Chefs Emily Bose and Jessica Tantalo started teaching classes together at East End Market about a year ago, starting with the kids cooking series. Last fall they started talking about starting their our own business that would produce meals for families in a variety of forms, focusing on local, sustainable products.
Jessica Tantalo, who has worked in kitchens since the age of 15, is a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, sustenance and frivolity continue to lie at her heart’s core, along with a dedicated responsibility to support the local food movement. On a mission not only to educate everyone on the simple and rewarding techniques of cooking, but also to expand the pantry of the home cook. By removing the fear of the unknown, she hopes to empower experimental diners to eat seasonally and sustainably. She is also the Chef in Residence at the East End Market managing the commissary kitchen, culinary education and small business incubation program.
Emily Bose is a classically trained pastry chef, having graduated from LeNotre Culinary Institute in 2009. She also teaches classes at East End Market. She as well was influenced from a young age by her mother’s cooking and the at home family meal. She has three boys who test every kids meal before it goes to market. In her previous life, she was a prosecutor in Baltimore, Maryland for ten years.
Fried Rillette Nuggets
Chefs Emily and Jes incorporated Emmabean this Winter and have been operating out of the East End kitchen until they are ready to get our own place.
They have recently launched their first product- the Emmabean lunchbox, designed for school children: focused on local, sustainable, delicious, kid friendly foods.
While Kappo’s chefs were away for a trip to Japan, Emmabean took over the space for a two week pop up. We got to talk to them about the experience recently.
How did the Emmabean Pop Up at East End Market go?
“The Pop Up was amazing and fun. We basically lived in the Kappo kitchen for two weeks. We got a great reception from the neighborhood, created yummy food and met some wonderful people.”
Jes: “I was interested to see if people would still appreciate the slow food approach, just as Kappo does, even though it was a more familiar cuisine. It was really celebrated as more of a dining experience instead of just eating and I really loved it. My favorite thing is always when people get excited or fall in love with something they wouldn’t normally order, like the radish or a turnip soup.”
Emily: “When you have such a small space, small number of seats and small staff, everything has to run like clockwork. We basically jumped into the deep end and had to get things running efficiently in like one minute. That was a challenge but fun at that same time. Our team had to work together seamlessly in front of our guests at all times. And of course singing to 80s pop music and cooking was a blast.”
Butternut squash soup
Most popular item from the pop up?
Radish and the short rib. During brunch, the bacon won everyone over. It lived up to its’ name: Best Bacon Ever. And the mini chocolate pretzel pie.
What’s next for Emmabean?
We are getting back to our focus, which is kids lunches and supper club. We will continue to produce those out of the East End Market kitchen while we start planning for our steps to the next level. For now the best way to stay in touch with us and keep us with what we are doing is to like us on Facebook, follow on Instagram.
Corned Pork Belly with Caraway Slaw
What are your favorite ingredients to use?
Jes: I have always been a veggie fanatic and have had a long time love affair with fish. I always try to stay as disciplined as possible when it comes to seasonality, not only for the sustainability, but because that’s when things are at the height of flavor. I like using an ingredient everywhere for the few weeks that it’s available, like our strawberry centric brunch opening day of the pop up.
Emily: I also try to be true to seasonality. We had a period in the winter that it seemed that everything we created had kumquats. For desserts, I really love citrus– which is good since we are in Florida. And generally fruit is my favorite product to use.
