Behind Quince & Apple’s Preserves and Syrups Quince and Apple makes small-batch preserves and craft cocktail syrups in Madison, Wisconsin. Started by husband and wife Matt and Clare in 2009, the small and mighty Quince and Apple team handcrafts each batch with excellent ingredients and tons of flavor. ABOUT MATT & CLARE Matt and Clare Stoner Fehsenfeld are a dynamic husband and wife duo who founded and run Quince and Apple as co-owners. You can usually find Matt overseeing the kitchen or working with the sales and marketing team, while Clare manages finances and general business administration. Clare’s background is in business, and Matt brings the culinary expertise to the table. His mom taught him to make preserves when he was three with fruit from the currant bushes in the backyard. He ended up at culinary school in Madison and spent several years working in high-end restaurants before becoming the kitchen manager for a wholesale bakery. At the same time, Clare was self-employed and involved in her family business, while building her knowledge about local food and farming. HOW DID THE BUSINESS GET STARTED? Matt was creating recipes for preserves in his free time and giving jars away to family and friends. When the Quince & Apple Media Kit | 2014 demand increased, Matt and Clare realized they had a special opportunity to bring the preserves to the rest of the community. In a sense, the two were destined to start a food business together. Both come from families of entrepreneurs and have a strong passion for great food. And with complementary skills, they make a great team. Matt and Clare rented out a commercial kitchen at night and started making small batches of preserves. Their first flavors were Figs and Black Tea, Orange Marmalade with Lemons, and Shallot Confit and Red Wine. Today they have six year-round flavors of preserves and a new line of cocktail syrups with five flavors currently available. HOW ARE THE PRODUCTS MADE? New preserve and syrup flavors start as a brainstorm of ingredients. Matt explains the process: “We experiment with a lot of different ideas, typically focusing on a certain goal for the preserve or syrup. We’re open to trying anything. Once we find a flavor with potential, we go into a test batch process. This process has lasted anywhere from two batches and two days to fifty batches and two years. We keep tasting and adjusting until we create something we really love.” The goal is to combine sweet and savory in each recipe, a quality that gives the products a unique ability to pair with a variety of artisan cheeses and meats. Local ingredients also come into play – some of the recipes are made specifically to highlight great Wisconsin fruit. Our newest preserve is based around Door County tart cherries. A delicate white tea balances the bold, tart flavor of the cherries to create a unique and beautiful preserve. Quince and Apple puts as much local fruit and ingredients into their jars as we can source. The tea in our recipes also comes from Wisconsin, from a company called Rishi Tea in Milwaukee. Once a flavor is ready to go, the team makes each batch from start to finish at our production kitchen in Madison. WHAT’S NEXT? The Quince and Apple team has more preserve and syrup recipes in the works. We’re keeping busy with growing the business and making enough preserves and syrups to ship to stores. We also enjoy developing new gift boxes and putting together cocktail kits. Our newest cocktail box features the Rhubarb Hops syrup and comes with a recipe and the ingredients, all you need to add is your favorite spirit! And there are always new product lines beyond preserves and syrups being worked on behind the scenes... Contact Quince & Apple Quince and Apple 100 S Baldwin St. Ste 307 Madison, WI 53703 (608) 301-5433 www.quinceandapple.com GENERAL [email protected] WHOLESALE [email protected] MEDIA Sarah Makoski, Marketing Manager [email protected] Pairing the Preserves and Syrups PRESERVES We created our preserves to pair with the abundant array of artisan cheeses and meats made in Wisconsin. “We encourage people to develop their own favorite combos and let us know what they find!” says Clare. “We love putting together a smorgasbord of cheeses and meats and creating different bites of flavors. We encourage you do the same, you can’t go wrong.” Some of our favorites are the Figs and Black Tea with Gouda, Chevre, or a mellow bleu, and Orange Marmalade with a sharp Asiago. Quince and Apple preserves are versatile and work on sandwiches, pastries, or simply on a slice of buttered toast. COCKTAIL SYRUPS Quince and Apple launched a new line of craft cocktail syrups in May of 2012. Matt says, “We decided to start making cocktail syrups because it allowed us to open up our creative process to do more interesting and unique flavors.” The idea actually developed early on in the business when Matt created a Rhubarb Hops preserve that turned out a little too intense. He tried using it as a mixer instead. “That was the spark!” Like the preserves, the syrups are versatile and pair with a wide range of artisan spirits. Each bottle comes with pairing suggestions and a recipe. Some of our favorite pairings include using the Lime and Cucumber syrup in a gin and tonic, adding in the Tart Cherry Grenadine to a dark spirit like bourbon or whiskey for an Old Fashioned or Manhattan, and enjoying a flute of sparkling wine with a splash of Rhubarb Hops. SALES Stacy Amble, Sales Manager [email protected] Quince & Apple Media Kit | 2014 Quince & Apple Media Kit | 2014 Quince & Apple’s Management Team Matt & Clare CO-OWNERS Matt and Clare Stoner Fehsenfeld are a dynamic husband and wife duo who founded and run Quince and Apple as co-owners. You can usually find Matt overseeing the kitchen or working with the sales and marketing team, while Clare manages finances and general business administration. Clare’s background is in business, and Matt brings the culinary expertise to the table. Today, Matt and Clare work hard to grow the business while managing a food-loving team. In 2013, they introduced their youngest employee to the bunch, a baby boy named Max. In their free time, Matt and Clare hang out with Max, read and - you guessed it - cook! They love living in Madison and enjoying all the small food businesses around town. MANAGERS Sarah Stacy Shawn MARKETING MANAGER SALES MANAGER KITCHEN MANAGER Sarah got started at Quince and Apple in 2011 labeling jars of preserves. Her interest in good food and design led her to explore many roles at Q&A and today she is the marketing manager. As a communications and design student, she also creates the branding materials. When not at work or school, she loves to go on bike rides, do yoga, and cook. Stacy started with Quince and Apple in 2012 shipping boxes in the warehouse. With her extensive background in customer service and sales, Stacy is now our Sales and Warehouse Manager. Having just completed her baking degree, you can find Stacy whipping up something sweet when not in the office talking with stores. After obtaining her culinary arts degree at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, Shawn moved to Wisconsin to make food with local roots and ties. Quince and Apple was a perfect fit. Shawn now manages production and a spirited kitchen team. When not in the kitchen, you can find her throwing pottery. Quince & Apple Media Kit | 2014
© Copyright 2024