- Jeffrey Lamont Brown
- Oct 8, 2023
TAHITIAN VANILLA... For our Tahitian Vanilla Knots, we use whole Tahitian vanilla beans to infuse the croissant dough and again in the icing that enrobes each knot, where you can see the vanilla caviar throughout the icing. But why do we use Tahitian vanilla? As with all of our ingredient choices here at IZOLA, we use whole Tahitian vanilla beans because after extensive testing we found that they provided the best overall flavor. Real vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world (our cost is $212 per pound, and in part why 95% of vanilla products are now flavored with imitation "vanillin"), with Tahitian vanilla being the most coveted type of vanilla for its flavor. Tahitian vanilla beans are harvested only when they are ripe and come from the fruit (or pods) of an orchid varietal. They are cured in the sun to help remove moisture from the bean, then are bundled to help leech moisture. This process of drying and bundling repeats until the final moisture level reaches 55%.
Our team cuts open each bean and hand scrapes the vanilla caviar out of each bean. A lengthy process, yes, but so worth it! The next time you're enjoying a Tahitian Vanilla Knot, breathe the scent in, long and slow, and you'll be hit with the complex aromatics of the Tahitian vanilla bean. Pre-order your Tahitian Vanilla Knot now, orders for this week are now open. We'll be baking hot from the oven this Thursday - Sunday, from 8a-1p. We also hold aside at least half of our inventory each day, so if you don't have a pre-order, no problem, just pop on by. Have a pre-order and in a hurry? No problem! Double park downstairs and call us at (619) 289-8358, we'll run your order down to you with a smile. We call it IZOLA DRIVE-BY.
HAPPENING TUESDAY!
Join Jenny and me this Tuesday October 10th at 4p on Google Meet for our next investor conversation. We'll share why we started IZOLA at the start of a global pandemic, what has kept us going each day as our little project has grown to over 30 employees and over $1M in revenue, and what our vision is for the future. We are raising funds now as we move forward on building our new zero-emission manufacturing facility and bake shop, IZOLA Main. Located in the heart of City Heights, we'll be bringing over 20 purpose-filled careers and investing in an underserved community. We aim to change the way America thinks about croissants and sourdough. The IZOLA way. Hot from the oven, great hospitality, amazing quality. Justice. Investing in American Green Manufacturing. Creating careers. Improving the quality of our bread and croissants. Planning to open 12 IZOLAs in SoCal. Hard? Yes. But so exciting to invest in American manufacturing and in our community. Believe in what we do? Join us. To learn more, RSVP for our Tuesday call and drop by for a minute and say hi or stay the whole time. It's a fun time and super casual. We'll share with you where we've been, our plans for the future, and why we are raising over $3M in the next year. Never invested before? Not to worry! It's super simple. *Please only invest an amount you would feel comfortable losing. Investing in private businesses involves risk. Though potential returns are designed to reflect that risk, there is a possibility that you will lose your entire investment.
*Please only invest an amount you would feel comfortable losing. Investing in private businesses involves risk. Though potential returns are designed to reflect that risk, there is a possibility that you will lose your entire investment.
IZOLA MUSIC SATURDAY Every Saturday IZOLA hosts live music - come see how diverse and talented our San Diego community is. We post our full musical line-up every Friday night on Instagram - follow us here!
OUR WHY
Last week was a good week. And who am I kidding, every week is a good week - I feel so fortunate each and every day to be able to get to do what I do. But last week was particularly special because Jenny and I had the honor of attending one of our team member's graduation from Kitchens for Good's apprenticeship program. A little over two years ago, we began our partnership with Kitchens for Good. Founded in 2014, Kitchens for Good harnesses the power of food to address economic inequality by providing culinary career training for individuals with barriers to employment. In 8 years, 750 apprentices have benefitted from their program. After visiting IZOLA on a Kitchens for Good tour in 2021, apprentice Jesus applied to become a sourdough assistant and joined our team. In just under two years, he is now our Sourdough Lead, making the best bread we've seen come out of the IZOLA kitchen, including the bread made by my own hands. And last week, after successfully completing KFG's intensive 10-week program and accumulating 2460 hours work experience to complete his apprenticeship, Jesus graduated. His dedication and passion for crafting exquisite sourdough have played a pivotal role in fostering the vibrant Izola community that exists today. We are honored to be a part of Jesus's journey. At graduation, KFG Board Member Don Williamson shared some inspiring thoughts as he announced the graduating class. He spoke of the choices that you and I each make each and every day. Some choices send us down the wrong path, and Kitchens for Good simply provides more choices for our community - some days are hard, but if we keep making the right choices and not be deterred by the hard ones, we have the opportunity to change the trajectory of our lives. I can tell you that I'm so grateful for the choice we made two years ago to partner with Kitchens for Good. If you’d like to support their work, please consider making a gift today. Or if you are in the restaurant or hospitality industry and would like to become an employer partner, contact them today.
PRE-ORDERS OPEN NOW Speaking of Jesus, shout out to Jesus for the picture above. He's really developed a great eye for photography and has been the photographer behind many of the sourdough images you see right here in this newsletter! Pre-orders are open now! We'll be baking hot from the oven this Thursday - Sunday, from 8a-1p. We also hold aside at least half of our inventory each day, so if you don't have a pre-order, no problem, just pop on by. Have a pre-order and in a hurry? No problem! Double park downstairs and call us at (619) 289-8358, we'll run your order down to you with a smile. We call it IZOLA DRIVE-BY.
A TRIP TO DENMARK
Ok, this is completely unrelated to croissants and sourdough, but Jenny and I just had to share this meal with you. We enjoyed it so much we went back the following week... We've been wanting to try out the Taste of Denmark over in Hillcrest for quite some time, but whenever we think of going, they are closed (sound familiar? 😉). We finally made it by for a late Sunday lunch and we were blown away. They make most everything in house. Our meal began with a few slices of house made rye bread, with pickled red cabbage, a creamy remoulade and sweet strawberries. The rye bread was unlike any rye bread we've had before - it is chock full of sunflower seeds, making it crunchy and nutty in flavor. Combined with the creamy remoulade and the sweet and punchy cabbage, it was addictive. We had to buy a loaf of rye and a bottle of remoulade for home. I'm snacking on a slice as I type this! Next up - the Grill Bar Burger. Another brand new experience for us, this is unlike any burger you've had before. We learned some fun facts about Denmark from our server: Danes love pork (the number of pigs in Denmark outnumber the people!) and the quality of the pork from Denmark is like no other. The Taste of Denmark uses Danish pork in their recipes. The Bar Burger is made of thick slices of pork rib roast, pickled red cabbage, pickles and remoulade. The skin is perfectly crisp, creating the most tasty cracklings. In each bite you get a deep, satisfying crunch, the juiciness from the succulent pork, the sweetness from remoulade and pickled cabbage...yum...This sandwich is not for the faint of heart, or for folks who can't stand a mess! All meals must end with dessert if Jenny is present, so this last weekend we finished our meal off with their Aebleskiver, fluffy molded “pancake balls” - of course served hot! They have a crusty exterior and soft center and are dusted with powder sugar and served with jam. A few things to note: This is a small family business, please keep that in mind when visiting! They have limited hours (11a-4p Wed-Sun) and limited staff, so when you visit, be prepared to just linger a while and enjoy the company of folks you're with or those around you. The Bar Burger is only available on the weekends. The pork roast is house made and cooks low and slow all morning long... And since everything is house made, sometimes they might be out of something (we couldn't take a loaf of rye home with us on our first visit). We hope you visit and enjoy the experience! If you have any fave spots, share them with Jenny, she's always on the hunt for a great meal.
COME JOIN US!
Join Jenny and me next Tuesday October 10th at 4p on Google Meet lead an investor conversation. We'll share why we started IZOLA at the start of a global pandemic, what has kept us going each day as our little project has grown to over 30 employees and over $1M in revenue, and what our vision is for the future. The day we snapped this photo Jenny and I were stoked that we had enough demand to fill almost a full rolling rack of croissants for the day. We were still making all of the croissants ourselves, pulling late nights on the weekends, driven by the joy we saw on the faces of our customers and the kindness we received from them. Fast forward to today, our passionate, hardworking Dojo team is working day and night 7 days a week so that we can bake about 1000 croissants a day, served hot from the oven. And it's still not enough - we're selling out each day and that's not what we envision for the IZOLA experience. We are raising funds now, which will allow us to increase our production by 20x! We aim to change the way America thinks about croissants and sourdough. The IZOLA way. Hot from the oven, great hospitality, amazing quality. Justice. Investing in American Green Manufacturing. Creating careers. Improving the quality of our bread and croissants. Planning to open 12 IZOLAs in SoCal. Hard? Yes. But so exciting to invest in American manufacturing and in our community. Believe in what we do? Join us. To learn more, RSVP for our Tuesday call and drop by for a minute and say hi or stay the whole time. It's a fun time and super casual. We'll share with you where we've been, our plans for the future, and why we are raising over $3M in the next year. Never invested before? Not to worry! It's super simple. *Please only invest an amount you would feel comfortable losing. Investing in private businesses involves risk. Though potential returns are designed to reflect that risk, there is a possibility that you will lose your entire investment.
*Please only invest an amount you would feel comfortable losing. Investing in private businesses involves risk. Though potential returns are designed to reflect that risk, there is a possibility that you will lose your entire investment.
IZOLA MUSIC SATURDAY Every Saturday IZOLA hosts live music - come see how diverse and talented our San Diego community is. We post our full musical line-up every Friday night on Instagram - follow us here!
- Jeffrey Lamont Brown
- Sep 26, 2023
HOT FROM THE OVEN Pre-orders are open now! We'll be baking hot from the oven this Thursday - Sunday, from 8a-1p. We also hold aside at least half of our inventory each day, so if you don't have a pre-order, no problem, just pop on by. Have a pre-order and in a hurry? No problem! Double park downstairs and call us at (619) 289-8358, we'll run your order down to you with a smile. We call it IZOLA DRIVE-BY.
AND IT TAKES THE GOLD!
IZOLA Kvass from the East Village Brewing Company has won the GOLD at the Great American Beer Festival, the biggest beer competition in the U.S.! Congrats to the East Village Brewing Company!
IZOLA Kvass was inspired by ancient brews from Ukraine, where pieces of bread were soaked and fermented to create a tasty beverage. They blended in IZOLA Wild Sourdough loaves, and used the wild yeast from our sourdough starter for secondary fermentation. The result is a unique beer with notes of bread crust, caramel, dried cherries, and fig.
Available on tap while supplies last! Visit East Village Brewing Company at 201 Park Boulevard.
WELCOME IZOLA'S NEWEST BAKER
Please help us welcome our newest Baker here at IZOLA - Lane! We have thoroughly enjoyed having Lane in the kitchen - from her inquisitive nature to passion for building a community around food, we are so fortunate to have her on the team. If you've ever been curious about joining IZOLA, reach out to Jenny - that's how Lane came to join our team. We didn't have the right position open when she initially reached out, but she and Jenny kept in touch and here she is two months later!
BAKESHOP HAPPENINGS Aside from working with our teams and meeting all of the amazing guests that come through our doors, we've been busy behind the scenes engaging with our local community as we think forward to IZOLA's future. At IZOLA, we serve two things - croissants and sourdough. Pretty simple, right? So we thought! But if you think about how it takes 4 days for a croissant to be made, kind of like an arrow in flight. We are launching that arrow 4 days ahead of service, with pre-orders coming in during that time. We adjust the path of that arrow ever so slightly to ensure the croissant that you ordered is going into the oven at just the right time, so that we can serve it to you hot-from-the-oven. And so behind our croissants and sourdough we are really a tech and process-driven company. And when our processes breakdown, the customer experience suffers and our team suffers. Our team will also serve over 1000 pastries in a 5-hour window, and we are still selling out many days. So how do we scale our processes in our current space to allow us to feed more people? Better process. Enter the whizzes at the Lean Six Sigma Institute. Thanks to a grant from CMTC, (Thank you Amanda!) the LSSI team is partnering with us to identify efficiency improvements to our current systems. Companies like Apple, Amazon, and Bimbo (the largest baking company in the world!) utilize Lean Six Sigma methods. Thanks to Luis and Andrea (below) for digging in with us, we can't wait to implement new and more efficient processes here at IZOLA.
We're also very close to submitting our plans to the city for our new IZOLA Main manufacturing facility and bakeshop in City Heights. Our goal is to create Southern California's first 100% renewable energy-powered manufacturing facility. That's why we've teamed up with SDGE to tap into their knowledge and explore ways we can collectively contribute to San Diego's environmental initiatives and the manufacturing sector.
If you're interested in joining us on our mission for environmental justice, click below to discover how you can be a part of our equity raise.
*Please only invest an amount you would feel comfortable losing. Investing in private businesses involves risk. Though potential returns are designed to reflect that risk, there is a possibility that you will lose your entire investment.
IZOLA MUSIC SATURDAY Every Saturday IZOLA hosts live music - come see how diverse and talented our San Diego community is. We post our full musical line-up every Friday night on Instagram - follow us here! Here are a few of the performers that will be at the bakeshop this weekend.