebook page (Zingerman's Alumni).
If youd like to be part of this great project, please visit the Facebook page or email
alumni@ingermans.com

THAT'S A WRAP!
In case you missed it, Camp Bacon wrapped its 7th Annual celebration
of all things pork last week with five full days of bacon-filled fun, raising over $10,000 for Southern Foodways Alliance and the local 4-H chapter of Washtenaw County! The brainchild of Zingermans co-founder Ari
Weinzweig, the idea of Camp Bacon transitioned from fantasy to reality
when the first Camp Bacon sold out in 2010. This year, we welcomed more
than 2,300 pork lovers over five days who hailed from all over the globe, including folks from Iowa to our friends down under in Australia, with the largest lineup of events to
date. Not only did we fill our stomachs but we also filled our minds learning about the stories
behind the bacon from some of the most well-known pork producers, food experts, food historians and authors in the country. From the first Camp Bacon speaker series with author John
U. Bacon toa movie marathon showcasing incredible southern food producers...baking with
bacon (yum!)...the Bacon Ball with author and pig expert Mark Essig...the first field trip and
taste tour of Detroit...the Main Event featuring a fantastic speaker lineup at Cornman Farms
and more bacon than you can dream of...and finally to the Bacon Street Fair wrapping things up
with a nice warm bacon hug offering fun, food and games for the whole family.
You can keep alive the smells and sounds of Camp Bacon in your
home or office by purchasing a limited edition (numbered and
signed by artist Ryan Stiner!) blacklight poster. While the bearded pig
looks amazing under any light, the design really pops under a blacklight. Take home a piece of
Ann Arbor history! Gets yours today at http://www.zingermansdeli.com/zingermans-art-forsale/camp-bacon-blacklight-poster - a great way to continue supporting Southern Foodways
Alliance and Washtenaw 4-H!

SAVE THE DATE FOR NEXT YEARS CAMP BACON

taking place May 31-June 4 and stay tuned for event details at www.ZingermansCampBacon.com

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

THE BELIEFS BE

Part 4 in the Zingermans Guide to Goo

Early this summer, the fourth installment in the Zingermans Guide to
Good Leading series arrived at the Deli, Bakehouse, Roadhouse, Coffee,
Creamery shops, and at ZingTrain and Zingermans.com. This one will
be A Lapsed Anarchists Approach to the Power of Beliefs in Business. Like

from them, and turn back instead to inspect my own beliefs about the subject, because, quite simply,
our own beliefs are very often the cause of actions by others that we dont like. Most importantly,
it showed me that if I wanted to alter the outcomes I was getting in any situation, I would do well to
begin by checking out my own beliefs about the other person, myself, and the world. Mindful effort,
effective understanding, and consistent practice over an extended period of time can reverse the
cycle. The change starts with a decision to adopt a new belief, orif youre thinking biga whole
new set of them.

Parts 1, 2 and 3, all the work on it has been coordinated right here at

ZN: So to be clear with folks, what do you mean by beliefs?

Zingermans and theyre printed here in in Ann Arbor. For those who

ARI:

watch the colors, this one will be blue (to go with the yellow, red and
green of the first three parts).

ZINGERMANS NEWS:

How are you feeling about the new book coming out?

ARI: Nervous.

And kind of excited at the same time. Since this is like the seventh or eight book Ive
done I know the feeling all too well by now. Actually for me this is the hardest part of the process.
The book is actually done so I cant keep changing it and adjusting it, but I continue to learn and find
things Id like to have changed. Waiting and worrying is, I suppose, significantly harder for me than
working! I try to just ignore the worry because it doesnt help anything. Ill be glad when we have
the book in hand!

ZN: Its no small project!

ARI:

No, definitely not small. But to be clear, any time I do a book, its really a credit to the whole
organization. Because without everyone else here to make Zingermans what it is every dayto
craft amazing food and give incredible servicethere wouldnt be much to write about, at least not
much good! This is really a tribute to the 700 or so folks who work here now, and to the thousands
of former Zingermans staffers. Hundreds of suppliers. And then theres hundreds of thousands of
great customers who give us the chance to do what we do every day. And also to all the authors,
presenters and generally smart people whove helped me to learn all this stuff.

ZN: What got you going on the subject of beliefs?

ARI:

Thats a good question. Its not something Id really ever given much thought to. Obviously,
we all have beliefs so its not like it was a shock to me that they existed. But Id really never given
the idea of beliefs any consideration of consequence. What changed was . . . like so many things,
the connection of two things that happened to come to mind at the same time. First, I was frustrated
with the way a project here had been going and I couldnt figure out what was causing the problem.
All the usual things we look at were alignedvision, values, organizational commitment, ability, etc.
And yet it just didnt get any traction. At the same time, I happened to be reading Bob and Judith
Wrights book, Transformed! and in there I stumbled on their self fulfilling belief cycle. At which
point it was suddenly clear to me that the issue with the work group was a lack of shared beliefs
about the work at hand.

ZN: And then?

ARI:

And then . . . I started to study. And study. And the more I studied, the more I learned, the
more interesting the subject got. And the more I started to realize that there was this whole world
that I hadnt been looking at. My metaphor in the book is that our beliefs are like the root system of
our worldalthough you generally cant see them, everything that happens above ground is a function of them. The stronger the beliefs the bigger and deeper the root system. I look at the culture
as the soil. The richer the soil the better the plants that will come from them. Conversely even the
best plants or seed varieties wont do well in poor soil; the best people or most creative ideas wont
flourish in unhealthy organizational cultures. I just spoke at the Ballymaloe Litfest in Ireland and of
the speakers was a very interesting sustainable farmer. He was talking about agriculture and he said,
Everyones looking above the surface. But all the important action is really below! Which pretty
much perfectly summed up this whole book for me. My only regret is that when I heard him say it the
book was already on its way to print so I couldnt add his quote and give him credit!

ZN: Can you say more about the cycle?

ARI:

Of course. Heres some of what I wrote in the book:

It works like this. When we have a belief, its very likely that that belief will lead us to take some
sort of associated action. For instance, lets say we believe that our ideas arent really worth
much and no one really cares about what we think. The action that follows might likely be that
we rarely voice our views at work. That behavior will likely feed the belief in others that we
have little to offer, or perhaps arent very committed to the companys success. Which will, in
turn, lead those co-workers to take action accordinglythey might not ask us for our views on
important issues or include us in discussions. Which will then reinforce our original belief that
others dont value our views.
The cycle will surely continue onwards from there. Imagine what it will feel like after twenty
or thirty years. We start to believe that the reality were experiencing is who we are rather
than a result of how our beliefs have been acting steadily, if surreptitiously, on our reality. We
know from studies of brain change and development that when we think in a certain way for
a long period of time, the routes in our brain grow ever more deeply embedded. The deeper
they get, the more we follow along the same path onto which our beliefs long ago led us. And
on and on the cycle goes, each element reinforcing the existing beliefs of others in the cycle.
As author Barry Schwartz says, These effects can arise because sometimes when people act
on the basis of ideology, they inadvertently arrange the very conditions that bring reality into
correspondence with the ideology.
All of which made clear to me how we each contribute to our own crisesboth of conscience and
of construct. That if I was frustrated with an action taken by others, I would do well to look away

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

I like what KevinBermingham writes in his book Change Your Limiting Beliefs: Beliefsare
simply a feeling of conviction or certainty that something is real or true. Theyre based on our past
experiences and what others have taught us.Beliefsare our best guess at realityour mental model
of how the world appears to work . . . Our knowledge of the real world is limited. So to get by, we rely
on ourbeliefsinstead. Theyre the principles and rules by which we assume the world works. We
often say things like, My theory is that . . . , or I think that . . . or everyone knows . . . which are
all, also, really expressions of our beliefs. We have beliefs about pretty much everything. About the
world, everyone we know, ourselves, everything we come into contact with. Bias and prejudice are
beliefs as well. We have beliefs about books, about business, about beauty . . . . everything!
Values, Id say are also beliefs. My view is that in the same sort of way that "all profit is part of
finance, but there's more to finance than just profit," I've taken the view (i.e., belief) that "all values
arebeliefs, but not allbeliefsare values." I think that values are based in ethics but of course different people have different ethical stances. In essence it leads us all to a hierarchy ofbeliefs. If
we're mindful and living in alignment, then our values would take precedence over our other, less
critical to our core, beliefs.
I should say though that many of us havebeliefsthat, although we don't know it, conflict with our
values or our visions for the future. And those beliefs are inhibiting our success. Many of us will say
the socially appropriate thing in public, but in reality, deeper down, hold different, even conflicting, beliefs. Often we dont even acknowledge to ourselves what we really believe in our hearts
because what we believe isnt really acceptable. In any case, I would say that values aren't really
meant to change, whereas otherbeliefsmight, and sometimes need to, change. Of course if you
keep a belief for forty years without changing it I guess it
starts to become in essence one's values.

ZN: Did you intend to be writing about

beliefs back when Part 1 of the Guide
to Good Leading series began back in
2007?

ARI:

Not at all. It never even

occurred to me. Like I said, it just sort
of happened. My intent, three years
ago, was to do this fourth book in
the series on our approach to open
book management. But, as I described
above, my beliefs about beliefs got
so strong that . . . something Id barely
thought about three years ago turned
into a 500-page book! Open book is still
coming but this one took priority. It was
too interesting and important not to work on
it!

ZN: What were some of your biggest learnings?

ARI:

There are so many! The whole book is really filled with them. Theres a Hasidic saying that
the teacher learns five times more than the student, and Im sure thats true with this.
But in the moment, heres two learnings about beliefs that are at the core of the whole book:
a) I started to see beliefs in three broad categories. Negative beliefs, neutral beliefs and positive
beliefs. Remember, beliefs are the root system of our lives. Negative beliefs create negative outcomes. Neutral beliefs dont do a whole lot. Positive beliefs create positive outcomes. As anarchist
Alexander Berkman wrote a century or so ago, You cant grow a rose from a cactus seed.
b) We can change our beliefs!! Once we know we have them, become mindful of what they are and
understand how much impact theyre having on our lives, we may likely realize as I did on my
many subjects that what we believe is creating a lot of the reality that we often dont like. And that
the quickest way to change reality is probably NOT to get others to changeits to change what we
believe. About ourselves, about the people were frustrated with, about the world.
When I put those two together . . . its kind of obviousholding negative beliefs is not helping us.
But the good news is that we have the power to choose our beliefs accordingly! I can say that Ive
been working hard over the last few years to change my beliefs to be more positive. And getting
good results from the work!

ZN: Can you give us an example?

ARI:

There are a lot in the book. The majority of what I believe today is based on beliefs that have
changed from the ones I used to hold. I used to have very negative beliefs about business when I
was growing up. Paul changed those when we met at Maudes (restaurant) back in 1978. Hed grown
up with positive beliefs about business. His grandfather was in business and was very communityminded and very generous. Paul taught me quickly that business is just a tooland that like any
tool you can use it to do ill, or to do good. That belief remains at the core of all our work here at
Zingermans.
On a smaller, more in the moment example . . . sure, I started to realize that at times I was holding
negative beliefs about people that I was having a hard time with. And that my negative beliefs were a
big part of the problem. So Ive worked to make my beliefs more positive. I cant say its completely
eliminated the issues instantaneously. But its definitely helped to get us going in the right direction.
And its radically reduced my own stress in the process.

EHIND THE BOOK!

od Leading series hits our book shelves

ZN: So are you saying that if we just thinking positive thoughts all our problems will go away?
ARI:

No! Not at all. But without trying to sound silly you can have negative beliefs about a problem, or positive beliefs about a problem.
Heres a real life Zingermans example.
Go back to 1988. The problem? Too many people in Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas are going
hungry. Heres a negative belief one might have held: Were screwed! The system sucks. People are
starving. Theres nothing we can do.
Alternatively, heres a positive belief about the same problem: The situation is bad. But what if we
put together an organization to pick up leftover food at restaurants and hotels and get it to the soup
kitchens where folks who are hungry dont have enough to eat?
The positive belief was Pauls. As many will already have realized, it formed the basis of the vision
for what became Food Gatherers. Which last year delivered over 5,000,000 pounds of food here in
Washtenaw county!

ZN: Can you give more detail on whats in the book?

ARI:

There are 11 Secrets in it all told. Part 4 has Secrets #40-49. Secrets aka, essays #1-39 were in
Parts 1, 2 and 3. #40 43 are about beliefs. #40 is a general overview. #41 is about my realization that
if negative beliefs create negative outcomes, then were deluded if we think were going to build a
great organization out of negative beliefs. It wont work. You can generate a lot of short term energy
out of negative beliefsyou can see that with racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, or in business,
the idea of beating the competition. But in the long run those beliefs just flame out and die. A great
healthy sustainable organization can only be built on positive beliefs.
#42 is an essay about the importance of alignment between our vision, mission, values, and beliefs.
And #43 is a recipe (we like recipes here at Zingermans) for how to change ones beliefs.

ZN: And the other essays in the book?

ARI:

Two are on hope, and how critical it is in business. Its something else Id never given much
thought to until a few years ago. The essays talk about my realization that when wevery often,
unwittinglycrush hope in the people we work with, we basically kill their spirit and any chance of
really getting us to organizational greatness. Theres another Secret on the spirit of generosity and
how to put it to work every day in all we do. Theres an essay about my beliefs about anarchism,
which I continue to build over the years. And then theres some essays on visioning, our new staff
orientation class and our approach to what we call 1 + 1 work, all of which I realized are systemic ways
in which weve been building positive beliefs, hope and the living the spirit of generosity for years
here, even though I couldnt have previously explained how or what it was happening.
Oh, yeah. Speaking of recipes there are a dozen or so to use in your kitchen. A Tunisian couscous
with octopus and harissa. Our challah bread from the Bakehouse. Chocolate dipped espresso cookies from the Bakehouse, and more!
On top of all that, there a few little literary surprises for people who like obscure sidebars and
slightly off center trivia.

ZN: As usual theres a lot of anarchists in the book!

ARI:

Yeah, its true. The more I study anarchism the more interesting it becomes to me. And the
more I see huge alignment between anarchismmy version at leastand progressive business. I
realized in working on the book that anarchism is really just a belief system, not a political approach,
hence its a perfect fit for a book about beliefs in business. Gustav Landauer, one of the anarchists
whos inspired me most wrote a hundred years ago that: We have no political beliefswe have
beliefs against politics.
The essay about it here has a whole range of quotes in it that overlay the thinking of progressive
modern day business writers and early 20th century anarchists. The parallels are fascinating to
me. The essay also shares a lot of what I learned about Emma Goldmansomeone whos work has
inspired me a lot, but who was probably the most controversial figure in the country a hundred years
agoand her visit to Ann Arbor back in 1911.

ZN: Thats a lot!

ARI: It is!
Oh yeah, theres a whole history of our building! I became fascinated with Rocco Disderide, the
Italian immigrant who built it in 1902. Its a great story. He lived to be 105! I interviewed his great
grandchildren for the essay. They gave me the family recipe for pasta with fresh basil and butter and
thats in the book too!

ZN: Who do you imagine will be interested in the book?

I think its for everyone. At least everyone who likes to read and learn and who thinks a lot about
life and the way their organization works. One of the most rewarding things about doing all this
writing has been reaching readers all over the world. The books are resonating with people who are
really thinking, deeply and mindfully, about whats happening in their lives and their businesses and
how they can do what theyre doing a bit differently to make more positive outcomes and a better,
healthier business and life for themselves and the people who work there. The books in the series
seem to connect with older and younger people, with people in business, in non-profits, in education, health care, hi-tech . . . just about every walk of life. Weve got people giving them to their kids
who are in school, and kids in school giving them to their parents who they see struggling with jobs
theyre really unhappy in. One young woman I remember gave them to her mother and called them
the anti business business books. I loved that!

ZN: Do you need to read parts 1, 2 and 3 before taking a shot at this new volume?
ARI:

You dont. Ive tried to write each of the books so that you can read them in any order you
want. Id say you could just open them to any essay you want and start reading there. In fact, one of
the nicest compliments I got was from Lenka Surotchak in Slovakia where I was teaching this past
May. She runs a very, very, very impressive non profit organization thats growing quickly and doing
some really fantastic work to help other non profits learn better organizational principles. And then
also to teach progressive business in a country that was basically shut down by the Soviet Union
for a good half a century. Its called the Pontis Foundation. Anyways, she said when shes having a

rough day she just opens one of the books randomly and starts reading. And that in fifteen or twenty
minutes her mood is shifted and shes excited to get back to work! That made my day to know that
something I wrote can make that much difference for someone who, in turn, is making such a positive difference for people in need all over the globe.

ZN: What about the pamphlets?

ARI:

Theyre small, single-subject booklets are for the people who dont want to deal with a whole
book. Theyre essays from the bookssort of the singles off the albums you could say. Theyve been
a big hit with folks who get nervous about buying a whole book thats hundreds of pages long, but
who still are intrigued to do some learning. They've also been big with leaders who want to get their
teams learning about a subjecthad one national non-profit a few months ago that bought Secret #23
about servant leadership for all their upper level folks to read. Pamphlets, by the way, were basically
social media back in 1900. People would buy one, then pass it on to their friends to spread ideas
from person to person.

ZN: How much work goes into doing a book of this sort?
ARI:

A lot! A LOT! Four rounds of formal edits. Must be about a 1000 rewrites. Four more rounds
of outside proofing. Lots of layout. Illustrations. Recipe testing. Jenny Tubbs coordinates the whole
thing and does amazing work. Shell catch where Ive used a quote twice or forgotten some small
thing. She keeps the illustration work coordinating with layout with printing and .. . honestly, its
hard to imagine how much work it takes to get one page right! The good news is that I really like it.
The writing, the editing, the layout and design. I love books and its an honor to be able to work with
Jenny, our illustrators, Liz and Nicole who does layout and design to help make one.

ZN: What about the illustrations?

ARI:

Theyre amazing. They inspire me every time I look at them. Theyre all done in scratchboard
which is an old style that dates back to the early part of the 20th century and was very in vogue with
creative thinkers, anarchists and others who walked their own way back in that era. You dont see it
much any more but I love it. The scratchboards done by Ian Nagy and Ryan Stiner who do incredible
illustration work for us! Theres an interview I did with them at the back of Part 2.

ZN: And youve kept the books sort of off the grid?
ARI:

Its true. I didnt love working with the big publishing world. so many years ago we went back
to doing our own books. We do all the work here. theyre printed in Ann Arbor. We try to stay off of
amazon. People can get them from zingtrain.com or at zingermans.com. Or in the Deli, Bakehouse,
Coffee Company, Creamery, Roadhouse, etc.

ZN: Last thoughts?

ARI: The epilogue of the book is about my ever stronger belief that both life and business are
essentially art. And that the more artistically and creatively we live them the more rewarding and
wonderful and special theyre going to be. I became very fascinated with a guy named Robert Henri,
an early 20th century painter and teacher. It happens he also hung out with Emma Goldman among
other interesting folks from that era. In 1924 he wrote a book called The Art Spirit that I found really
amazing. Although its a summation of his teaching work in art school, its really about life overall. I
loved it. Ive read it three times in the last few years. Cant recommend it highly enough. Anyways, I
quote him a lot in the book. He got me thinking and I hope this book gets a lot of good people thinking as well.
Really the whole thing of the Guide to Good Leading series is to get folks thinking in new ways, ways
that can help make their businesses and their lives more rewarding. As Robert Henri wrote, "All I
can hope . . . is to incite you to do something for yourselfto create something. What it is, I cant
guess. Im eager to see." Send me a note and let me know. My email is ari@zingermans.com Looking
forward to lots more good dialogue to come!

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

SHARING ZINGERMANS
UNIQUE APPROACH
TO BUSINESS

FROM THE INSIDE OUT : THE MAKING OF MAKER WORKS

ZingTrains raison detre is to share Zingermans unique and uniquely successful approach to business with businesses and organizations all over the country, and world.We do this because we
believe we have something of value to share. Something that we have tested and honed with just about every new business that Zingermans has opened.
We are proud and honored to tell you that our systems and values have proven applicable not just to the new Zingermans businesses that opened, but to hundreds of businesses, of every ilk, all
across the nation.
Then in 2011, something happened. Something that had never happened in Zingermans 34 year long history. It turned out to be an entirely new venue in which to applying our way of being. To
put it succinctly we gave birth to a new business! MakerWorks was an entirely separate entity, not a Zingermans business, not even food related; but the Zingermans Community of Businesses
was most certainly its progenitor.
Intrigued? Read on! What follows is an interview with Tom Root, Managing Partner of Zingermans Mail Order and also the Founding Partner of Maker Works, an 11000 square foot, member-driven
fabrication studio right here in Ann Arbor. We caught up with Tom to find out how the Zingermans model works when applied so uniquely from the inside out.

ZINGTRAIN:

You rocked the boat a little bit when you went to the Zingermans
Partners Group and said that you wanted to open an entirely separate business, still in
Ann Arbor, and totally unrelated to food. And that you wanted to keep being a partner at
Mail Order while you did that. Tell us a little bit about that moment.

TOM ROOT: Well, to be honest, it wasnt a single moment. We had so much to figure out
about how the details would work and looking back, I realize that the conversations lasted
about a year. But there was also a singular moment. The moment when I first presented the idea
to the Partners Group, back in 2010. This is what I said. Every word was true then, and remains
true today.
This is the highest form of honor I can pay this organization because I want to build a business
that demonstrates, in the truest and most meaningful way, that the Zingermans Approach to
Business can apply to any business, more specifically a business that is not called Zingermans.
I know that many of ZingTrains clients have implemented our systems successfully, whether
it is in the realm of Customer Service or Training or Leadership or Visioning. And its incredibly gratifying that that is true. But with Maker Works, I was literally talking about every single
aspect of it. Customer Service, of course. And Servant Leadership. And yes, we wrote a Vision
and have a Mission statement. But there is something more to it it is more of a DNA transfer
than a transfer of approach.
Like Zingermans, Maker Works is a triple bottom line business. Like ZIngermans, it is Maker
Works mission to be deeply embedded in a community and to contribute to that community in
a constructive, lasting way. Like Zingermans, the core belief at the foundation of Maker Works
is that we dont just exist to make money or even to contribute to the community, we are also
striving to create a sustainable community where none existed before. And it is our intent to
improve the lives of every single person that connects with that community, whether as a customer, supplier, employee or dreamer.

ZT: Over the course of this conversation, you have alluded several times to the influence
Zingermans has had on you as a person. Can you elaborate on that, particularly in the
context of Maker Works?
Ive always been a big ideas kind of guy. And when I say big, I mean big. Like Solve World
Problems big, which happens to be Maker Works Mission Statement.

ZT: So Maker Works works! Tell us a little more about Maker Works itself. The nitty-gritty,
the business processes you use. The people in your community.

TR:

As I said before, Maker Works is a triple bottom line business. People. Planet. Profits.
Maker Works is Open Book we have scoreboards and weekly huddles. We practice Servant
Leadership. We believe that everyone is a leader. And everyone is personally responsible.
Dont wait to be asked. Step up. We practice Bottom Line Training Zingermans trademarked
approach to training. Its been invaluable in a setting where you are setting neophytes loose
with incredibly powerful machines. We believe in fostering a community. In the world of manufacturing, community creates resonance, safety, protects against myopathy, provides sounding
boards and yes labor. Because sometimes what you need most is someone to hold the other
end. Maker Works believes in creating opportunity and closing the gap. We provide machines
so that you dont have to make that kind of capital investment. We teach you how to use the
machines. We help you stay safe. Our floors get dirty not yours but its your ideas that get
realized!

ZT: And any closing thoughts?

TR: Maker Works is also an opportunity for school kids to learn skill sets that they would never
otherwise learned. When I went to high school, we had fabrication shops. Even in an excellent
Public School system like Ann Arbors, this is no longer the case. One of the moments of magic at
Maker Works is watching a 55 year old pipefitter trade knowledge with a 17 year old high school
student one an expert in manufacturing, the other an expert in computers, both learning a
whole new notion of rights and responsibilities when you belong to a community like ours.
Most of all, what I want to say in closing is invest in your beliefs. The power of beliefs is the
topic of Aris next book and an idea that deeply resonates with me. Your belief is important.
Particularly, your belief in what the future is going to look like. Maker Works is my way to lobby
for the future I see and seek. And sharing Maker Works far and wide is my way of infecting
people with my vision of the future. Once Ive shared that vision, they may choose to still not
participate in it. But they can never not know it.
Email troot@zingermans.com if you would like to see a copy of the 2015 vision for Maker Works.
Beware that you might be infected!

When I came to Zingermans, much to the joy of my process-loving-mind, I found a practiced

and repeatable path from dreamer to visionary to entrepreneur. It is the path we took to make
Zingermans Mail Order an 8 million dollar business. It is the path I walked when I implemented
Lean Manufacturing concepts at Mail Order and more recently, across all the Zingermans businesses. And it is the path that made Maker Works a reality.
I have a strong belief that the disruptive technologies that are emerging today bio-engineering, nanotech, to name a couple will dramatically change the way we live. At Zingermans, we
hold the deep seated beliefs that big ideas are worth pursuing and that it is better to participate
in change than to sit on the sidelines and be impacted by it. In fact, our very recipe for change,
Bottom Line Change, is based on that belief. Maker Works is my way of choosing to participate
in, even shape, the technology driven future that I believe is coming.
At Zingermans, we lavishly share our secrets. At Zingermans I found a better way of doing
things and learned the power of sharing. I want to share our way of doing things in the realm of
my passions and the sphere of my influence. Maker Works is a way of doing that. At our annual
weeklong boot camps we lavishly share our business blueprint from mission to machines with people from all over the country who want to start their own maker facilities.
Weve already talked about the community piece. Creating one and giving back to the one you
belong to. This is a fundamental fact of Zingermans and one that has come to deeply influence my way of thinking. But I wanted to go beyond board memberships on local non-profits. I
believe that Maker Works has a role to play in the uniquely manufacturing dependent economy
that is Michigan. The financial crisis left a lot of good people adrift. Good people that our economy had been grooming for a future that will not come. Maker Works hopes to be a community
for those very people. For the inventors amongst them, we provide the means of converting
their dinner table dreams into prototypes. For the left-behind amongst them, we provide the
opportunity for them to upgrade their skills and more technologically current in exchange for
contributing to Maker Works.
And then there is the more literal contribution that Zingermans has made to me as a person.
The power of being associated with the Zingermans Community of Businesses. Im certain that
my partner at Maker Works was more willing to be my partner because of it. And that we get the
attention and support we do because of it.
Ultimately, its not a construct that Maker Works looks like Zingermans it was my intention.
My experience at Zingermans has shaped me in many significant ways, and so have I shaped
Maker Works.

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

3765 Plaza Drive Ann Arbor MI 48108 734-222-4911

ANN ARBOR'S MAKER SPACE

Maker Works provides tools, space, instruction and support, and a community of Makers
to help you bring your ideas to life! Begin by taking a tour, then sign up for checkout
classes for the tools you want to use. When you're ready to begin your project, sign up
for a day, month, or longer membership and come in and MAKE!
Cut fabric for your quilt
on the Epilog Laser
Route pieces for your
next bookcase on the
ShopBot CNC Router
Cut sheet steel into an
artistic sculpture on the
CNC Plasma Cutter

Embroider your name

or team logo on a
shirt using the Amaya
Embroidery Machine
Craft spindles for furniture and staircases using
the Oliver wood lathe
Sew heavy canvas
and leather with an
Industrial Sewing
Machine

We also host monthly

groups, including Go-Tech,
the Michigan Robotics Club,
the Southeast MI CNC Users
Meetup, and a FIRST high
school robotics teams.

Drop by for a free tour anytime were open!

Milkshakes and Malts

and Waffle Cones!

now available at Zingerman's Creamery!

MILKSHAKES & MALTS
One of the things that we believe here at Zingerman's Creamery
is the value of tradition. In that spirit we are honoring two traditions in one delicious cup; that of the American Soda Fountain,
with its nostalgic memories of milkshakes and malts enjoyed with
friends and first dates, and the Italian tradition of our rich Sicilianstyle gelato made right here at Zingerman's Creamery! Stop in and
we'll hand-spin your choice of gelato flavors with Calder Dairy milk,
with or without the addition of malt powder, for a tasty trip down
memory lane.

16oz $8.00/each

WAFFLE CONES

One of my favorite memories from childhood is getting permission

to ride bikes with my best friend and get an ice cream cone at the
corner store. Walking in, the smell that hits you wasn't of the sweet,
milky ice cream confections, but rather the sugary, toasted aroma
of the freshly made waffle cones! We are bringing that sweet smell
to the southside of Ann Arbor at Zingerman's Creamery with our
waffle cones, made on-site! Taking the best ingredients we can find
including milk and butter from Calder Dairy, and eggs from Harnois
Happy Hens, we make the cone and hand-roll them to just the right
size for a scoop or two of our gelato or sorbet.

NEW CREAMERY
SHOP HOURS!
Starting August 1st we will be open
10am-6pm every day
This change will help us continue to provide great service in our Creamery
Shop during our construction project and beyond. Stop in for samples of
great cheeses, gelato,beer, wine and more!

new at Zingermans Creamery!

Munch-able Cheese Plates

Perfect for a light lunch, afternoon
snack, or pack it up for a picnic in
the park - these cheese plates are a
great grab-n-go option! Every week
well pick a few of our favorite
cheeses, a cured meat, and a pickle
to feature in our Creamery Munchable Plates. Each plate includes
your choice of jam or mustard, and
a piece of French Baguette from
Zingermans Bakehouse (glutenfree crackers available by request)!

$8.00 each

Available every day in the Cheese

Shop at Zingermans Creamery!

1 scoop cone, $4.50/each

2 scoops cone, $6.50/each

A Soft Cheese You Can Grill??

MANISTIQUE

Perhaps it has something to do with how our harsh winters provide such a contrast, but come Summertime we
Michiganders sure do love to get outside and grill pretty
much every chance we get. Do we revel and cook outdoors in the warmer weather so much because we
know it isnt going to last? Who knows?! The
real takeaway here is that grilling is awesome
and an essential part of a complete Michigan
Summer, and we at the Creamery very strongly
believe that cheese can and should be an integral part of
that experience.
Enter the Manistique. Wrapped up with hefty savoy cabbage leaves, our soft-ripened,
ridiculously rich Jersey Cows milk cheese is just perfect for grilling, and what makes this
one uniquely suited to a backyard bbq is its texture. There are very few soft, creamy,
gooey cheeses that can hold up on a grilltop, but the cabbage leaves this one comes
wrapped inside are just wonderful at making sure you dont lose any of that cheese as it
gets progressively gooyier under heat.
It doesnt take very much time on a grill to get the Manistique ready for action. Anywhere
from a minute to over 10 does the trick, depending on how melty you want that cheese to
get on the inside. We also love the way the smells of the grill infuse the cheese, and its
become a staple youll often see at our backyard parties. We hope itll become one for
you, too!

On sale at Zingermans Deli and Zingermans Creamery!

JULY
PERE MARQUETTE

Conveniently contained in its own crock,

its ready for heating and eating. This
creamy cheese gem can be eaten warmed
up or cold. Once warmed, it spins itself
into a gooey little pot of greatness, presenting itself as a dip for your favorite
crusty bread, crispy crackers or flavor
loaded summer veggies.

AUGUST
MANISTIQUE

Weve taken to wrapping our signature

Jersey cows milk cheese in cabbage
leaves. Now why would we want to go and
do a thing like that? Aside from the obvious
visual appeal (they really are quite stunning to look at), the leaf wrapping alters
the flavor and texture of our Manchester
as it ages, enhancing the earthy and complex notes of the super rich Jersey milk we
use to make it while helping to break down
its luscious, dense paste. The end result is
a ridiculously creamy, full-flavored cheese
that will steal the spotlight on any table it
graces with its presence.

August cheese of the month!

3723 Plaza Drive, Ann Arbor 734-929-0500 zingermanscreamery.com

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

BOOK A SPOT AT ANY ZINGERMANS EVENT

Cheese Classes, Tastings & Tours!
Our events are intimate affairs where our cheesemakers and cheesemongers share their
passion for great cheese and great cheesemaking. We hold these classes right next to
where we make our cheese and gelato, and sometimes bring in our favorite food makers
from around the area to share their stories with you. To get the inside scoop on all of our
events, sign up for our e-news at zingermanscommunity.com/e-news.

3723 Plaza Dr. 734.929.6060

www.zingermanscoffee.com

3723 Plaza Drive 734.929.0500 zingermanscreamery.com

CHEDDAR: The All-American

Classic and Beyond!

AN EVENING OF CIDER & CHEESE

Thursday, August 11
6pm-8pm $35/person

Thursday, July 7
6pm-8pm $30/person

Join us for an evening of cheddar

exploration! Well travel the globe
tasting classic English clothbound
styles, a few of our favorite regional
American cheddars, and a couple of newcomers to the world of cheddar that are unique.
As we travel through tasting, well talk about what makes the
cheddar style unique, how its made, and the producers that
made our sample cheeses. Well have bread, pickled veggies,
and other pairings to complete your tasting experience!

BEER 101

Thursday, July 14 6pm-8pm

$35/person
What goes better with cheese than beer?
More cheese! Join us as we celebrate Michigan
craft beer month by trying some of our favorite cheese and
beer pairings. Well talk about the brewing process, major
styles of beer, and some of our other favorite cheese couples.
Well even end the eveningwith a beer & gelato float!

Join us as we host special guest Amanda from Vander Mill

Cider! Amanda will introduceus to their delicious hard ciders
and we will showcase some great cheeses to pair with them.
This tasting is a great way to get ready for your Labor Day parties at the end ofthe month. You will leave armed with notes
on the cheeses, the ciders, and the pairings- and most importantly, ready to wow your guests!

CHEESE 101

Thursday, August 25
6pm-8pm $30/person
This class is a prerequisite for your
major in cheese! Join us as we sample cheeses that represent each of
the seven major styles of cheese all hand-selected by our shop cheesemongers. Well talk about what makes
each style unique, share tips for building a well-rounded
cheese board, and provide an overview of cheese-pairing
basics with beer and wine. Well also have bread and pickled
veggies to round out thesampling courses.

Whether were pulling a shot for you in our caf on Plaza

Drive or sending you off with a bag of fresh roasted beans,
our passion is to source, roast and brew great coffee. Our
classes are designed for the coffee novice and nerd alike
and aim to help everyone learn about everything it takes to
turn a great bean into a great cup of coffee.

BREWING METHODS

Sunday July 24th from 1pm-3pm

Sunday August 21st from 1pm-3pm
Learn the keys to successful coffee brewing using a wide variety of brewing methods from filter drip to syphon pot. This
tasting session will explore a single coffee brewed 6 to 8 different ways, each producing a unique taste. A demonstration
of the proper proportions and techniques for each method
and a discussion of the merits and differences of each style
will take place.

COMPARATIVE CUPPING

Sunday July 10th from 1pm-3pm

Sunday August 7th from 1pm-3pm
Sample coffees from the Africa, Central and South Americas,
and the Asian Pacific. We will taste and evaluate these coffees
using the techniques and tools used by professional tasters.
This is an eye-opening introduction of the world of coffee.

2501 Jackson Road 734.663.3663 www.zingermansroadhouse.com

Zingermans Roadhouse hosts special dinners that highlight old favorites, new finds,
celebrated chefs and traditional American foodways. Our dinners are family-style
affairs that deliver really good food with a little history on the side.

Zingermans Deli tastings are designed to give you

an insiders view of the foods that weve searched
the world for. Youll often meet the folks who
make it and leave with a mouthful of flavor and a
new understanding of everything from olive oil to
sardines, cheese to chocolate.

YOUR WEEKEND JUST GOT LONGER!

Now open until 10 pm on Sundays (Memorial Day-Labor Day).
ANNUAL BBQ DINNER
With Ann Arbors King of Cuban
Pork, Fidel Galano
July 12, 7pm-9:30pm
$75 per person (Price includes dinner, tax
and gratuity. Beverages additional).

#197

Ari has been working on bringing this years

guest speaker to the Roadhouse for the annual BBQ dinner
for over a decade and we are happy to say, 10 years later, it
is finally happening. Fidel Galano, an IT Director by day and
a master of Cuban cooking by night,
along with being a long-time
Zingermans customer, is lending his talent and passion to
one of our favorite dinners of
the year.
Fidel has been working with
our chefs to create a menu
sharing his familys love of
Cuban American cooking. Hell
share stories of growing up in
Spanish Harlem, his mothers,
grandmothers and familys
(mostly aunts) recipes, the emotional connection with the
cooking in the Cuban and Puerto Rican community and the significance of pork in his family. We guarantee you will eat well
and leave wishing that you, too, had been born Cuban. Fidel is
about as apasionada (passionate) as anyone we have ever met!

10

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

422 Detroit Street 734.663.3400

www.zingermansdeli.com

THE ARGENTINE ASADO

A Special Dinner at the Roadhouse
Wednesday, August 3rd, 7pm
$75 per person (Price includes dinner, tax and gratuity.
Beverages additional).
Taking a turn frm our classic American BBQ we
#198
serve daily at the Rhoadhouse this year's second BBQ dinner of the summer has us traveling to Argentina. A buffet meal of grilled octopus
salad, spicy chicken empanadas, garlic langostinos, branzino
fillets with lime, churrasco (flat iron steak), chimchurri pork
belly, dulce de leche flan and more will be served on the patio.
Our BBQ dinners are some of the most popular dinners of the
year- don't wait to reserve a seat!

SUNDAE SOCIAL

Deli Patio August 9th 4:00 - 7:00pm

$6.99 - Price of a Sundae
Back by popular demand!
Were throwing a Sundae Social on the Deli Patio and
we hope you and your friends will join us! Our Next
Door sweet treat experts will help you make a custom
designed sundae. Our party fun will also include craft
activities and games for kids of all ages. Save the date
and make sure to bring your sweet tooth!

A CELEBRATION
OF THE SUMMER HARVEST

hosted by Zingerman's Roadhouse

featuring Zingerman's Cornman Farms
August 16, 7pm-9:30pm
$75 per person (Price includes dinner, tax
and gratuity. Beverages additional).

#199

The first Cornman Farms dinner of the year,

this summer harvest menu will be filled with fresh
summer vegetables and feature meats from Cornman Farms.
Radishes, cucumbers, squash, squash blossom, tomatoes, spinach and potatoes will all be harvested hours before the dinner. Chef Alex has prepared a menu that showcases the vegetables, beef, and pork, but also cooks with each of them in
ways you wouldn't expect. Join us for the first dinner of the
season and celebrate the summer harvest with Cornman Farms

PIAZZA ZINGERMANZA

August 13 11am - 3pm Deli Patio

Live Demonstrations/Education
Free to Attend
Join us for our free event on the patio, the 12th annual
Piazza Zingermanza, in celebration of all things Italian.
Our annual August tradition of transforming the Delis
Patio into an Italian Street Food Fest is one of the highlights of the year. There will be good food, good music,
good demos, good deals and good company.

T AT EVENTS.ZINGERMANSCOMMUNITY.COM
Hands-on Baking Classes
BAKE! is our hands-on teaching bakery in Ann Arbor, tucked
between Zingermans Bakehouse and Creamery. At BAKE! we share
our knowledge and love of baking with the home baker community, seeking to preserve baking traditions and inspire new ones.
We offer dozens of different bread, pastry and cake classes in our
very own teaching kitchens. All of us at the Bakehouse know the
joy and excitement of baking something really good and sharing it
with friends when its hot out of the oven. Youll leave BAKE! with
the food you made in class and the inspiration and skills to bake at
home!

Sign up or browse our menu of more than 60 classes at

3723 Plaza Dr. 734.761.7255
www.bakewithzing.com

www.bakewithzing.com

CINN-FUL CINNAMON ROLLS

PICNIC DESSERTS

4 dates to choose from:

Saturday, July 9th, 1:30-5:30pm
Saturday, July 23rd, 8am-12pm
Saturday, August 6th, 8am-12pm
Saturday, August 27th, 8am-12pm
$125

Sunday, July 17th, 1-5pm $125

One of our most popular classes!

Your family and house guests won't
soon forget waking up to the aroma
of butter, cinnamon, and muscovado
brown sugar permeating the house
from the fresh baked sweet rolls.
Join us and find out how it's done.
Learn the basic techniques of creating a sweet dough including mixing,
kneading and rolling, hand-shaping
your rolls, and properly proofing
them. We'll also demonstrate how to make pecan sticky
buns, a staff favorite. Wait until you taste these warm from
the oven in class! Go home with a half dozen cinnamon rolls,
a cinnamon wreath and dough to bake at home.

Well make tender Bakehouse sweet cream biscuits, golden

vanilla pound cake and pavlova, a crisp sweet meringue.
What do they have in common? Theyre all delicious vehicles
for your pick of ripe summer fruit and whipped cream. These
simple and scrumptious treats are real crowd pleasers. Once
word gets out about the desserts you're making, summer picnics and barbecues might turn in to block parties. Go home
with all the desserts you made in class. $125

DINNER SERIES: SICILIANO

Friday, August 26th, 1-5pm $125

Let's make dinner together! Frank Carollo, Bakehouse comanaging partner, takes you back to his familys roots with
some of his favorite flavors of Sicily. In this hands-on class
youll make risotto with radicchio and pistachios, pane nero
rolls and amaretti morbidi almond cookies for dessert. Go
home with dinner for four! $125

THURSDAYS from 3-7pm

Zingermans Roadhouse
Parking Lot
The 2016 season marks the 10th year of the Westside Farmers Market (WSFM) in the Roadhouse
parking lot every Thursday during the summer.
The market brings fresh fruits, vegetables, hand
made crafts, fresh-cut flowers, local musicians
and the community together.
Join us and enjoy fresh-from-the-farm fruits,
veggies and meats locally made cheeses, jams,
breads and pickles, and much more!

Farm Tours, Special Dinners and Classes

Several times a month, we open our doors to welcome you to
the Cornman Farms Experience. We offer farm-to-fork dinners, cocktail and cooking classes, and farm tours.

COCKTAIL CLASS:
AN EVENING TO RUM-EMBER
July 21, 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
$70/person

Rum has a long and fascinating history that

goes hand-in-hand with
the history of European
colonization of both
the Caribbean and what
became the United
States. Rum is available
in many varieties (well
try three tonight: silver,
gold and dark) and has
been used in cocktails
since the 1600s. The American Revolution was conceived
over a bowl of Rum Punch in a tavern on the East Coast in
the 1700s. The economics of rum fueled the development of
New England the way tobacco fueled the southern colonies.
Hemingway drank many a rum cocktail while writing some
of his most famous novels. Come join us this evening as
we discuss the glorious, bloody, romantic, and industrious
history of this sugarcane-based liquor while crafting three
delicious rum-based cocktails. Nibble on some tasty snacks
prepared by the culinary team at the farm and sail away with
us as we explore the history of rum!

COCKTAIL CLASS: TIKI TRAVELS

August 18th, 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
$75/person

Mai Tai Roa Ae! (Its out of this worldfantastic!)

The concept of Tiki is so much more than just a sweet rum
drink with an umbrella! In many Polynesian cultures, Tiki
refers to one of the first humans on earth, and has been part
of their creation stories since the dawn of time. In 1930s
Hollywood, Tiki came to mean colorful shirts, beach culture, and many fruit- and rum-based drinks. Trader Vic and
Don the Beachcomber invented this larger-than-life bar
scene some 80 years ago, and its been a popular movement
in the US (and some other parts of the world) ever since.
Join us this evening for a discussion of Tiki culture as we
explore its roots both in Hollywood and in the islands of
Polynesia. Well learn to make (and then drink!) three classic Tiki cocktails using
fruit, rum, and special
syrups made just for
this event. We may even
set one on fire! Guests will
enjoy farm-fresh snacks
and leave with recipes for
all the cocktails and syrups featured in this class.
Hawaiian shirts encouraged! (Note: these cocktails
may contain ingredients
made with nuts)

We Invite You
To Enjoy A Taste Of

Zingermans
On The Farm
With Ari Weinzweig

july 24th, 1:30-4pm

- Eats,Treats
& Refreshments
- Farm Games
- Floral Workshop
- Photo Booth
cornmanfarms.com
Festival Tickets $8.00

8540 Island Lake Road, Dexter 734.619.8100 cornmanfarms.com

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

11

THE STORY OF PIMENTO C

How a century-old Southern Staple became a Culin

I wrote the article below about ten years ago. Shortly after it appeared, we came out with a pimento cheese t-shirt. Emblazoned on the front was
the message, Zingermans, Pimento Cheese Capital of the Midwest on it. A decade later, Im pretty sure we can say that that vision has successfully come true. We now sell hundreds of pounds of pimento cheese every week, and we ship to customers and to restaurants and retailers all
over the country. Learn more about this culinary delight's provenence and why it is so loved.

Pimento Cheese: Pt for the Southern Palate

I hardly even know where to start on this one. Pimento cheese has been pretty much the
surprise of the year for me. Like the horse races in the spring,, it was sort of a triple crown of
surprises. First, I was surprised by what it was; second by how passionate people down South
are about it; and third by how quickly non-Southerners have embraced it here in Ann Arbor.
I guess the place to begin is with the fact that my ignorance of pimento cheese almost got me
kicked out of the Southern Foodways Alliance conference last fall. In one of those reallystupid-but-you-didnt-know-it-was-stupid-or-you-wouldnt-have-said-it moments, I let slip a
derogatory comment about pimento cheese in public. Hey, what I did I know? Id never actually had pimento cheese. I was sitting with all these high-end food folks. And in my ignorance,
I assumed that pimento cheese was . . . well, Im going to just admit it and get it over with .
. I thought pimento cheese was like the pimento loaf stuff that they sell in the deli cases of
mass-market grocery stores. You know, pasteurized, processed cheese that no one thats into
full flavored food would want to eat. I think the first person called me out on my food faux
pas was Kristen Hindes, whos lived much of her life in Atlanta. When she heard me slough off
pimento cheese she gave me a look of horror, as if Id just made some sort of terrible derogatory comment. I thought she was seriously going to kill me. I can t remember exactly what
I said to her in response to that look, but Im sure it wasnt very smart. Probably something
along the lines of, Well you dont really eat that stuff do you . . . ?
Knowing not what I was walking into, I was shocked to hear her aloud, Noooo! Of course we
eat pimento cheese. What are you talking about? Its the best! At first I thought maybe it was
just some kind of emotional thing that Kristen had for this stuffI come across people who
have soft spots for stuff like Twinkies and Fruit Loops all the time and I figured this was just
another case of childhood bonding to an otherwise not interesting food. Man, was I wrong.
Totally, completely radically off base. Pimento cheese is neither fad nor faux. Its very real,
American food with a very long history, and, in all seriousness, it makes for some really good
eating.
To check my reality after my collision with Kristens culinary psyche I started asking others around the conference about pimento cheese. And much to my shock and chagrin (and
maybe even, awe) everyone else from the South was just as passionate as Kristen was, some
even more so. Literally every Southerner I asked seemed to have been raised on pimento
cheese and they all really liked it. Everyone either had fond memories of it, still makes it
now, or some combination of both. And I do mean everyoneI surveyed white people, black
people, older folks and some barely out of their teens. I talked to people from every part of
the SouthTennessee, Texas, Kentucky and South Carolina. Long story short, what I discovered was that most everyone in the South eats pimento cheese. Not only do they eat it but
they have really strong feelings about it. They argue over it. They fight over whos got the best
recipe. And they, uh, get very upset if you make fun of it.
Of course wanting to learn more I started looking for books on the subject. Thanks to the
Southern Foodways Alliance there actually is a bookPimento Cheese Invitational, 2003.
Lest you have any doubt of the gravity with the seriousness of the subject, the book has over
two hundred pages of recipes and very personal remembrances about pimento cheese. As is
so often the case for me, books not only provide answers but also prompt conversation. I had
the thing lying on a table at the Deli while I was working one morning when Nancy Eubanks,
who runs Zingermans Catering, stopped and stood by with her mouth and eyes wide open
staring at me. She waited about a minute I think before she got this huge smile on her face and
then blurted out something along the lines of Where did you get that?. Still not quite having
grasped the enormity of the emotion around the stuff, I asked her if shed heard of pimento
cheese. The look I got back was akin to the kind Id seen on Kristens face six months earlier.
"Heard of it? I grew up on it, she said with a big smile and very wide eyes. Its the greatest!
I guess before we go any farther here, I should back up a bit here and tell my fellow Yankees
who dont know from pimento cheese just what it is. Ready? Its a blend of grated cheese
(usually cheddar) with mayonnaise (though some folks use Miracle Whip), chopped pimentos,
and spices. If youre starting to make a face, save yourself the embarrassment I put myself
through because, honestly, good pimento cheese is really, really good. To help acculturate
those who arent of Southern origin, I should say too that most folks who speak southern
dont pronounce it quite like it looks. Its more along the lines of pimenah (pardon my poor
phonetics); others call it mena cheese, and some simply say PC. Im sure there are about a
thousand regional variations I havent yetbut hope to soonhear.
Anyways, a bit of historical background. According to Kendra Myers, writing in the Pimento
Cheese Invitational, its been a big deal in the South since the early years of the 20th century,
for sure featured in Southern groceries since 1915. The poverty of the Depression years made

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ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

it even more of a hit than it already was. And its apparentlydespite my ignorancecontinued to grow in popularity ever since. What do you do with it? Might as well just quote Kendra
Myers again: Why do we love it so? Well, its easy to make, its cheap and it tastes great. It
doesnt make white bread go soggy, and it keeps well. Its good between two slices of bread,
lining a rib of celery, packed into a cherry tomato, or perched on a cracker. Its heaven on a
hamburger or a hot dog. Or eaten with a spoon right out of the crock.
The cool thing though is that it turns out that its not just Southerners who seem to like it. I
made up my first batch at home and brought it in the Roadhouse where I rather tentatively
gave tastes to the first ten or twelve staff members who came by. Shockingly I got nearly
unanimous praisethey loved it (and let me tell you the odds of everyone liking any new
thing we introduce the first time through are next to nil, so getting this much early support
was akin to hitting a home run in your first major league at bat.)
With that much support I decided to venture out in public with pimento cheese and put it
on the specials list at the Roadhouse. Thats no small thing for me because everything Id
learned about told me that pimento cheese is just the sort of homemade, nearly ubiquitous
food that Im always kind of afraid to dosince everyone grew up with it everyones going to
have a radically different version in their head of what it should be like (its akin to having 50
Jewish people over and hoping they all like your chopped liver.) So far, knock on wood, the
response has been consistently good to great. One guy told me it was almost as good as his
mothers (thats about as good as it gets I think.) Another, from Missouri told me it was the
real thing. A third from Mississippi said it was great, like a redneck endorsement! One older
customer who grew up in the Depression in Arkansas, grabbed me at the Roadhouse and said
firmly, Congratulations! For what? I asked, not being able to think of anything significant
that Id done of late. Pimento cheese, she answered, a bit of her Southern accent still coming through even after many decades of living in Ann Arbor. Its better than what I grew up
on, she said very seriously. I later gave Nancy Eubanks some of my early test batch to taste.
Her response was, Oh my God! Too good! Paris, Texas (her hometown) would be proud!

Bigger Than Barbecue

In the ten months since I made my first faux pas at that conference down in Mississippi, Ive
come to the conclusion that pimento cheese is really a bigger thing in the Southern psyche
than barbecue. Thats right. This seemingly silly cheese spread that I stupidly made fun of is
actually a more important piece of everyday Southern culture than its much beloved barbecue (which, please dont let me get into trouble again, is also an extremely big deal and very,
very good!) Because although both are much loved, barbecue in our modern world is really
something you go out to get. Hardly anyone does whole hog barbecue at home any more
except on very special occasions. I mean you gotta have a big family to handle a 120-pound
hog. And you gotta have a lot of time on your hands to do the fourteen hours or so on the pit
that it takes to do it right.
Pimento cheese, on the other hand, is well within everyones budget, both time-wise and
cost-wise. You can feed it two or two hundred. It can have, and I sense has, shown up at most
any meal. To quote Melissa Booth Hall, Pimento cheese . . . is not so much the food of special
occasions as it is the stuff of everyday life. Real people eat it, they eat it a lot, they love it.
In that sense, I realize pimento cheese is very much what John T. Edge would might call an
iconic American food. Its truly unique to here. Its not a fad. Its not phony. And because
it actually tastes good (I know thats my opinion but . . . ) its not just something with high
emotional attachment but no culinary value. So in that sense it is very much the sort of full
flavored traditional food that we focus on here at Zingermans. and its totally the kind of
really good American food that running the Roadhouse has pushed us to discover, deliver
and teach about. Pimento cheese, like so much of what we serve, is fun, culturally complex,
historically intriguing and good to eat all at onceI do really love my job.

Men Bond Over BBQ But Women Are Passionate about

Pimento Cheese
I made a joke to one of our staff members whos getting her degree in Sociology that there
was probably a graduate thesis to be written about the role of pimento cheese in Southern
culture. Based on my year-ago conference collision with Kristen Hindes I should have known
better than to make light of the subject. Because two weeks after I said it Ive realized that its
probably actually accurate. While I havent done the thesis, heres my theory.
From my foreigners (or you could say northerners) experience of it, Im going to generalize and say that, the more I think about it, the more it strikes me that barbecue is a very male

CHEESE AT ZINGERMANS:

nary Mainstay in Michigan in the 21st century!

thing in the South, but pimento cheese is much more feminine. Its not that women dont
eat barbecue nor that men dont like pimento cheese because clearly most everyone eats
both. But as I think about what Ive learned of late, I realized that I think every book
Ive read about barbecue was written by a guy. And every pit master is a man. And that
although women definitely like barbecue they dont seem to go on about it at anywhere
near the length that guys do.
The reverse though is true of pimento cheese. Guys like it a lot, but women really kind
of wax rhapsodic about it. Their eyes roll, they smile big, they really almost ooze emotion in the way that one would over a great movie love story or . . . (Granted, John T. Edge
is very passionate about pimento cheese, but I realized perhaps more so when its on a
burger which is back to the male thing with meat . . . ) Anyways, I know Im generalizing
gender preferences, but seriously, from my experience this is the way its been. I realized
that the data I was looking for was right there in the Pimento Cheese Invitational book
even after giving men the benefit of the doubt and credit for non-gender clear names like
Pat, 236 of the 278 writers in the book (thats a whopping 85%!) are women.
OK, enough about pimento cheese. By this point in the conversation youre either as surprised as I was that theres this much to say on the subject. Or youre surprised that anything Ive written wasnt already incredibly obvious to me. Or youre ready to send me
your recipe and set me straight on the true pimento cheese path. In any case, thanks for
reading. Thanks to Kristen Hindes and everyone else whos helped me learn American
culinary history in such an engaging way. And thanks in advance to those who know
much moreand have eaten much morepimento cheese than I have. Heres to many
more flavorful culinary surprises to come!

Pimento Cheese Burgers

Last winter I was down in Columbia, South Carolina to visit Anson Mills (where we get
those amazing grits and Carolina Gold rice from). At the suggestion of John T. Edge (who
some of you met when he was at the Roadhouse last March as part of a special dinner we
did featuring his Fried Chicken book) I ate my first pimento cheese burger there. (Note
by the way that its a pimento cheese burger, not a pimento cheeseburger, ok? Or in
Columbia where they call em pimento burgers.) The burger wasnt bad but the idea of it
was clearly great. In honesty as soon as I had two bites that it could be even better if we
made it with better beef (that fresh ground Niman Ranch chuck is hard to beat) and better
cheese (aged Vermont cheddar from Grafton Village). Having put pimento cheese burgers on as a special over the last few months, I can tell you that theyve been an almost
overnight hit. We sold twenty at lunch just the other day. And thats when hardly anyone
in Ann Arbor even knows what they are (it doesnt hurt thought hat the staff loves them!).
To quote John T. from his soon-to-be-released book Hamburgers and Fries, a pimento

cheese burger is, . . . a molten stack of meat and goo. Its also delicious. No question
that hes right. Everyone from chefs to busboys is into them. I think its safe to say that
theyll be on the next menu. For the moment feel free to ask for one any time. If weve
got the cheese, you can have the burger!
You can certainly make your own pimento cheese at home. But you can also buy it by the
pound at the Roadhouse or the Deli, or order at the Roadhouse whenever you like. In
any context please, ask for taste. If you grew up on it, I hope we can surprise you with
a little taste of your past in a setting (Michigan!) that you didnt expect to find it. And
if youve never had it before, I hope we can surprise you with just how good pimento
cheese is. Either way, youll have the chance to experience an authentic, and surprisingly
tasty, little bit of traditional American eating.

Available at Zingerman's Roadhouse,

Deli, Mail Order and Creamery

Over the years its become one of our single most popular items at the Roadhouse, Deli, and Creamery and graces the tables a good number of the many events catered by the
Deli and the Roadhouse. Zingermans Mail Order ships it to loyalists all over the U.S.! The Creamery even wholesales it to shops, restaurants and cafs across the country. If
you know of one that should be serving it, by all means let us know. Write to Paul Bower at pbower@zingermans.com. If you havent already tried it, bewarepeople dont
seem to be able get enough of it. The other day one long time customer called it cheese crack.
To get a sense of what those who know it best like to do with their pimento cheese, I sent an email to folks around the Zingermans Community to get the inside scoop. I
think I got more responses to it the first few hours than any other email Ive ever sent out to the organization!

Stephanie Suchala from the Roadhouse:

Marcy Harris of Zingermans Roadhouse:

Pattie Lambka of Zingermans Mail Order:

I enjoy a grilled pimento and blue cheese sammiches

on Bakehouse sourdough with fresh tomatoes.

I am a Zingerman's Pimento cheese addict, and proud

of it. Typically my go-to sandwich after a busy brunch
shift is the pimentocucumber sandwich on Bakehouse
White from the Roadshow. I love the cool refreshing
cucumber against the firey smokiness of the cheese.
Even better with a few pieces of Nueske's Applewood
Bacon to amp up the smoky flavor.This is going to sound
a little different, but about a year ago I starting thinking
about a British favorite, cheese and pickle sandwiches.
Traditionally, these are made with Cheddar cheese
and a sweet, vinegary pickle chutney, which sounds
amazing in and of itself. The more I thought about this
sandwich, the more I began to picture it in my mind
as a Pimento cheese and pickle sandwich. After picking up a jar of Jenny's Famous Hot and Sweet pickles in
Dexter, I started making my own version of cheese and
pickle sandwiches with our Pimento cheese, and it has
become my favorite lunchat home ever since. I think I
will make one this instant!

Ooooh! A couple eggs scrambled - before they're

done add a dollop of Pimento Cheese and let warm
up til gooey. Toast a slice or two of Peppered Bacon
Farm bread, spread with cultured butter, top with the
Pimento Cheese Eggs. A special treat! (I top with a thick
slice of tomato from the garden in the summer.) Served
open-faced or sandwich.

Kelly Nugent from Mail Order:

I like to make pimento cheese biscuits at home. I use
the standard recipe on the back of the Clabber Girl
baking powder can, but substitute 3 oz of pimento
cheese for the shortening, sneak in a couple teaspoons
of sugar, and slather the tops of the biscuits with salted
butter before sliding 'em in the oven. They always
come out looking real pretty, speckled with the chunks
of cheese and pimento peppers. They taste good on
their own, but are even better with a generous smear
of butter and pepper jelly.

Nancy Leat from the Roadhouse:

Broiled over the Roadhouse's corned beef hash with a
couple poached eggs on top and biscuits and honey.....
just sayin'......

Kieron Hailes, managing partner

at Events at Cornman Farms:
I make Scotched eggs and replace the egg with the
cheese!! My three-year-old son Henry loved them.

Iris Chen at the Deli:

I love pimento cheese on a grilled bialy. Nice twist on
a classic grilled cheese.

Marshall from the Deli

said, One guest over at Tracklements (in Kerrytown)
loves to simply mix this into hot pasta for quick mac
andcheese.

Coral Pumarada from the Bakehouse:

"I like it on an egg sandwich! I use one of the Frita
buns we bake, add pepperoni, sauted mushrooms and
onions, fried egg,pimentocheese."

Bryan Weiss from Zingermans Catering:

I made arancini di riso with it once and that was tasty.
I also like to melt it on top of the #422 at the Deli,
Eddie's Big Deal."

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

13

Hacienda Miramonte and

ZINGERMAN'
S
COFFEE
CO.
How the Zingermans Reserve Came to Be
Finding really great coffee is much more than just
a passion at Zingermans Coffee Company finding
really great coffee is a mentally and physically stimulating adventure. We travel the globe to find coffees
that we think you will truly enjoy. And while travel
certainly has its shining and inspiring moments,
much of the journey is less than luxurious. Origin
travel proves to be very difficult at times. Considering
many places dont accept certain credit cards and
differences in currency can be problematic, obtaining necessities is a challenge. Getting from Point A
to Point B often proves to be a long and treacherous
excursion. However, in spite of the challenges, the
real magic begins when we arrive at our destination
and make contact with the farms producer. Here, the
true journey begins.
The beginnings of this affiliation began several years
ago when we were introduced to Don Ricardo and his
daughter Viviana Gurdian through our friend Karen
Gordon at Coffee Holding Company. What began as a
casual, Would you like to try a sample coffee from
this farm in Costa Rica developed into a connection
and relationship with Hacienda Miramonte. Today,
the farm focuses on reserving the finest coffees it has
to offer for us at Zingermans Coffee Company.
During the initial phases of our relationship with
Hacienda Miramonte, we sampled and approved
microlots which were then featured as a monthly
Roasters Pick. The coffee was received so well that
we opted to purchase another microlot the same
year. Again, the reception of the coffee was remarkable. The following year, we bought all but one of the
two microlots Hacienda Miramonte had. As our relationship grew and developed, Ricardo, Viviana, and I
found ourselves posing the question, Whats next?.
In brainstorming special projects, I asked Ricardo if
there was a way that he could identify the really great
coffees of a harvest among the various lots from his
large farm. His reply Of course!. I then proceeded
to ask him if he could do this in all lots of his farm.
Ricardo further affirmed. He said that this would
require being very selective during the peak of the
harvest. With some training, he was confident that he
had pickers that could select the right cherries. After
much deliberation, the special project was conceptualized the Zingermans Reserve. Once the notion of
the Zingermans Reserve became more clear, I traveled to the farm in late December when the picking
began. I was able to witness first-hand the idea that
we had visioned out many months before. I watched
Ricardo give very specific information to a few longstanding and trusted families of pickers. The results
were amazing. The ripest and most perfect cherries
were being picked a remarkable sight! Never before
had I seen such uniformity in the selection and picking process.
While the selection and picking of the cherries created excitement, this was just the beginning of the
journey to discovering phenomenal coffee. The coffee must then be processed, dried, rested, and milled
before it will make the voyage to Ann Arbor. Ricardo
wanted to assure me that these pristine coffees would
maintain their isolation from the rest of the harvest.
To ensure such, the farm needed to process these coffees onsite, versus sending the cherries to an outside
processing facility. Unfortunately, this conception
proved to be an obstacle Don Ricardo did not have
the budget to purchase an automated depulper to efficiently process these coffees. However, the realization of this hindrance was short-lived. Karen Gordon
and David Gordon from Coffee Holding learned of
our collaboration and enthusiastically loaned the
funds to Hacienda Miramonte to buy the depulper.
This automation would allow the farm to very quickly
remove the fruit from the cherry in order to start the
next phase of processing drying.
Generally speaking, during the processing stage of
coffee, the cherries are handled in one of two ways
the wet/washed method, or the dry/natural
method. The process used for this project, however,
was outside of the norm. The pure honey process
was to be used for the Zingermans Reserve. What
is the pure honey process? This means that once

14

ISSUE # 255

JULY-AUGUST 2016

the coffee is depulped,it

is not washed or fermented. The mucilage,
or remaining fruit, is left
on the bean and dried
directly onto the parchment. No additional water or
fermentation is used. The result of this process lends
an amazing sweetness and juiciness to an already
lively and cocoa-y coffee. While I was feeling confident that the process was well under my control and
that the best cherries were being selected, the true
litmus test would be my next visit a few months later.
You can feel good about the entire process but at
the end of the day, the coffee has to taste great! How
would the coffees taste? Would all of this discussion
and hard work pay off? There was high anticipation
on everyones part and although I was highly confident, the chance remained that this experiment could
end up being a bust. I later realized that Don Ricardo
had the same concerns as I in wondering if all of this
hard work Hacienda Miramonte had done would pay
off. This mutual feeling of uncertainty was discovered
after we had approved the coffee samples. A lot was at
stake and all parties were anxious for the final results.
In February I visited Hacienda Miramonte again for
the cupping of all the lots that had been picked and
set aside for Zingermans Coffee Company. In my mind,
I had thought a lot about what to expect. On one hand,
all of the separate lots could taste great, but be very
different. On the other hand, all of the different coffees could taste roughly the same. And, of course, the
coffee had to taste great in the first place. I had prepared myself for many scenarios to play out. When
we arrived, the table was set and the cupping began.
Nearly every coffee that we cupped tasted delicious.
This result was encouraging, exciting, and worth all
of the hard work. Hacienda Miramonte committed
to working with Zingermans Coffee Company to produce Zingermans Reserve lots using very specific criteria. At the peak of the harvest, the entire farm was
inspected. The farm managers chose the seven most
experienced families and gave them instructions to
pick the best, ripest cherries. Around 18-20 cajuelas
(a standard volume of measurement for coffee cherries that is about 15 kg) would be picked per day. The
largest lot picked measured 180 cajuelas. Each pick of
the day was separated by variety, lot, date, altitude,
and weight.
The process to achieve the Zingermans Reserve coffees was to pick the cherries, depulp them, and bring
the beans to the patio. The full honey process was
adopted which uses no water. The beans then sit on
the patio and are later transferred to beds and turned
every 20 minutes. No mechanical drying was to be
used. The different coffees picked were kept separate
while they rested until milling. Zingermans Coffee
Company provided a moisture meter in order to help
dry the coffee to a specific percentage of moisture.

Zingermans is dedicated to creating

full-flavored,
traditionally
made
foods and Cold Brew is no exception.
Brewed very slowly over a 16-hour
period, this method of extraction
and patent pending process makes
an exceptionally sweet and rich
beverage with hints of chocolate. The
cold water brewing process produces
a cup with virtually none of the acidity
found in a traditional hot coffee. Its
a rich, smooth coffee, has a delicious
and complex flavor and a refreshing
intensity. Its perfect for the on-the-go
busy morning, or as a great afternoon
pick-me-up.
Our Cold Brew is shelf stable for
up to one year and free of additives or
preservatives of any kind. It is a refreshing and highly caffeinated
beverage that is sure to satisfy time and time again!

AVAILABLE AT:

July

August

Oku Valley

Hacienda Miramonte

CAMEROON
A rare coffee from the Oku people of
northwestern Cameroon. Complex florals with flavors of herbal spice and
black pepper.

After the specific and selective production process,

raw cupping took place. In this stage, coffees were
able to be further separated and we at Zingermans
Coffee Company had first selection to choose the best
picked beans.

COSTA RICA

We are entering our third year of working with Don Ricardo and his daughter Viviana of Costa Rica's Hacienda
Miramonte. This year's harvest is our
favorite yet!

The result of all of this is what defines the transparency of the supply chain. Getting great coffee does
not happen automatically. It takes years of relationship development and cooperation. It takes all of
the players in the supply chain to be on board and
actively involved. It takes alignment of vision and the
determination to produce and provide full-flavored,
exceptionally great tasting coffee.
Hacienda Miramonte has been in the family for over
100 years! We are buying the best coffee available
in Costa Rica from Naranjo, the region Hacienda
Miramonte is located in. This area has won the Cup
of Excellence award the past four years. This fact is
changing Costa Rican coffee buyers perspective. We
look forward to sharing this great coffee with you as
well as continue to develop the root structure of this
and other relationships to bring you the very best this
world has to offer in coffee!

July

August

A fresh take on Dr. Pemberton's classic

cola restorative! We've paired a real
sugar Coca-Cola with our house-made
vanilla, and a double shot of Brazilian
Espresso. This vivacious elixir is sure
to invigorate your summer.

The original float! The recipe is simple:

One perfect scoop of gelato, drenched
in our equally perfect Espresso Blend
#1. It's a a small, classic treat with huge
flavor!

PEMBERTINO

AFFOGATO

3723 Plaza Drive, Ann Arbor 734-929-6060 zingermanscoffee.com

JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE

10 YEARS OF INSPIRING
A COMMUNITY OF BAKERS
Gifts & Events for you
in AuguSt 2016

BAKE! turns 10 in August 2016! Its hard to believe

that our little idea has grown up so much.
In the beginning, Frank and I wanted to share our love
of baking and what we had learned in our first decade
at the Bakehouse in an educational setting. To get our
idea going, we met with two long time Bakehouse bakers, Amy Small and Alejandro Ramon, to begin designing some classes. We hoped we could de-mystify baking and inspire people to bake at home. We wanted
the classes to be informal, fun and rich with learning.
We hoped that students would engage with each other
and develop a community of baking friends. Lots of
hopes!

Many of you come to class with a friendwhat a great

way to spread the joy. Some have traditions of coming
on birthdays, for an annual work outing, or for making holiday cookies together. Some of you like to bake
together so much that you prefer to arrange private
classes with only your friends and family, again not
part of our original vision, but we love it. This amount
of connecting we couldnt have hoped for. And, now
we even have nearly 700 of you interacting with us
and each other on our BAKE! Community Facebook
group. Yes! A community of bakers.

Amazingly, a lot of what we hoped for has come true,

often in ways that we didnt anticipate (and of course
with some bumps and struggles along the way).

Thank you! Thank you! We appreciate your engagement, your suggestions, and your interest in learning.
BAKE! has been a tremendously joyful experience for
us also. To celebrate, were going to hold special activities this August. Watch for announcements on our
website or in our enews. And see you in class!

First, we were very happy that you all came to class!

Early attendance was light but fortunately always
moved in a positive direction. We hoped youd like
the classes enough to take several but we never anticipated that some of you would come many, many
times10, 20, 50 and even 100! Definitely unexpected
and of course appreciated. Many of you were not already Bakehouse customers because you preferred to
make your own food rather than buy it. Weve been
thrilled to connect with you! And you come from afar,
too: Indiana, Toledo, Grand Rapids and even different
countries to our amazement.

Free gift for all students

attending in August.
Drawing for a free class each week
for students attending in August.
Student Open Mic night.
Your chance to teach!
Dorie Greenspan, 6-time James
Beard Award winning cookbook
author joins us for 2 baking demonstrations.
A surprise 10% off class registration
day for enews subscribers.

Amy Emberling
Frank Carollo

Alejandro Ramon, former instructor,

returns for a Mexican food cooking
demonstration.

Pastry classes have surprisingly been more popular

than bread classes and although our early classes
were designed as just bread or pastry, it turns out that
many of you prefer to mix em together in one class.
So weve accommodated that. And who knew thered
be a fascination with pizza? We created a pizza class
on a whim and now we cant teach enough of them.
Super fun! Fancy Schmancy Cookie mania?? This
wasnt in the plan. No one could have predicted its
extreme popularity.

Sign our online photo yearbook

& get all the event details at
www.bakewithzing.com/10years

Available at Zingermans
Bakehouse, Roadhouse
& Delicatessen

20%

whole ofF
cak
& slice es
s!

july/august

We have made some great specialty breads and pastries over

the years that developed their own small followings, so we
bring them back for a weekend here and there just for fun. If
youre looking for a little adventure, check out this calendar.
Blueberry Buckle

July 1-4

Rosemary Baguettes

July 1-3

Somodi Klacs

July 8-10

Green Olive Paesano

July 15 & 16

Lemon Poppyseed Coffeecake

July 21-24

Cranberry Pecan

July 22 & 23

Craquelin

July 29-31

Patti's Gimme S'more Tarts

August 5-7

Cinn-oh-man

August 12-14

Pumpernickel Raisin bread

August 12 & 13

Sweet Butter Tea cake

August 18-21

Peppered Bacon Farm bread

August 19 & 20

Potato Dill bread

August 26 & 27

july

august

New York Cheesecake

Buttermilk Cake

Our cheesecakes are extra

special because they are
made with fresh hand-made
cream cheese from our neighbor Zingerman's Creamery.
Experience a thick slice of our
New York style cheesecake
made with real vanilla bean
and a butter pastry crust, best
at room temperature. Kick up
the flavor and fun at home.
Experiment with toppings like
fresh in season fruit, lemon
curd or raspberry sauce.

A moist yellow cake made

with buttermilk from
Guernsey Farms Dairy filled
with raspberry butter cream
and covered in smooth vanilla
swiss butter cream. Please
enjoy our cakes responsibly,
at room temperature, for the
best texture and flavor.

august

july
Better than San Francisco
Sourdough Rounds
$6.29 each
Good enough to ship to
California. Crisp, crackly
crust, moist honeycombed
interior and the trademark sour tang that will
tickle your tongue. It's
our go to bread for grilled
cheese Wednesday's at the
Bakehouse.

ISSUE # 255

Jewish Rye Loaf

$6.99 each
The bread that we're
proud to say is featured on
Zingerman's Delicatessen's
famous reubens for more
than two decades. Ours is
a traditionally made rye
bread with plenty of rye flour
(believe it or not, most "rye
bread" sold in America has
hardly any rye flour), a natural sour starter & lots of time
for the dough to develop flavor. Saveur magazine called it
"America's best rye."

JULY-AUGUST 2016

15