COMMENT: Artisan food in the USA. As scarce as hen’s teeth?

How often do you find an item purely produced by artisans?  The skilled individuals who work on their own or as a group to produce something unique with a high degree of skill and artistic flair. In the main they will be using man power where most would use a machine, utilising skills and experience often gathered over many years.

In modern times the term artisan or artisanal has broadened somewhat to the crafting of handmade food and drink. While the revolution may be sweeping across most of Europe, in the United States the artisanal food product is as scarce as hen’s teeth. It happens but not as often as you might think or in my case want.

In Florida I found two examples of what I would think qualify as artisanal food and drink. If you think of Florida your stomach may automatically turn to thoughts  of Key Lime Pie. On every menu from Pensacola across to Jacksonville and down to the very tip of the keys you will see the ubiquitous KLP. A wise old sage told me at a bar in West Palm beach: "If the body of the pie looks a lime colour then it’s no good."  With that in mind, of course I had to investigate every pie I saw for the rest of the trip. By the end I looked a little green around the gills let alone the pie.

I am now an expert and I can testify that the King of Key Lime is Bob Roth’s version called Terry’s after his late wife who first made it in very small numbers in the early 70s. The pie itself you will be pleased to know has no lime colour to it but indeed an unappetising beige pallor  –  this I was told is the secret to good pie. Set in short crust pastry the all-important limey tasting bit is topped off with whipped cream.  The use of their own home-grown citrus fruits and just the right amount of sugar all put together in the Roth family recipe certainly makes for a tasty treat. The state pie of Florida is safe in the artisanal hands of the Roths.

Bob with an eager consumer

Whilst KLP might be synonymous with Florida, surprisingly state-made Rum is not. Florida has all the ingredients , sugar, water, fruits, if required, and of course a demand, which given the  proximity to what most people think of as the home of Rum – the Caribbean – is less startling.

In the west of the state near Cape Coral two young entrepreneurs have set up a company called Wicked Dolphin Rum which is made purely from the sweat and toil of local Floridian farmers. A true farm to bottle story.  The name comes quite romantically from the fact that dolphins make lots of noise at the bottom of one of the owners’ garden and the dogs bark at them non-stop thus making them ‘wicked’. Good name because the story suggests naughty dolphins while in street parlance it could be construed as Weekid, i.e. badass, awesome

The bottom line is that it is good and in many competitions the Wicked Dolphinettes at the rum factory have taken on the best the Caribbean has to offer and beaten them.  Everything from the design of the logo to the shape of the bottle has been thought out carefully and what was nice to see was the local mega supermarket chain in Florida, Publix, supporting them and selling the product in each of their stores throughout the state.

Using the term artisanal may be a bit of a stretch when applied to food and drink but in both these cases it seems well deserved.

To get some top notch KLP go to Bob’s www.newrivergroves.com

To get some weeeeekid rum go to www.Wickeddolphin.com

Trip organised by www.Visitflorida.com