Our Beginning

Joe's grandmother’s kitchen in East Randolph VT is the inspiration for the wholesome, flavorful, value-added agricultural products from Joe’s Kitchen at Screamin' Ridge Farm. When Joe was a kid, his grandmother's kitchen was the hub for the entire family. An assortment of cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends were constantly trooping through, and all were greeted at the door with the smell of the ubiquitous soup pot simmering on a back burner. Gram’s kitchen was definitely the place to go when you were hungry.

With equal regard for flavor and economy, Gram used whatever was at hand to pull together a great-tasting soup; ingredients like roasted chicken, potatoes, onions, and vegetables. What really made Gram’s soups special though, were the quality vegetables and herbs harvested from the garden out back. Fresh parsley, oregano, thyme and rosemary were snipped in the summer months and during the long, cold Vermont winters, Gram made do with the ample shelf of spices next to the stove. Joe’s mom continued the tradition and passed it on to Joe with love and skill; she spent many hours cooking with him.

This training was a great basis for Joe's early career as a restaurant chef and entrepreneur. He trained in France at the prestigious École Supérieure de Cuisine Française in Paris (also known as Ecole Ferrandi)—he was the only US citizen in the school. Joe landed back in the US and sampled food and life in Brooklyn NY, San Francisco, San Diego, and Austin Texas. In 1999, Joe and family settled in Vermont. Joe was a chef -instructor at New England Culinary Institute for about 10 years; he really enjoyed teaching.

First, A Small Vegetable Farm

Joe was teaching the next generation of restauranteurs how to creat amazing food while at the same time, he began learning how to grow food. Screamin' Ridge Farm started small, with one tiny plastic greenhouse and a walk-behind tractor. Over the next several years, the farm slowly grew into a successful business focused on winter spinach production and a wide variety of summer crops (with 3 large hoophouses and a "real" tractor). The farm sold produce at the Montpelier Farmers Market and into summer and winter CSAs.

Connecting directly with customers at Farmers Markets and through the CSA, Joe saw first-hand his customers' struggle to find the time and inspiration needed to prepare healthy meals from raw farm products. He saw an opportunity to realize his ambition of both growing ingredients and cooking them into great-tasting prepared foods. 

Next, Joe’s Kitchen

Joe's Kitchen began as delicious hot soups available at the Montpelier Farmers Market. CSA customers also received a smattering of ready-to-eat foods and meal-launching sauces in their boxes. Our production space was in rental kitchens initially, then at the Mad River Food Hub for a few years. The Red Hen Bakery was our first wholesale customer, the Hunger Mountain Coop was our second substantial customer and they remain one of our biggest supporters (thank you HMC and HMC shoppers!).

We now produce in our own kitchen in downtown Montpelier, VT, right across the tracks from Hunger Mountain Coop. We work hard to find and use locally sourced ingredients. Most of the produce, meat, and cheese, (plus a little beer) used to make Joe's Kitchen products is from local producers. We still grow some of the herbs we need at our home in East Montpelier. Our focus is on creating great-tasting, healthy food using primarily local ingredients cultivated sustainably.    

Look for Joe’s Kitchen products at the retailers listed here. If you’d like to see Joe’s Kitchen products at a store or cafe near you, let us know!