Straight From the Source
Sandy's Impact on the Chocolate Community
This week on Straight from the Source, Clay Gordon is talking about the impact Superstorm Sandy is having on the chocolate community. First, he is joined by Maricel Presilla, a chef, culinary historian, and author. She owns the restaurants Zafra and Cucharamama in Hoboken, New Jersey along with the Latin grocery store (and source of cult chocolates) Ultramarinos. Hoboken was hit hard, and Maricel found herself waist deep in water at. Cucharamama and Ultramarinos. Later on, Clay checks in with Hakan Martensson, owner of Fika Espresso Bar in NYC with four locations. The main one was located down in the Wall Street area and is now a total write-off. He's doubling efforts to open a location in Tribeca to support his stores elsewhere in the city. Tune in and hear first hand accounts of the devastation this storm has on food businesses and how to pick up the pieces moving forward. This program was sponsored by Heritage Foods USA.
"We were caught unaware - we were doing an event at the store on Sunday so we didn't prepare. There was nothing you could do in the basement because they water was up to the ceiling in the basements - everything was destroyed. I cannot tell you how painful it was to throw away beautiful things." 07:20