The Fare Trade brings you 5 full-sized artisan and all-American ingredients, as well as signature recipes from award-winning chefs, for only $65.00 per month. You can now discover different flavors from all over the country while looking (and feeling) like a professional chef from the comfort of your own kitchen.
The interior box is a lovely deep blue, and the label proudly announces the Chef-Curator for the month, as well as the artisan that created the chef’s selections.
All the items are well-protected, nested within a big batch of wooden straw.
Every box includes 5 recipes incorporating the curated items as ingredients. The recipes are created by the month’s featured professional chef specifically to showcase the Fare Trade products. The dishes are typically fairly involved and will require you to shop for some choice ingredients, but the results are restaurant-worthy dishes with a big wow factor
If you are up for a culinary adventure and willing to take a dash to the store, the five recipes are a great way to get the most out of your Fare Trade selections.
This month’s featured chef is Chef Dakota Weiss from Los Angeles, California. Chef Weiss is a California native, and her recipes celebrate the classic California vibe she experienced growing up.
The information card gives you more details about the items of the month, including several suggested uses. Chef Weiss curated a box with a full-on West Coast vibe!
A handy shopping list is included, so you can gather all the ingredients needed in a single trip to the store for a week of great meals! The list is well-organized, and it is relatively brief, considering that it includes the ingredients for five entirely unique dishes.
Everything in my February box!
Mr. Espresso Oakwood Roasted ($16): Don’t be fooled by the name “Mr. Espresso,” this is not your typical blackened dust. This whole bean coffee is grown organically and acquired through fair trade. This bag naturally-processed Worka from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia, light-roasted to retain the complex flavors.
The founder, Carlo Di Ruocco, brought with him from Salerno the traditional practice of roasting coffee beans over oak wood. The result is a richly flavorful bean with a slight smokiness and high oil retention, meaning more flavor.
Fish Rub Bruce Kalman Collection ($10.50): This flavorful blend incorporates lemon zest, garlic, ginger, and thyme, for a bright complement ideal for seafood.
The blend is powdered to a very fine consistency, making it easy to apply directly to food or mix into sauces and batters.
Dakota Pop Parlor Holy Mole ($12): This coated popcorn packs a punch! This item is Chef Weiss’ own creation, a potent mole sauce using popcorn as a light, crunchy vehicle. The mole seasoning is quite spicy, and we think these are best used as they are in one of the featured recipes, crushed and used as a flavorful topping or garnish for a dessert.
We put this to use as a topping for an ice cream sundae. The popcorn was extremely potent eaten straight, but it was perfect added to the dish as a topping. The mole melded with our deep chocolate ice cream, flavoring the entire dish. The texture of the corn was great, too – it added a bit of crispness and interest without inhibiting the creaminess of the ice cream.
“Old Red” Big Sur Salt: This blend mixes Pico Blanco sea salt, harvested off of the Big Sur coastline of California, with choice herbs and dried botanicals.
The “Old Red” blend is classically Northern Californian, incorporating redwood nettles and bark for a woody and piney profile.
Omnivore Vulcano Ginger ($7.50): This organic sauce is mild, but very flavorful. A healthy dose of ginger is layered on a bell pepper and tomato base, making a tingly, spicy, vinegary sauce without much burn (it has just a bit of cayenne added as an afterthought).
This sauce is ideal for seafood, white meats, and Asian fare. A great way to add a comforting, hot sauce burst of flavor to any dish without adding overwhelming heat.
We had some fun with the Vulcano sauce, using it for a batch of totchos! We piled our tots with cheddar peppers and onions, cilantro, and maple bacon from our Bacon Freak box. The Vulcano was a decent pairing, with the sweet and smoky bacon bridging the gap and making the gingery notes work with the dish.
We’ve really liked the items selected by the Fare Trade curators for inclusion in the boxes. They are all high-quality, all with an artisan-made, cottage feel. They reflect the sensibilities of the curator – usually sourced from the chef’s local area. The value of the items totals about $46, plus the value of salt (not sold online). The product value of the box is probably close to $55, which is much better than it has been in the past. There is premium built in for the curation and the great recipes, but hopefully this trend continues and we see better value from the products, too. The box is curated by talented and respected Chefs, and the recipes they contribute are those that one might see served at their restaurants – though this also means that the shopping list provided may have you reaching for some pricey items. Each recipe includes a video tutorial you can access online, so quite a bit does go into making sure you can enjoy the recipes and ingredients. Everything is really useful for any seasoned cook, but it’s not a bargain hunters delight. The quality of items and the concept of this box is superb, but we hope they continue to work on the price / product value ratio.
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