Central Coast Traveling Foodshow Day 1

The traveling foodshow kicked off at the Lodge at Pebble Beach. Mary Furnace of Nassar Foodservice, and Rick Fleming from Silva Sausage joined Brian Isaeff of US Foodservice San Francisco as they called on Kathy Duron and Darren Simmons in the purchasing department and discussed the brand new line of Silva Natural Sausage.

The line was created at the request of the Center of the Plate department at US Foodservice San Francisco.

The Center Of The Plate Team From US Foodservice San Francisco

Center of the Plate Manager Brian Meier, and COP specialists Steven Salle, and Rich Bravo wanted a line of sausages made with natural traceable meats, natural seasonings, no nitrates or nitrites, and no msg. They contacted Fernando Martins President of Silva Sausage based in San Jose. Fernando and his staff at Silva went to work reformulating eleven of the most popular varieties of their sausages.

Fernando's family has been running Silva Sausage for 31 years. Their original location is still operating in San Jose, roughly about 70 miles north of Monterey.

Chef Benjamin Brown Dissects Sausage Samples

Moving on to the Beach and Tennis Club at Pebble Beach we cut this fantastic product line with Executive Chef Benjamin Brown. Chef Ben prepared the sausages and everyone sampled. The flavors were fantastic, and the natural casings gave the smoked sausages a crisp bite.



While the majority of the day was spent sampling the natural line we did break out some of the new flavors of the conventional sausages that included a Smoked Whiskey Fennel, and a Smoked Chicken Fajita (pictured on the right). We had to promise to return with samples of the Bacon Cheddar Sausage. The Chicken Fajita Sausage was an instant hit with everyone who sampled it.
The quality of the ingredients that go into the sausage are critial to the finished product. All of the chicken for the chicken sausages come from Amick Farms Premium Chicken.

In 1941 Arthur David "Chick" Amick started with one small chicken house, a wood-fired wash pot and 500 baby chicks. The first deliveries of fresh "dressed" chicken were packed in barrels of ice and loaded on the back of a B-model Ford.

"Chick" Amick made quality, integrity and service the core values of his growing business. The founder's son, Bill Amick, brought Amick Farms into the twenty-first century by creating a marriage of old-fashioned values and new technology.

Today, over sixty years later, quality, integrity and service are still the key principles valued at Amick Farms. These high standards are achieved by utilizing a system of "Comprehensive Integration" that allows Amick Farms to actively manage every step of the production process, from the egg to the final product delivered to the customer.

The beef for the beef sausages is all spec'd from the Harris Ranch Beef company. For over 30 years, the Harris Ranch Beef Company has continually strived to produce the highest quality beef in the World. Rick Fleming, Chef Steven Alton King, and Mary Furnace Prepare Silva Natural Sausages At The Big Sur River Inn

The Harris Family began farming in California’s agriculture rich San Joaquin Valley in 1937 and over the years has built a large and unique vertically integrated beef production system.

Still family owned and operated, the Harris Family has always taken great pride in raising its beef to be as pure and great tasting as nature intended. This tradition of quality is evident in all of their beef products—you can truly taste the difference.

The pork is all provided by Niman Ranch. Niman ranch is certified by the Animal Welfare Institute as humane and sustainable family farmers. The quality and the flavor of the pork raised in with a focus on the quality of life of the animals is far superior to factory raised hogs.


Our final stop was at the Santa Lucia Preserve where we found Thresher Rolle, Purchasing and Logistics coordinator working with the WWW.USFOOD.COM specialist Charlotte Maraspini to organize his order guides so that he could more easily order Silva Natural Sausages.

For more information about Silva Natural Sausage, spec sheets, or samples please contact Brian Isaeff.