When the company restructures and you’re suddenly without a job, you might take a chance like Meredith Trombly and Louis Snowden did when they opened a food stall at Findlay Market called Fresh Table (513-381-3774), specializing in organic, locally sourced foods.
Meredith was the organic food buyer for Bigg’s and Louis was the corporate chef, both for about five years before Remke took over the supermarkets. They share a passion for cooking healthy, sustainable foods. Louis graduated from culinary school in Arizona nearly 20 years ago and believes that taste is what’s important in cooking and eating. Meredith graduated from the Midwest Culinary Institute here in Cincinnati in 2009 and once worked for Clifton Natural Foods, cementing her understanding of and passion for organic and natural foods.
Fresh Table’s offerings run the gamut from sides to entrées and sweets to salads, including macaroni and blue cheese, baby back ribs, southern banana pudding and vegan “egg” salad. I sat down with Meredith for a chat while Louis prepared some gorgeous, locally sourced, organic pork loin for an upcoming special event.
CityBeat: What is the last great meal you had out?
Meredith Trombly: You know what, I have to say, we don’t get out much because we’re here six or seven days a week, But Chef Louis makes fabulous what we call “family lunches” for us on the staff and he made an incredible chicken Alfredo the other day for us. He’s in the kitchen and he just whips it up. We’ve got everything on hand and, I tell you, that is better than any restaurant meal. It really is. We also generate the leftovers we have into family meals. We hardly waste anything.
CB: What food item has been the biggest seller, to your surprise?
MT: My eggless “egg” salad. That one was a huge surprise. A really good, high quality soy mayonnaise is the secret. There aren’t a lot of ingredients in it, so you have to use a great mayonnaise and a firm tofu. That’s what really makes it and I won’t tell you my brand names! That’s been pretty surprising. I’ve turned on people who have never really had tofu before. Never! And I give them a little sample — sometimes I don’t tell them it’s tofu —and they love it! Dan Korman over at Park Vine is so addicted to it we’re going to start stocking it in his cold case. I think it’s for personal use for him! It is vegan and it’s great and it’s so healthy for you, but people who aren’t even vegan are eating it. I always thought, well, it’s kind of an out-there thing and I’ve been in the health food industry for a long time, but I thought, ‘I’ll try this.’ I know it’s a good recipe and I make four pounds at a time and I can sell four pounds in a day.
Vegan or not, people want to eat something healthy, something nicely prepared, to go.
