BLiS Gourmet on Great Lakes Caviar, Wild Flavors, and Giving Back

What this episode covers

Because life is short. That is what BLiS stands for. And after 23 years of bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, wild Great Lakes caviar, smoked soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegars, and tamari built from a single forager's obsession with wild flavor and zero waste, it is hard to argue with the philosophy.Chef Steve Stallard and Sarah Sherman are the co-owners of BLiS Gourmet, a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based artisan pantry brand that started with a bucket of live brook trout, a handful of barrels sourced from a trip to Kentucky, and a conviction that the most extraordinary flavors in the world are hiding in nature and in the bottom of a good bourbon barrel.In this episode, host Sarah Perkins sits down with Steve and Sarah for a conversation that is as layered and complex as a BLiS product itself. From Steve's childhood garden where he learned what a perfectly ripe heirloom tomato actually tastes like, to washing dishes at 14 while fishing and hunting everything he could find, to watching Grant Achatz walk through his kitchen at 17 years old and knowing immediately he was watching a future superstar. From Sarah's flight from pilot training to nursing school to bartending, and the moment she shoved her foot in the door at BLiS and never looked back. And from a bucket of brook trout roe that started an entire Great Lakes caviar program, to bourbon barrels reused so many times they eventually end up as planters for petunias.This is a story about respecting what nature gives you, building a business around the life you want to live, and finding that the most loyal customers in the world are the ones who have tasted the difference and can never go back.In this episode, we cover:Steve's childhood in an organic garden his dad kept expanding with "cheap child labor"Sarah's childhood with PBS, Julia Child, open fire camping cooking, and a dad who snuck something spicy into every recipeSteve washing dishes at 14, hunting and fishing, and a Lithuanian group at a convention center who fed him smoked eel and blood sausage and changed his palate foreverThe moment at a Dow Chemical club kitchen where a bucket of live brook trout led to Steve teaching himself to cure roeDriving to Kentucky, knocking on distillery doors, and putting $3,000 worth of maple syrup in a bourbon barrel to start it allHow the barrels get reused: syrup, then vinegar, then fish sauce, then tamari, then beer aging, then cut in half as garden plantersSarah meeting Steve at wine dinners through a mutual restaurant connection, bonding over mushroom hunting, and shoving her foot in the BLiS door 15 years agoWorking together for over two decades: the sibling dynamic, the chair kick signal, and "don't sink the ship"BLiS flagship products: bourbon barrel aged maple syrup and wild Great Lakes roeWild char roe versus wild steelhead roe: the flavor profiles, the colors, and why they sell theirs frozen for maximum freshnessGrant Achatz at 17 years old in Steve's program kitchen: knowing he was watching a superstar before anyone else didHow to actually order BLiS caviar: call them directly for availability and shipping coordination for maximum freshnessNine years working with the culinary arts program at Lakeland Correctional Facility and the James Beard Award winning documentary about Coldwater KitchenThree Specialty Food Association Fancy Food Show gold awards, including the Colicchio AwardBrand refresh driven by glass bottle availability and keeping prices accessibleNew: automated bottling and labeling equipment that will allow BLiS to co-pack small batch runs for early stage CPG foundersWhat is coming next: private label services and a potential new caviar SKU in October or NovemberMichigan as a food destination: the Great Lakes bounty, Detroit's resurgence, and the first American Culinary Federation Conference coming to Grand RapidsWhat they are most proud of: creating careers, mentoring people, and the relationships that go far deeper than the productsFind BLiS Gourmet:Website: blisgourmet.comInstagram and Facebook: @blisgourmetTo order caviar: Call directly for availability and shipping coordinationSubscribe to The Perfect Bite podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! Want to watch the entire episode? Head here to our YouTube!You can follow us on social media @perfectbitepod and sign up for our newsletter!

PodParley-generated summary based on available episode metadata and transcript content.