In the Kitchen with the ingrained Culinary Team
A good meal or a tasty treat doesn’t have to be complicated. All it takes is the right, simple ingredients and a careful creator to make something truly special. There is no better brand and team to exemplify that fact, than those behind ingrained {108 West Chicago Avenue, Chicago; 312.248.2862}. Their snacks and other products are plant-based, gluten free, and refined sugar free… but never scrimp on flavor or presentation! They want their diners to love their bodies, and love every bite they put into their mouths. Owners Sydney Verwilst (Lead Creative & Chef) and Andrew Verwilst (Business Lead) talked us through their culinary process, told us what we can all look for when trying to eat clean, and reminded us that healthy eating can still be full of color, flavor and amazing ingredients…
Tell us the "why" behind your mission at ingrained…
Ingrained was first a passion project for Sydney. She began making homemade granola on the side and later decided to sell it to local shops with support from her friends. Soon, ingrained granola began flying off the shelves, and people couldn't get enough. Sydney wanted to expand ingrained products beyond granola, and decided to open her own little shop to encourage healthy and mindful eating.
Can you give us a little peek into your sourcing and recipe creation processes?
We responsibly source our organic ingredients from all over the world and work hard to wholesale from companies that equally value our standard for ethical sustainable farming across the globe. We are lucky to have customers who not only value their own health and wellness, but the wellness of those who provide the goods that make them feel good! Sourcing is never finished, however it is something we are constantly striving to improve and will always be working on. We believe there is always something bigger and better and when we are in the hunt for the best, it encourages our suppliers to do better.
Our company’s motto is “when you know better, you do better.” We are here to serve amazing functional food and to educate consumers along the way. Believe it or not, there is no formal recipe creation process. Like art, recipes are inspired by the seasons, environment around us, and inspiration from our own personal experiences. Recipes are developed quickly on the fly, and tweaked constantly!
Diners are wanting to learn more and more about the ingredients in their dishes. How does ingrained cater to this new trend?
Our instagram @ingrainedchicago is where we are most interactive and authentic for our customers to see and learn about our creations. We include plenty of informational details about our products and their ingredients. We cater to and believe in the beauty of REAL FOOD. That means that we avoid ingredients formulated in a lab and phony starches/gums in order to provide the most functional energy without any BS/fluff.
Why is Chicago such a good food hub to launch the brand?
It might not be the perfect city to be honest, but the challenge of educating and gaining consumer interest in boutique snacks in the Midwest has been rewarding. Teaching others to fuel their bodies the right way is fun and a constant reminder that Chicago needs this information more than we know.
Chicago’s food scene is a crossroad between amazing taste, savory signature concepts and a market that won’t sacrifice much on quality and taste. We feel all that is missing in the Midwest is an innate interest in transparency, but we are seeing that change slowly which is reassuring. People are starting to acknowledge the concept that food is medicine, and flavor doesn’t have to be sacrificed to benefit from better-for-you choices.
What are your favorite menu items for the season?
Always our raw bars! Right now, we have some satiating and refreshing flavors for the season that include various fruit or vegetables with nut combinations. Coming up with flavors that are inspired by childhood is fun, like mimicking Twix and Reeses, or birthday cake batter. Sydney is most obsessed with the more refined flavors like strawberry basil and sweet balsamic cheesecake, lavender marshmallow, matcha snickerdoodle, cardamom caramel, or ube Graham cracker. There are hundreds of raw bar renditions and she has pulled inspiration from so many different cultures and travel experiences to bring Chicagoland a diverse variety on healthier sweet treats
Our frozen raw bar line is amazing — vegan, gf, adaptogenic, functional and refined sugar free superfood bars. They are functionally developed recipes that feature balanced macronutrients, a variety of superfood powders + adaptogens. Raw Bars are a hybrid between ice cream and cheesecake, with a smooth creamy texture and a cake-like database which allows customers to “pop it out” of the container and eat it like an ice cream sandwich, on-the-go.
How can we all put a little more focus on wellness when we dine or in our daily lives?
Look at the ingredients! We can’t say this enough!! When you shop at the grocery store, look at products’ labels. You’ve probably heard the rule of thumb: if you can’t pronounce the ingredient, stay away!! This is a great approach to eating more purely. Even at restaurants, ask what the ingredients are in the dressing that comes on your entree. By asking “what,” we can better understand the approach to “why,” which sends the message that customers WANT better, because you don’t WANT the additives and poor oils used in most restaurant-served items.
Also ask how things are made. We are often given the ingredient list but never information on how it was processed. For example, olive oil shouldn’t be heated past a certain temperature, as it produces free radicals and reduces the functional benefits. Always ask, don’t be shy.
What is something Chicagoans might not know about ingrained?
They might not know that all of our items are produced from start to finish in our small 400 square foot shop right where you pickup your items. While our pure ingredients are sourced from around the world, the start-to-finish creation process happens right here. Secondly, we don’t outsource any operations. We handle pretty much everything about our business internally, so we are very hands on which creates a beautiful and thoughtful experience for customers we meet.
Aside from ingrained, where do you like to dine in the city?
We love Whole Foods (lol) and the variety of fresh farmers markets in the warmer months. We like a large handful of various restaurants as well, including everything from Boka Restaurant Group, Hogsalt Restaurant Group, and Lettuce Entertain You concepts.
Overall, we believe food is beautiful and like to celebrate chefs and small business restaurant concepts all over the city that we find through social media!
What are you most looking forward to for summer in Chicago?
People! Hopefully less masking. And sunshine :)
And what is next for ingrained?
Tomorrow’s work :) We are working in our shop trying to keep up with current demand for our city. Once pandemic restrictions are more fully over, we will be able to pivot to the future for our company and what that might look like. For now it’s about focusing on the 24 hours… and the delicious food… in front of us.
Interview by Kaleigh Glaza | Market Editor