This concept isn't necessarily new - savvy chefs have been branding their sauces, spices, and rubs for decades, or slapping a private label on batch goods.
Years ago, Georges Perrier bolstered his Le Bec-Fin brand by selling his airy-crumbed baguette, picture-perfect petit fours, and buttery breakfast pastries to other retail and restaurant locations. His fans can now start the day with a Le Bec ham and cheese croissant at Di Bruno Bros., or head out to his new boulangerie, the Art of Bread, on the Main Line.
But this new crop of products falls in line with the current obsession with all things small-batch, artisanal, and homespun. For these creators, it's less about brand extension, more about passion projects that they hope one day might pay off big.
Jonathan Adams, the chef at Pub & Kitchen, opened Rival Bros, a coffee roaster and truck, with childhood friend Damien Pileggi a few months ago. "I have bar napkins from when we were 20, with sketches of our plans," Adams says. As he worked his way through kitchens, Pileggi learned the bean biz at La Colombe.
They roast the coffee in a commissary in the Northeast, and take turns manning the truck, which can be found at LOVE Park many mornings.
They hope the retail side of Rival takes off. (The beans are currently sold at the truck and through their website.)
Detroit native Scott Schroeder, chef of the South Philadelphia Tap Room and American Sardine Bar, thinks Philadelphia needs better hot dogs, more like the franks served in his hometown.
That was the impetus for creating Scott Dogs, his fledgling, one-off hot dog company and cart. He has been working with a butcher to get the right meat blend, has been hired for a few private events, and will be hitting Headhouse Farmers' Market this spring. Once the product is perfect, he wants to package and sell his dogs to area restaurants.
