Stirring the Pot...

Responding to requests from chefs for more of the best ingredients, Classic Foods has continually strived to increase its offerings, adding items such as extra virgin olive oils from Italy and Spain, locally produced artisan cheeses, Italian meats and salami, specialty vinegars, locally made soy sauce, Thai and Indian sauces, and dried fruits and nuts.

We have always tried to be innovative by focusing on emerging food trends. One example of this is offering many whole grains, like quinoa or farro, in small sizes so it's easy for chefs to incorporate these items without tying up a lot of inventory dollars. Recently added items include spicy Moroccan Harissa, Argentine Dulce De Leche, fresh Ginger Puree and our own Mushroom Base made in house of porcini, champignons and a mirepoix of carrot, celery and onion.

Long before it was fashionable, Classic Foods was committed to supporting sustainable agriculture and communities by building long-term relationships with the best suppliers while featuring local products. Additionally, by working with local farmers, we are able to get the best products at the peak of season.

We attempt to minimize our environmental impact by packaging our ravioli in corn based trays (PLA), which are biodegradable and made by a process that releases far less greenhouse gas, and by encouraging customers to reuse their plastic spice bottles by refilling from spices in recyclable plastic bags. Other green business practices include buying 100% Blue Sky power from PGE, recycling paper and plastics, and participating in City of Portland's food composting program.

Looking forward...
In the future we plan to develop a new, larger facility, which will make it possible to expand our product lines as well as production capacity. Our plans include a retail outlet store, exhibition kitchen for promotions and a mini biodiesel distillery. We plan to collect enough used vegetable oil from customers to process into biodiesel to power our fleet of five refrigerated Sprinter vans.