Vermont Fresh Pasta gives chefs what they’re looking for
Last fall, chef Michael Werneke was on the hunt for ramen — but not the loaves of dried noodles with flavor packets favored by college students. For his 2011 winter menu at the Rusty Nail Bar & Grille in Stowe, the cook planned to serve authentic Japanese noodle soups adapted from the recipe in David Chang’s Momofuku cookbook. He was surprised to find that none of his regular suppliers, including upscale specialty-foods giant Sid Wainer & Son, offered fresh ramen noodles.
Sean Buchanan of Black River Produce recommended that Werneke contact Vermont Fresh Pasta, which sells both wholesale and retail. “I started talking to [co-owner] Tricia [Jarecki] about alkaline noodles,” Werneke remembers. “She said, ‘My husband is a chemist, so I think he’d be really into it.’”
