Angelo Garro, creator of Omnivore Salt, was born in Sicily and has lived in San Francisco for over thirty years, where he has worked as a blacksmith and artist. Like many Sicilians, though, Garro was raised to hunt, forage, and cook for himself and he continued honing these crafts, along with his professional trade, throughout his life. Garro and his right-hand woman, Veronica Ronchi, welcome us into the Renaissance Forge (or simply "the Forge"), Garro's metal shop and kitchen studio and the birthplace of Omnivore Salt.
Garro's zest for learning and commitment to excellent food opened him up to friendships with the likes of Alice Waters (the world renowned chef behind Chez Panisse), Michael Pollan (author of best selling books like The Omnivore's Dilemma, in which Garro teaches Pollan to hunt), and Werner Herzog (award-winning Hollywood film maker — in fact, Herzog created Omnivore Salt's Kickstarter video). But nothing about Garro suggests that he has famous friends. There is no air of self-importance and not a drop of arrogance when you meet him. Garro instantly feels like family — his warmth, gentleness, and curiosity about the world and the people around him will make you never want to leave the whimsical and unlikely home he has created in the Renaissance Forge.
What Garro brings to Omnivore Salt as an artist and creator, Ronchi and her colleague Beth Malik give their business and operations know-how to help bring Garro's products to shelves and online food shoppers. Ronchi is passionate about transparency in food — in the condiment aisle, especially — and walks us through the process of how the Omnivore salts and products are sourced and created. Her main advice to home cooks is "cook more!" After all, Omnivore has done the seasoning work for us, already.
Listen to the episode and hear the stories of Italy from Garro and Ronchi and discover what makes Omnivore Salt so different from the salts and seasonings you're used to using. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to hear more stories like this one.
