 Henry’s reputation as the source of impeccable specialty produce has also brought him national fame. When Steven Spielberg was filming his latest movie in Newport, RI it was Henry who got the call to supply the produce for the movie set. We’re not talking food for the crew; we’re talking food used to design a marketplace scene for a multi-million dollar movie.
Whether the First Lady is speaking in Boston, or John Kennedy Jr. is getting married, Mr. Wainer knows about it in advance.
“We are on the inside-track to many major events. Think about it, whatever may be going on, everyone has to eat!” he chuckles. But the truth of the matter is, folks who want great specialty produce and specialty foods know they can count on Sid Wainer & Son to deliver. “I don’t believe that anyone should but it unless they think it’s the best available,” assures Henry. That’s really the motto that we’re running the company by.”
The door to Sid Wainer & Son is always open. “Just last week I had 27 chefs come through for tastings, as well as distributors from the mid-west. All we did was put out some great produce and specialty foods, gave them some bread, and let them try it.” Explains Henry. He goes to great lengths to invite people to come and see for themselves, and experience the quality and exquisite flavors from fresh, ripe produce.
 “These folks create some remarkable dishes when they come here to taste,” exclaims Henry. “We learn a lot from them as well.”
The numerous tasting that Mr. Wainer sponsors, whether at his Gourmet Outlet, or through his attendance at various trade show, allows him to interact with people to find out what kinds of foods chefs want. It also allows Sid Wainer & Son to educate chefs about the many alternative uses of specialty foods that are sourced from international markets. “We’re offering key ingredients in new trends of American cuisine,” he says.
“I recently received a shipment of fennel sticks from France, which are quite unusual,” states Henry. “We recommend to chefs to use them to skewer tuna, swordfish, or any seafood that would taste great with a smoky fennel flavor. As the fennel smolders, the flavor penetrated from the inside out, giving it a nice hint of anise. Incredible!”
Henry conceived The Gourmet Outlet, located next to his doors to the public so that they could come and appreciate quality foods. It is a hands-on culinary market, open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., located at 2301 Purchase St., New Bedford, MA. People travel from all over to ship and select from the more than 600-700 varieties of produce, as well as the numerous specialty food items that Sid Wainer & Son has to offer.
“People are going to have a hard time finding fresher produce and certainly will have a hard time finding a wider variety than shopping right here in our warehouse at the Gourmet Outlet at Sid Wainer & Son!” exclaims Henry. Chefs and those who just love to cook, have, at their fingertips, the essential ingredients to create to their hearts desire.
In addition to members to the public, chefs from colleges, country clubs, restaurants, and hotels visit the Gourmet Outlet to shop, inspect, taste, and compare food. “What’s also exciting is that when we supply such specialty produce to culinary schools, it’s being introduced to numerous chefs who will soon be in the industry,” beams Henry.
Sid Wainer & Son is filling a unique niche that focuses on uncompromising quality and service. And in so doing, Mr. Wainer has also become the premier distributor to a growing need for international ingredients, bringing in produce from around the world from places such as Israel, Holland, Australia, and New Zealand.
“This will be the place where foods from all over the world will begin to merge together,” says Henry. “As the world market becomes more accessible, we will be the leading supplier and source of ethnic and exotic foods.” Sid Wainer & Son’s catalog is already available on the internet, reaching people all over the globe.
Many new and exciting projects are fast coming to fruition for Mr. Wainer. “1997 is going to be a year to introducing the chefs and the produce industry members to some of the finest ingredients, produce, and specialty foods in the world!” exclaims Henry.
Half the joy of doing business is in the search. If it exists, Mr. Wainer will find it. If you want it, Mr. Wainer will get it, no matter how far. And if it’s true that “life is not the destination, it’s the journey” then Mr. Wainer is living right.
It was Henry Wainer who explored many countries and distant villages, developing relationships with farmers and tradesmen who continue to make their products in the tradition of centuries ago, to procure the finest foods available in all the world and bring them back to his customers in New England.
In so doing, Sid Wainer & Son recently unveiled a complete international specialty foods line, bearing a beautiful Jansal Valley label. These products are prepared and produced exclusively for Sid Wainer & Son.
When you look at the Jansal Valley label you get a sense of the rustic tradition that went into the making of the product.
Mr. Wainer is tenacious about what he goes after, and he really knows what he’s looking for. He’s been in the food business for several decades now, and he is not easily impressed. His standards are tough, and that’s the secret to his success.
“With transportation the way it is, and the accessibility of raw materials, the world is becoming a smaller place to dine in,” explains Henry. “We are seeing a lot of cultural influences at cutting – edge restaurants, increasing the demand for specialty items.”
But as the demand goes up, some producers become very commercialized. This is what disturbs Mr. Wainer. He will travel to the most rural areas to reach the farm or estate where tradition is still sacred, no matter how difficult the task. That’s where the quality comes in.
This past year has been one of remarkable achievements and dreams fulfilled for the folks at Sid Wainer & Son Specialty Produce and Specialty Foods, starting with the introduction of the Jansal Valley line.
New England is now home to some of the most extraordinary products sourced by Henry from some of the most superior farms in the world. In his travels abroad he has imported some very unusual products that are fast making their way on the tables of America’s finest restaurants. His standards are tough. “Today’s chefs are very experimental,” comments Henry. “They take an influx of their experience here at a tasting at the Gourmet Outlet and go back to the stove. They come out with some very outstanding plates.”
With everyone eating healthier, Sid Wainer & Son has become the center of the plate. The finest restaurants in the country are featuring vegetarian dishes. “We are the influx of this,” adds Henry. By offering chefs the finest in specialty produce and specialty foods from across the world, they create the most outstanding main dish vegetarian entrees, sauces, sorbets, soups, appetizers and unique garnishes, including edible flowers.
Mr. Wainer’s interest in specialty foods was peaked several ears ago during his honeymoon trip to Italy. “I do believe the food experience we came upon was clearly one of the key motivating factors that has taken me into my pursuit of wonderful food,” he explains.
“At the time, everyone was into making great sauces, and French cuisine was still the major contributing factor to fine dining around the world. Traveling several weeks through Italy was a breath of fresh air. Now that I don’t love French food,” says Henry. “But at the time in Italy, everything was, and still is farm fresh, ‘just picked,’ from down the street, and grilled. There wasn’t a restaurant in Italy that didn’t offer fresh grilled vegetables, great cheese, and the presentation was bountiful and somewhat healthy.”
It was the outdoor marketplace in Sienna that Henry remembers fondly. “There was a man standing with a machete, cutting artichokes off of the branches and selling them in their hand shopping bags. It was certainly a sight that will always be with me.”
Henry explains that artichokes have always been a passion of his, and it was one of the items that got him started on his expansion into the wonderful varieties of products produced around the world.
“In my travels to Italy since then, I came upon several items that were of the quality and integrity that I am constantly searching for,” explains Henry.
Thus we begin our adventure into the world of specialty foods and produce, compliments of Mr. Wainer.
The culinary adventures begin in the rolling hills of Southwestern Italy – the home of Fondo Di Toscana, the new line of artichoke, and specialty pastas.
Henry explains that these artichokes are specially grown where the weather is temperate, the soil is only the darkest, finest quality, and the fields flow into the sea. “It is here that our artichokes are produced and packaged,” beams Henry.
The long-stemmed artichokes with herbs from the Fondo Di Toscana line were featured in the March 1997 issue of Food Arts Magazine, stating “an attractive newcomer, the marinated long – stemmed artichokes.”
The Fondo Di Toscana line includes long – stemmed artichokes, which are available with or without herbs in sunflower oil, tastefully packaged in two kilograms. Piccolo artichoke hearts with herbs and chili have been added to this line, along with naturally packed artichoke hearts in water brine. They are packaged in tow kilograms and come Kryovac packed.
Henry is quite fond of the artichoke paste, which he enjoys spreading over some fine bread, lightly toasted with sprinkled fresh Parmesan. “Our artichoke paste has been featured in many national popular catalogs in 1997, packaged in a 500 gram jar,” adds Henry.
Also from this region come Fondo Di Toscana white anchovies, becoming quite a hit here in the United States. Henry has procured these from the finest producer, which harvests from the purest water of the seas. At the 1997 Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, the Sid Wainer & Son line of specialty foods was viewed as the finest in the country.
“The white anchovies don’t taste anything like anchovies,” explains Henry. “They’re absolutely delicious!” Recently during a tasting at the Four Seasons in Hollywood, Calif., the chef served these delicacies lightly fried with a garlic aioli sauce. They have been served as appetizers and over salads. They’re being served in Tapas bars all over the United States.
“It’s actually a whole fish that’s been filleted,” he says. “When I featured them at the Fancy Food Show in California recently, I had French chefs clamoring over them!”
Sid Wainer & Son has added specialty pastas to the Fondo Di Toscana line as well. These pastas are procured from the oldest, most established pasta companies in the world. With over a century’s worth of pasta making experience, this line is the finest to reach the States. After traveling for many years throughout Italy and tasting hundreds of pastas, the hand cut pastas of Tuscany bring authentic Italian tradition to the tables of America.
The nutritious wheat germ pastas, rich in vitamins D and E and vegetable proteins come in tantalizing flavors including Porcini Mushroom, Basil and Garlic, Salmon, Chili, Squid Ink, Wheat Germ, Corn, and Mediterranean.
One of the hottest items in the country today is Sid Wainer & Son’s extraordinarily shaped flavored pastas. They come “attractively packed,” flavored with spinach, beet corn, polenta, and cuddlefish ink. The unusual artisan creations of these Tuscan pasta makers include Farfalline, Jumbo Gnocci, Torchietti, Orechietti, Creste di Gallo, and Orecchioni, along with traditional Fettuccine. The producers call several of the cuts “produced for Sunday celebrations”.
“The flavors in the presentation of this Tuscany farm’s production are unsurpassed by no other farmer in Europe,” explains Henry. They can be found for sale in gourmet shops in ancient Italian cities such as Sienna, Florence, Rome, and San Gimigano. These products are available in 500 gram or five kilogram for food service.
The beautiful array of Tuscan pastas at Mr. Wainer’s booth at the Fancy Food Show in California caught the eye of TV Cannel 4 in San Francisco. That evening’s show was spent at Mr. Wainer’s display, and closed with the words, “Packaging and presentation are everything.”
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