The team at La Natura Fine Foods is busy out in the field going to market and making the type of magic happen that can only happen during this special time of the year.
It's the time when people get together with Friends and Family ... when we take a moment ... while we are all rushing around this thing called Life.
Whether we share Good Time, Laughter, a cup of Good Cheer, Love, or some Delicious Food, it's a definitely a time for Sharing.
We love Sharing Good Food ... and we want you to do the same thing!
You can share the goodness of La Natura Fine Foods by ordering online at www.lanaturafinefoods.com and having your order shipped to anyone you wish in Canada.
Order by next Tuesday, December 18, and we will get it there for Christmas!
If you prefer to get out in the city, Abby and Natalie will be sampling La Natura Love at the following locations this month:
December 15 @ both Mabel's Bakery and Specialty Foods locations (323 Roncesvalles Ave. and 1156 Queen St. W) between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.
December 22 @ McEwan Foods (Shops of Don Mills @ Lawrence Ave. E) between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.
December 23 @ Culinarium (705 Mt. Pleasant Road - south of Eglinton Ave. E) between 12 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
We look forward to helping you Share Good Food this Holiday, whether it be a thoughtful package that arrives by post to brighten someones day, or you feature our snacks as part of your Holiday Party, we know that we can be a Delicious part of your Holiday.
Sending lots of love from The La Natura Team for a Fabulous Holiday Season!
Abby, Natalie, Vicky, Sarah and Vikas
Wednesday, December 12
Wednesday, November 14
La Natura Fine Foods Unveils “Nathan’s Best Hot Mango Salsa” at the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine Expo; Now Available at Summerhill Market
LA NATURA FINE FOODS TEAMS UP
WITH 8 YEAR OLD NORTH TORONTO GOURMAND TO RELEASE BEST NEW SPICY SALSA
Toronto Specialty Foods Purveyor
Unveils “Nathan’s Best Hot Mango Salsa” at the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine
Expo; Now Available at Summerhill Market
For Immediate Release,
November 14, 2012 –The world of gourmet food continues to evolve, as does Toronto’s
tastes. La Natura Fine Foods’ newest
release, called Nathan’s Best Hot Mango
Salsa after an 8 year-old North Toronto foodie collaborator, is a testament
to flavor and an inter-generational passion for cooking.
“Food unites people, and
that’s what La Natura Fine Foods is all about,” says Vikas Sharma, Proprietor and chief foodie. “It was great to have a
passionate young kid in the kitchen, and the results are spectacular. This
product is a natural addition to the La Natura family. It embodies sharing and
having great food experiences.”
Nathan’s Hot Mango
Salsa continues a company tradition of naming products after their original
collaborators (Jen’s Pesto, Mama Rita’s
Eggplant), and is named after the son of the company’s development manager.
After watching Sharma experiment and test food ideas in his mom’s kitchen, the
8-year-old North Toronto gourmand tried his hand at making his own hot sauce.
Impressed with the results, Sharma invited the youngster to collaborate and the
“spicy” edition of La Natura’s best-selling Salsa
Verde was born, albeit with a twist.
Habaneros and mango add a slightly sweet, lingering heat that is perfect
on its own, with chips, avocado, rice, vegetables, chicken or fish.
La Natura Fine Foods
is pleased to announce that products will now be available at Summerhill Market
(446 Summerhill Avenue, Toronto).
Vikas Sharma is
available for interviews. Visit the La
Natura Fine Foods booth at the Toronto Gourmet Food and Wine Expo taking place
November 15-18, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building,
Downtown Toronto. Visit www.foodandwineexpo.com
for hours and admission details.
La Natura Fine Foods
was founded in 2007 and specializes in tasty, healthy, and easy food options
that are perfect for entertaining and sharing with friends and family. Products
are available at select gourmet retailers and are dairy-free, gluten-free,
nut-free, vegetarian and are free of preservatives. They are handcrafted in
Toronto.
For more information or to order online visit www.lanaturafinefoods.com.
- 30 –
MEDIA CONTACT:
SARAH MARGOLIUS
Tel. 416-566-4189
Facebook: /LaNaturaFoods Twitter: @LaNaturaFoods
LinkedIn: /LaNaturaFineFoods
Monday, November 12
La Natura Fine Foods @ The Gourmet Food & Wine Expoi
La Natura Foodies,
I hope that you have been enjoying the autumn thus far.
The autumn is my favourite time of year because it reminds me of my favourite things in this life ... food and drink.
As many of you know, we will be celebrating this autumn season with you by taking part in the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo at The Toronto Convention Centre this week, staring with the VIP Event on Thursday evening (November 15) right up until Sunday (November 18).
We will be there to sample La Natura love ... including our newest kid on the block, Nathan's Hot Mango Salsa (see photo below), which got rave reviews this past weekend at Pusateri Fruit Market (Church and Wellesley) and Mabel's Bakery & Specialty Foods (Roncesvalles Village).
You will also have the opportunity to purchase La Natura goodness right there at the event.
Sales and Sampling Manager, Abby Sawh, as well as our new Business Development and Marketing Manager, Sarah Margolius, will be there with me to ensure our success by making us the stand-out food operation at the Expo.
How will we do it?
By offering you the very best ... through our first-hand knowledge and experience of our product; we make it by hand ... we know it.
Great food goes with great wine ... and we can chat about how to entertain this Holiday season by using La Natura Fine Foods Salsas, Tapenades, and Antipasti to treat your friends and family to great snacks.
We are revolutionizing the world of Social Snack Food ... and we want to share it with you.
We hope to see you this weekend at the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo.
Vikas and the La Natura Fine Foods Team!
I hope that you have been enjoying the autumn thus far.
The autumn is my favourite time of year because it reminds me of my favourite things in this life ... food and drink.
As many of you know, we will be celebrating this autumn season with you by taking part in the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo at The Toronto Convention Centre this week, staring with the VIP Event on Thursday evening (November 15) right up until Sunday (November 18).
We will be there to sample La Natura love ... including our newest kid on the block, Nathan's Hot Mango Salsa (see photo below), which got rave reviews this past weekend at Pusateri Fruit Market (Church and Wellesley) and Mabel's Bakery & Specialty Foods (Roncesvalles Village).
You will also have the opportunity to purchase La Natura goodness right there at the event.
Sales and Sampling Manager, Abby Sawh, as well as our new Business Development and Marketing Manager, Sarah Margolius, will be there with me to ensure our success by making us the stand-out food operation at the Expo.
How will we do it?
By offering you the very best ... through our first-hand knowledge and experience of our product; we make it by hand ... we know it.
Great food goes with great wine ... and we can chat about how to entertain this Holiday season by using La Natura Fine Foods Salsas, Tapenades, and Antipasti to treat your friends and family to great snacks.
We are revolutionizing the world of Social Snack Food ... and we want to share it with you.
We hope to see you this weekend at the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo.
Vikas and the La Natura Fine Foods Team!
Thursday, September 13
New Product - New Customer - Exciting New Opportunity!
La Natura Fine Foodies!
We have so much great news to share as we move into the Autumn season (probably my favourite season of all)!
We have finished production of our products for the autumn season and we are ready to put some fabulous food into your mouths. After all, we love to share what's good!
First - we have completed our first batch of Nathan's Hot Mango Salsa (that's the official name of the new product) and we are moving our first order out to Pusateri Fruit Market (497 Church Street @ Wellesley) in downtown Toronto this Friday!
Everyone who has tried it thinks that it's pretty fabulous, hot, tasty, but most of all, FRESH!
Co-creator, eight year-old Nathan (as well as his 10 year-old manager Eli) are quite proud of their accomplishment and will be pretty excited when they see photo below!
We should have it available for online sale by late October!
Second - when we were in Picton (at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival) earlier in the spring, we met the folks at Crosswind Farm (from out in Keene, ON), who make incredible cheeses! They also have a retail shop and felt that our products would be a great fit in their space.
We couldn't be more honoured than to be featured alongside their fabulous cheeses! We love their Chèvre! Check them out! http://www.crosswindfarm.ca
Lastly, we are very happy to be taking part in the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo - taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre between November 15 - 18, 2012. This will be a great opportunity to share our great food with our favourite beverage ... wine!
We hope to see you out at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre!
http://www.foodandwineexpo.ca/
Enjoy the lovely, cool evenings and the warm, toasty afternoons of September!
Lots of love from the La Natura Team!
Vikas, Abby, Vicki, Natalie, and Sarah!
We have so much great news to share as we move into the Autumn season (probably my favourite season of all)!
We have finished production of our products for the autumn season and we are ready to put some fabulous food into your mouths. After all, we love to share what's good!
First - we have completed our first batch of Nathan's Hot Mango Salsa (that's the official name of the new product) and we are moving our first order out to Pusateri Fruit Market (497 Church Street @ Wellesley) in downtown Toronto this Friday!
Everyone who has tried it thinks that it's pretty fabulous, hot, tasty, but most of all, FRESH!
Co-creator, eight year-old Nathan (as well as his 10 year-old manager Eli) are quite proud of their accomplishment and will be pretty excited when they see photo below!
We should have it available for online sale by late October!
Second - when we were in Picton (at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival) earlier in the spring, we met the folks at Crosswind Farm (from out in Keene, ON), who make incredible cheeses! They also have a retail shop and felt that our products would be a great fit in their space.
We couldn't be more honoured than to be featured alongside their fabulous cheeses! We love their Chèvre! Check them out! http://www.crosswindfarm.ca
Lastly, we are very happy to be taking part in the Gourmet Food & Wine Expo - taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre between November 15 - 18, 2012. This will be a great opportunity to share our great food with our favourite beverage ... wine!
We hope to see you out at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre!
http://www.foodandwineexpo.ca/
Enjoy the lovely, cool evenings and the warm, toasty afternoons of September!
Lots of love from the La Natura Team!
Vikas, Abby, Vicki, Natalie, and Sarah!
Sunday, August 19
La Natura Fine Foods Goes To Kingston and Tests New Product!
Hello La Natura Foodies!
We have been enjoying the summer considerably!
Great weather ... hot, sunny, which equates to lots of reasons to share great food and drink.
Aside from the aforementioned great reasons to share great food and drink, we at La Natura Fine Foods have our own reason to celebrate; the infamous Cooke's Fine Foods and Coffee in Kingston has welcomed us into their family of excellence.
Cooke's has been open for almost 150 years ... providing great food, cheese, and freshly roasted coffee to Kingston. They will be starting with our product in their flagship location at 61 Brock Street, and if all goes well, you will be seeing our product in their second Kingston store, as well as shops in Belleville and Picton!
General Manager Barbara has been absolutely gracious and has been excited to share our product with her staff and customers.
If you are in the Kingston area, please drop in to Cooke's for a great food experience ... and don't be shy about asking for La Natura Fine Food goodness! They are carrying both of our tapenades, our top seller - Jen's Pesto, and our infamous Salsa Verde.
Vist Cooke's online at:
<a href="http://www.cookesfinefoods.com"> www.cookesfinefoods.com </a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/CookesFineFoods"> on twitter </a>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/cookesfinefoodsandcoffee"> on Facebook </a>
And now for something super-exciting!
I have been working with a young man named Nathan (picture below - with me in his private test kitchen) on a recipe for a salsa that will knock your socks off.
Many of our customers have voiced, loud and clear, that our salsa just doesn't cut it in the heat department. I have argued that La Natura Fine Foods salsas (our Salsa Verde and Smooth Mexican Red) are all about flavour. Most of our customers seem to think so ... so, I haven't seen the need to change anything.
Until I met eight-year old Nathan.
He continued to challenge me in making and experimenting with hotter and hotter salsas.
His idea was to combine the smooth sweetness of Mango with the fiery and savoury Scotch Bonnet Pepper (best know to West Indians) ... so, I combined those flavours with tomatillos to create something special.
Because my mum is from Trinidad, I grew up with the Scotch Bonnet and love it, dearly! My own homemade pepper sauce is made from Scotch Bonnet Peppers.
Regarding Nathan's salsa - we are still in the test phase ... and those who have tried it are loving it.
You just might find a new La Natura Fine Foods salsa in your belly this autumn!
I would also love to remind you about the amazing job that Nhu and John York, of Yukoju Corporation, have done on our website. Our url has changed from www.feedmenaturally.com to www.lanaturafinefoods.com ... we have recipes uploaded and our online store is new and improved!
For those of you who don't have time to make it to one of our local retailers ... or perhaps you live outside of Toronto, I invite you to create your own La Natura tasting experience by visiting our online store by clicking <a href="//www.lanaturafinefoods.com/Our_Products_s/1817.htm"> here! </a>
With that warm thought ... I leave you to enjoy another six weeks (or so) of summer.
Get some sun ... jump in the lake ... share good food and drinks with your friends and family.
Love,
Vikas
on behalf of the beautiful people who have been bringing you La Natura goodness for almost five years
Wednesday, June 13
Tapas Night @ The Depanneur - Featuring Vikas Sharma of La Natura Fine Foods!
Friends,
I am very happy to announce that I will be guest chef this at this Friday's Drop-In Dinner at The Depanneur.
I will be incorporating La Natura Fine Food goodness into a nice Tapas night!
Each creation will be $3 or a plate of all four for $12.
We will be serving:
Mamma Rita's Eggplant Antipasto on Crostini with Pecorino Romano (see attached photo)
Quinoa with Black Olive Tapenade, Sun-dried Tomato, and Spinach
Grilled Tofu with Salsa Verde
European Village Salad
The meal is Vegetarian and I will be sure to make the items Vegan, too!
The meal is also Nut and Gluten Free (I will ensure an alternative to the Crostini for the Eggplant Antipasto).
Here are the details:
Date and Time: Friday, June 15 between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (or whenever the food runs out)
Place: The Depanneur - 1033 College Street (between Dufferin and Dovercourt on the south side of the street)
Website: http://thedepanneur.ca/
Drinks: Alcoholic Beverages are unavailable - however, there is a great selection of juices and homemade sodas!
It will be a fun evening in a great place and great neighbourhood (west of Little Italy)!
I would love to see you there!
Vikas
Sunday, June 10
Moving Forward ... Yet Again!
Hello La Natura Fine Food Foodies!
I am very happy to announce some great changes at our company this year!
First - we have decided to correct our web domain to www.lanaturafinefoods.com; all future request for www.feedmenaturally.com will be redirected to the aforementioned site.
Nhu and John Yorke from Yukoju Corporation (www.yukoju.com) did a fabulous job in re-vamping the site and getting it ready to be online sales friendly!
Second - You can purchase La Natura Fine Foods online by building your own order! We had a lot of feedback that our store wasn't very flexible - so, we listened. Click on "Our Products" so that you can put together YOUR order the way that YOU like it!
We have a special running for the Summer in which you will receive one free product with every three that you purchase!
We now offer free shipping on orders of six jars or more!
Third - We now have recipes online with beverage and music pairings under the "Serving Suggestions" section of our new site. The photos were taken by Carol Papa and me. Carol is one of the designers with whom we work.
Well, it has been a great Spring, so far ... especially with the success we achieved at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Prince Edward County last weekend.
We are looking forward to an amazing summer ... and we hope that you will enjoy La Natura Fine Foods in your town or city very soon!
Best,
Vikas and the La Natura Team
I am very happy to announce some great changes at our company this year!
First - we have decided to correct our web domain to www.lanaturafinefoods.com; all future request for www.feedmenaturally.com will be redirected to the aforementioned site.
Nhu and John Yorke from Yukoju Corporation (www.yukoju.com) did a fabulous job in re-vamping the site and getting it ready to be online sales friendly!
Second - You can purchase La Natura Fine Foods online by building your own order! We had a lot of feedback that our store wasn't very flexible - so, we listened. Click on "Our Products" so that you can put together YOUR order the way that YOU like it!
We have a special running for the Summer in which you will receive one free product with every three that you purchase!
We now offer free shipping on orders of six jars or more!
Third - We now have recipes online with beverage and music pairings under the "Serving Suggestions" section of our new site. The photos were taken by Carol Papa and me. Carol is one of the designers with whom we work.
Well, it has been a great Spring, so far ... especially with the success we achieved at The Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Prince Edward County last weekend.
We are looking forward to an amazing summer ... and we hope that you will enjoy La Natura Fine Foods in your town or city very soon!
Best,
Vikas and the La Natura Team
Tuesday, May 22
La Natura Fine Foods To Take Part in Price Edward County's GreatCanadian Cheese Festival - June 2 and 3, 2012
Hello La Natura Foodies!
The Spring has been quite busy, with sampling and getting orders out to our customers ... and now we are looking to start off the summer right with a couple of great announcements:
First - I am very pleased to announce that Mabel's Bakery and Speciality Foods will be opening a second location at Queen and Beaconsfield and Abby will be there on opening weekend (June 2) to help them celebrate by sampling La Natura goodness for their new customers!
Second - we will be taking part in the Great Canadian Cheese Festival in Prince Edward County during the weekend of June 2 and 3 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. (both days).
Prince Edward County is a hot-bed for food and drink, and last year we had fabulous success with our products featured at the Fifth Town Cheese gourmet shop.
If you have would love to have an awesome weekend away from the city, I encourage you to head out to Picton and indulge in the goodness of the Great Canadian Cheese Festival!
I also heard a rumour that CHEESEWERKS will be the official Grilled Cheese Sandwich of the Festival ... and in case you didn't know, they use our Green Olive Tapenade in their "Danforth" section of the Toronto Grilled Cheese!
http://cheesefestival.ca/
Even though we usually take it easy in July and August, I know that we will probably end up back in the kitchen to re-stock for a busy Autumn and Holiday season!
Keep well ... enjoy the weather and eat good food!
Vikas and the La Natura Team
Thursday, April 19
Recipes Coming Soon to www.feedmenaturally.com
Spring is upon us in a big way and I don't know about you, but I am ready to start entertaining some more at home.
Good friends, good drinks and great food ... done the La Natura way.
I am going to give you a sneak preview of some of the shots that my buddy Carol Papa and I snapped during a recent food porn session. Carol's hubby Mike (and my fellow Cork Reporter - www.thecorkreporters.com) helped us put the meals together.
I am really pleased the way the photos came out. Check out the feature image on this post - that's our famous Salsa Verde Guacamole ... but, you will have to wait until the recipes are posted on our website - www.feedmenaturally.com - to try out the recipe!
So, I am really looking forward to hearing from you folks out there that have used our concoctions to create your own culinary masterpieces!
You can contact me directly through our website.
Our business partners at Yukoju Corporation, John and Nhu Yorke are working hard to update our on-line store and add some awesome photos and recipes for your convenience!
Best to you all,
Vikas
Friday, February 3
Another Step Forward for La Natura Fine Foods - Welcome 2012
Hello La Natura Foodies.
Well, we have completed four years at La Natura, and we have definitely moved into a new era. We have made a significant change in our production strategy.
We tripled production - I had to re-invest in La Natura for the first time in over two years - and I officially made my second product, wholesale, to be used in another product.
As embarrassing as it is to say, we ran out of some key product at Holiday this past year. Our top selling Jen's Pesto and close second, Salsa Verde, were down to zero inventory before we hit Christmas. We under forecast and we had to say "no" to fulfilling orders at the end of the year. It happened once before and I vowed that it wouldn't happen again; but, it did.
I chatted with Abby, our Sales and Sampling Manager, and we decided to go for the long haul in January. We recruited some help and we gave 'er!
For the first time, I wasn't there for production (twice).
It felt strange ... like letting someone else take your child for the first time.
With the massive increase in production volume, I had to re-invest in my little baby - and it was worth it.
If you have ever seen that Sylvester and Tweety cartoon in which they talk about Mass Production ... well, that's how I felt.
We are going to widen our margins through increasing our volume of output.
Most exciting was that I got a message from Kevin at CHEESEWERKS (56 Bathurst St., Toronto) asking for our Salsa Verde in a "food service" size ... so, we delivered ... tonight, that is. And the young man behind the counter noticed that the jars were still HOT!
Kevin is going to be featuring Nachos with our Salsa Verde on Superbowl Sunday!
I also found out that we have a new, very young, fan of our Black Olive Tapenade ... her name is Amaya and she calls it Olive Astronaut. We are getting them hooked on the good food young over here at La Natura.
So - production is done.
Tomorrow morning - Abby is coming to help me label the last of our unlabelled product (with a little help from Carol Papa - who also bailed us out of our label-less situation!!).
We should have enough product to get right into the Summer of 2012!
We are READY!
Are you ready for US?
Celebrating YOUR Love for OUR food,
Vikas and the Team at La Natura Fine Foods
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