Salt Lake’s own Caputo’s will be spotlighting Omnom Chocolate from Reykjavik, Iceland at the 8th Annual Caputo’s Chocolate Festival, and will be paired up with several of Utah’s top chefs and cocktail-making experts to create and share their ultimate chocolate-based creations.
All proceeds will be donated to the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Initiative. For more information, visit hcpcacao.org.
Festival participants include Normal Ice Cream, Pallet Bistro, Nomad Eatery, The Farm in Park City and Table X Restaurant. This year’s festival will feature the Icelandic flavors of Omnom Chocolate, both sweet and savory. Bonus: There will be cocktails from Water Witch, Sugarhouse Distillery and Bar Daddy, local brews from T.F. Brewing and Epic Brewing Company, and cozy pour-overs by La Barba Coffee Roasters.
Hold the phone. Chocolate from Iceland? I didn’t know they could grow cacao there? Well, you’re right, they sure don’t.
However, they make some dang good chocolate. In 2013 Icelandic Chef Kjartan Gíslason got to experimenting with single-origin flavors that come from cacao beans grown from countries such as Madagascar, Nicaragua, and Tanzania and along with his æskuvinur (childhood friend) Óskar Þórðarson, took over an abandoned gas station and Omnom Chocolate was born.
Chef Kjartan Gíslason explains, “Just like wine, beer, cheese or kimchi, chocolate is the labor of a lot of patience, from growing the cacao pods until the bar is safely melting in your mouth.” With a focus narrowed in on flavors and textures, the cacao and cane sugar is paired with one thing authentically Icelandic, their milk.
“We knew confidently that Icelandic milk would add character to our chocolates and distinguish them from many others. After all, Icelanders have been making skyr, cheese, and butter for over a thousand years with the help of cows brought over from Norway.” As a highly-revered craft chocolate Omnom was chosen as the highlight of this year’s festival and Chef Kjartan and his team are coming to SLC (and so should you).
To keep up with the latest SLC happenings, tastings and other fun events, go here.
Lately, many of us have given up elaborate travel plans and embraced adventures a little closer to home. We kicked off our 2021 travel series with a guide to exploring the Cowboy State from corner to corner. Head to the link in our bio for Wyoming road trip itineraries, dining ideas and more! 🤠⛰...
Inspired by @oldsaltlake, we're celebrating #throwbackthursday with a favorite snapshot of early 20th century Salt Lake City. 🏖️
Photos shared by @oldsaltlake are inspiring millennials and zoomers decades later with visions of a different city: one with easily accessible public transportation, walkable streets, local businesses (open late) and distinctive architecture.
See more photos at the link in our bio.
Pictured: Women relax at what is believed to be Saltair Beach, date unknown...
It's like sunshine in a box ☀️
Even after losing her job during the pandemic, Mandy Madsen didn't lose her good cheer. She put her energy into creating @maddoughslc, selling unique doughnuts inspired by the nostalgia of your favorite childhood treats.🍩
Read our Q&A with Mandy at the link in our bio!...
@saltlakeclimbers are part of a long legacy of dirt baggers fascinated with the soaring granite walls of Little Cottonwood Canyon. They recently finished the Alpenbock Loop, creating an accessible, sustainable trail and preserving access to one of Utah's greatest recreational resources. 🧗♀️
Read more at the link in our bio! ❤️...
The bad news: Utah's inconsistent winters are hurting local bee populations. The good news: You can be a part of saving the bees in the beehive state 🐝
@deserethivesupply, a family-owned business in Ogden, is helping bees bounce back with educational classes that encourage people to pick up backyard beekeeping as a hobby.
Read more on how to save Utah bees at the link in our bio!...
Why did Utah's only Titanic passenger not survive her journey?
The descendants of Irene Corbett believe that the 30-year-old teacher sacrificed her life to save others. It's one of the many ways this remarkable figure bucked tradition and forged her own trail.
Read more about Irene at the link in our bio!...
"We must have done something right, cause you guys kept coming back."
@bluepelatedinerslc, one of Salt Lake's signature spots for everyone from hungover college kids to vegan food lovers, will be closing its doors this May after more than two decades of service. It's the latest casualty in a brutal year for the restaurant industry.
Head to the link in our bio for a tribute to Blue Plate Diner. (And keep supporting your favorite local restaurants. ❤️)...
A business is never more than the sum of its people: the ones who meet you, greet you, help you make the smartest purchase decisions.
Meet the people who make Salt Lake City work:
Lindsay Breinholt, CNM / WHNP @skinspiritslc
Amy Crawley, Founder @parkwayavenuedesign
Candice Itokazu, General Manager @luciennesalon.medspa.boutique
Tobi Roberts, CEO & Co-Founder @citycreekmortgage
Dave Turja, General Manager @kengarff
Read all of these Utah Faces & Places at the link in our bio! ❤️
#sponsored...
Tony Caputo, a food evangelist and founding father of today’s SLC food community, passed away last night.
Tony started @caputosmarket in 1997, bringing his passion for the cuisine of his heritage to Utah tables. Most days during the lunch rush you’d find Tony behind the counter slicing meat and cheeses and then, after it wound down, holding court out front. He’d often rush back behind the counter and holler over his shoulder, “you have to try this!" only to return with a sample bite of veiny cheese, a paper-thin leaf of prosciutto or a perfectly crisp amaretti cookie that he’d recently added to his menagerie of taste. For his many contributions to Salt Lake City, we awarded Tony with a Lifetime Achievement Dining Award in 2007.
Today, we're sending love to @caputosmarket and the many people whose lives were touched by Tony. A full tribute is on our website now. ❤️...
Why is the Pleasant Grove theme park Evermore suing one of the most powerful women in music? Long story short: a playground for those who would choose lore over folklore is taking on Taylor Swift over the name of her most recent album. Both parties have their reputation on the line in a battle of undercover Swifties and novelty mug disputes. Will Evermore hit the gold rush? Or did they cross the wrong mad woman? The full story is at the link in our bio....
Even in the exploration boom of the 1800s, nobody dared to explore the terrain flowing through the Green and the Colorado Rivers.
That is, nobody until Major John W. Powell said the 19th Century equivalent of “Hey man, hold my beer while I try this.”
Read more about his dangerous expedition at the link in our bio!
Photo of Powell’s expedition courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division...
Whose mouth is watering? 🙋♀️😋
@granarybakehouse_slc is a small, immaculate and intimate 9th and 9th bakery with some of the best laminated pastry in town. (That means golden flakes that get all over your car because you can’t wait until you get home to take a bite.)🥖🥐🧈
Read more about Granary Bakehouse at the link in our bio! ❤️...
A brand new issue of Salt Lake magazine is coming your way!
We can't wait to share these stories with you. This issue includes our annual Blue Plate Awards celebrating those surviving and thriving in the restaurant biz. Plus, we take a road trip to Wyoming and ask why the only Utah passenger on the Titanic didn’t survive her journey.
A note from our editor Jeremy Pugh, including beautiful tributes to Mary Brown Malouf from our friends in the community, is online now. Read more at the link in our bio ❤️
Subscribers: Look for this issue in your mailbox soon. The magazine will be on newsstands March 1! 📬...
Today, we are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2021 Blue Plate Awards! 🎉
These prizes honor the growers, food evangelists, grocers, servers, bakers, chefs, bartenders and restaurateurs who do more than put good food on the table—they make our community a better place to live. This year, just surviving as a local business deserves an award, but each of our Blue Plate winners did more than that. They made us grateful for every person involved in the essential act of feeding us. 🍽
At the link in our bio, we have the full list of winners, a celebration of feats of COVID creativity and a tribute to restaurants we lost this year. If you’re hungry for more, pick up a copy on newsstands March 1! Plus, check out our Instagram for spotlights on some of the Blue Plate winners.
This year’s Blue Plate Awards are the first without our beloved Executive Editor Mary Brown Malouf. We dedicate them to her, our town’s biggest food fan, critic and champion. xoxomm 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @ricobrandut for Staying in Beansness
Last summer, it seemed that Rico would be another victim of rapid gentrification in Salt Lake. Luckily, Rico was able to find a new home in Poplar Grove and now plans to add even more employees. It’s a last-minute happy ending for a community leader who literally wears his mission on his sleeve, courtesy a tattoo in bright red block letters: “pay it forward.” 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award Winner: @spicekitchenincubator for Keeping the Spice Flowing
This year Spice Kitchen Incubator, already an essential resource for refugees, became, well, even more essential. 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @thestore_utah for Special Deliveries
As grocery delivery becomes the new norm, The Store offers a personal touch that only an independent grocer can provide. Last March, high-risk and elderly customers began calling in their grocery lists over the phone, and The Store’s general managers personally delivered food to their homes. 💙...
2021 Blue Plate Award winner: @cucinaslc for Preserving Neighborhood Connection
Cucina’s outdoor spaces became a place where the neighborhood could gather safely. Owner Dean Pierose offered free coffee in the mornings and encouraged his regulars to linger and commiserate together, preserving a semblance of society during a socially distanced time. 💙...