How long has Big Spoon been around?
Rose: It will be two years in June since we got our board of health certification; about a year and a half ago we started our online menu.
What got you interested in cooking?
Rose: I’ve done it my whole life – as a daughter, for myself and then as a mom.
Will: I always liked to eat not cook, but I got interested in cooking a little in high school and then went to culinary school. But coming back here and reconnecting with my roots and my area has given cooking more meaning in my life.
Where do you source most of your food?
Will: We try to cook within the seasons. Middle to end of winter, there’s a limited supply of vegetables, but we try our best with what we have. During the growing season, we base our menu off what’s available locally. We try to source meat locally all year round, eggs we source locally as well.
What do you feel Big Spoon’s role is in the community?
Will: We like to support our farmers, not only by buying their quality produce, but we also help by purchasing their seconds. So, vegetables that don’t look as pretty and won’t do as well at the market, we buy. The vegetables are still completely fine but they would otherwise be composted, so we buy a lot of that and use it to make soups and stews, so the look of the vegetable doesn’t really matter.
We also try to get more people exposed to local food, breaking down the barrier between convenience and local food. There’s our online menu, which features local food and changes every week; people have to think ahead when placing their orders then can pick up ready-made meals. And we provide grab and go meals at the Potsdam Co-op and Jernabi.
What’s your fondest Big Spoon memory from the past year?
Will: Dinner in the field at Birdsfoot Farm was pretty special. A collaboration between Birdsfoot and us to provide a totally local meal all sourced from Birdsfoot’s farm.
Rose: I love when people come on Tuesdays to pick up their food here. We have some real regular customers and I love the connection with them. For instance, we have Louise who’s in her 80s and doesn’t want to cook anymore so every week we are her meals. Then we have young professionals and people with families, and you can tell it’s their one night off a week from cooking and rather than order pizza or have frozen food they choose our meals. I just really love that connection with our customers.
If you could trade places with anyone for a week, who would it be?
Will: Probably a pro disk golfer on tour. I’d get to drive around in an RV and play disk golf and forget about all my life obligations.
Rose: Maybe Alice (Will’s daughter). I’d get taken care of, held, fed and loved and I would have no other obligations.
