Half the joy of doing business is in the search. If it exists, Henry will find it. If you want it, Henry will get it, no matter how far. And if it’s true that “life is not the destination, it’s the journey,” then Henry is living rightly.
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.
Henry 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 Henry. 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.
Henry’s interest in specialty foods was peaked several years 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,” explains Henry.
“At the time, 13 years ago, 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. Not 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 to the townspeople, placing 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 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 Henry Wainer.
The culinary adventures begin in the rolling hills of Southwestern Italy - the home of Fondo Di Toscana , the new line of artichoke products, white anchovies, and specialty pastas.
Henry explains that these artichokes are specially grown where the weather is temperate, the soil is only of 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 two 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 them 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 “confetti 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 Gimignano. These products are available in 500 gram or five kilogram for food service.
The beautiful array of Tuscan pastas at Henry’s booth at the Fancy Food Show in California caught the eye of TV Channel 4 in San Francisco. That evening’s show was spent at Henry’s display, and closed with the words, “Packaging and presentation are everything."
