TASTE OF HARMONS

Fighting Hunger with the Utah Food Bank

With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, most people take time to reflect on all the good things they have. Giving back comes naturally at this time of year, and one of the best ways to help others is to donate time, goods, or money to our local Utah Food Bank.
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We're Nuts for Red Rock Pistachios

Pistachios are one of the world’s healthiest and tastiest nuts. The trees they grow on are native to the desert, so they only grow a few places in the world, most commonly in the Middle East, California, and Hurricane, Utah.
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Join the Caramel Club

There are few things as good as a mouthwatering caramel, especially when they are made with love by a dedicated candy maker, and that describes Rowena Montoya perfectly.
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Gluten Free Sweets from Lucky Spoon

When her husband was diagnosed with celiac disease, Pamela Schulte went on a mission to make the sweets and treats he still craved but couldn’t eat. She spent hours and hours refining recipes to take the “tasteless” out of gluten-free baking, and her husband was happy when she came up with some cookies, muffins, and cupcakes that were moist, delicious, and completely free of gluten.
Her quest became her passion, and Lucky Spoon Bakery was born.
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The Art of Asian Cuisine

All of our chefs have amazing culinary skills, but almost all of them specialize in a certain food culture or cuisine, and Chef Jake Driffil is definitely that way. He knows the art of Asian cuisine inside and out. In this episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Chef Jake joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young to talk about all the different varieties of food that fall under the “Asian” category.
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Cookie Chat with RubySnap

There’s nothing like cookies fresh from the oven. Nobody knows this better than RubySnap’s owner, Tami Steggell. And she is passionate about them. Especially those that feature distinctive and unique flavor combinations. Tami joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young in the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast.
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Mama Africa's Super Spicy Sauce

Cathy Tshilombo-Lokemba says the heat in her intensely spicy pili pili sauce “talks to you.” We believe this is true, and it has quite a story to tell. In the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, she shares the story of how her family history—and the history of her people in the Congo—shaped the flavor of the family recipe that makes up Mama Africa’s Pili Pili sauce.
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Sustainable Seafood

In the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young are joined by Chris Smith and Ashley Quadros. Chris is our director of meat and seafood for Harmons, and Ashley is one of our amazing dietitians, and together they are sharing some really important and relevant information about sustainable seafood.
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The Pro's and Con's of GMO's

In the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Dietitian Sarah Kiel joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young. Sarah and our hosts discuss produce hybrids and genetically modified varieties of our food. The somewhat controversial subject of GMOs has many pros and cons to it. The practice involves altering the DNA of a plant to improve or change its properties. We’re fortunate to have Sarah’s knowledge as she breaks the details down for us.
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Meet Cooking School Chef Casey

In this episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Chef Casey Bowthorpe joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young to discuss his career with Harmons. In an interesting journey, he joined Harmons as an associate in 2007. But he held many positions, including dairy manager and café manager, before he took a job as the cooking school coordinator in 2013. It was then that the “chef” fire was lit.
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Local Flour Power

Driving south on I-15 through Utah County, the Lehi Mills building is hard to miss. It’s a historic landmark on the west side of the freeway as you pass Lehi. If you talk about it, most people will know the name. Whether it’s because of the flour they’ve been producing for years, or the fact that parts of a well-known movie, Footloose, were filmed there, Lehi Mills is as local as it is famous.
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The Salt of the Earth

Redmond Real Salt is the “real” deal when it comes to salt. At Harmons, when creating our made-fresh-in-store items it’s the only salt we use. And there is a very good reason for that. It’s natural, clean salt, which tastes very different than iodized salt. And not only is the taste better; so are the health benefits.
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The Coral Reef Rescue

In this episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Brent Andersen joins our hosts. Brent is CEO of the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young visit with him to discuss his current project—the coral reef rescue.
You might wonder why Harmons partners with an aquarium. The answer is, we provide food for the thousands of animal inhabitants they house. In other words, they eat the same fresh produce you do.
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History of the Hamburger

In a fascinating episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, recurring guest Chef Aaron Ballard joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young. The lively discussion focuses on the history of one of America’s favorite meals: the hamburger.
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Utah's Botanical Garden - Red Butte

Harmons is deeply involved in our community, and so is Red Butte Garden. So the fact that we partner with them is pretty much a no-brainer. Today’s Taste of Harmons Podcast guest is Eddy Dawson. He’s the director of programs at Red Butte, and he joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young to talk about something a little different from food we eat—the plants we grow.
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Understanding CBD

You might have heard there are some health benefits to CBD, but you might be thinking that seems like a risky choice to take in a country where “marijuana” is illegal in most states. Will CBD get you high? The short answer is no, especially with the topical varieties that we sell.
But we wanted to go a little more in-depth, and so Greg Jones, our pharmacy director, and Denise Braby, the director of home, health, and beauty, join our podcast hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young. They share some great points to help you make sense of all of this information and explain why Harmons sells topical CBD products.
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Food for a Sustainable Future

It can sometimes feel like Earth Day, April 22, gets overlooked or pushed aside, and yet the day is extremely important, especially for a sustainable future. Here at Harmons, Kate Whitbeck, director of sustainability, thinks about the earth every day, and pretty much all day.
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Just Say No to Coronavirus

Host Brandon sat down with Greg Jones, director of Pharmacy to discuss the evolving situation of COVID-19 and vaccines.

The Science of Bread

If you are one of those people who used the extra time spent at home becoming a pandemic baker, this is the podcast for you.
Jason Lindsay, our artisan bread program specialist, joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young in the latest episode of our Taste of Harmons Podcast, and he is passionate about bread, including sourdough.
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Meet Harmons Cooking School Chef Daniela

Chef Daniela Oliveira, the instructor at our Mountain View Cooking School, came to America from Brazil, a country where “every celebration revolves around food.”
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The ABC's of Bean to Bar Chocolate

For DeAnn Wallin, chocolate is her life. “It’s what I do,” she says.
The owner of Solstice Chocolate literally eats and breathes chocolate, and we don’t know for sure, but she might dream about it when she sleeps.
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Meal Prep Made Easy

Meal prepping and planning can seem overwhelming to the uninitiated, but it doesn’t have to be that way. On the latest edition of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Harmons Dietitian Genevieve Daly joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young to discuss the ins and outs of easy meal prep and planning.
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Eating for Exercise

With the beginning of a new year comes a plethora of resolutions to eat better and exercise more. But what will make this year different? How can you actually keep those resolutions? In this episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Dietitians Sarah Kiel and Heather Lieber join our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young to discuss eating for exercise and how to fuel your body properly.
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A Passion for Pastries

If Chef Adalberto Diaz looks familiar to you, there’s probably a good reason for it. If you’ve ever watched the Food Network you may have seen him in one of their baking competitions (one of which he won). It’s also possible that, as a Harmons customer, you saw him when he was running the City Creek Cooking School, or when he was serving as our executive chef. And then there was the time he won the American Culinary Federation Pastry Chef of the Year national title…. In short, Chef Al, as he is broadly known by, knows his stuff when it comes to cooking and baking.
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The Buzz about BeeHive Cheese

Pat Ford and Tim Welsh did not follow a traditional route into cheesemaking. They both owned their own companies in the white-collar world and were working at them when Tim Welsh shared his dream with his brother-in-law, Pat: he wanted to make cheese.
And with that, Beehive Cheese Company was born. Founded in 2004, the company got its name because Utah is the Beehive state, and Pat and Tim wanted to bring back the local creameries that were in every community during the 1950s.
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Thanksgiving Origin Story

When we think of the first Thanksgiving, we picture turkeys, cornucopias, and Native Americans seated next to pilgrims, all giving thanks for the bounty before them. The actual story is a lot more complicated and a lot less ideal than most people realize.
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Talking Turkey with Diestel

At Harmons, we are proud of the relationships we forge with our partners, and we share a special one with Diestel Family Ranch, fourth-generation turkey farmers whose high-quality products we sell in our stores. In the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Heidi Diestel Orrock joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young to talk a little turkey. Well, to talk a lot of turkey.
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Flavor without Borders

In the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Jorge Fierro joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young to share his inspiring story. He grew up in Mexico watching Americans on television and was impressed by what he saw as an ability to help others and change lives through philanthropy. His eventual arrival in Salt Lake was the right fit for him, even though he doesn’t find his solace in religion. He does embrace the giving spirit of Utah’s population.
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Oh, my Ghourd!

The Cucurbita genus is a mighty large family, and you probably already know about a few of these pumpkins, squash, and gourds. It’s the time of year when we invite them into our homes, both as decoration and also as a meal or two. So, what exactly is the difference between a pumpkin, a squash, and a gourd?
Tune in to the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, as Aaron Smart, produce manager for Harmons Emigration Market, joins our hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young.
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Todd Talks Local

At Harmons, local isn’t just where we are. It’s who we are. We’re as local as it gets. We can trace our roots back to a single farm stand—started by Jake Harmon and his wife Irene in 1932—to today’s 19 locations throughout Utah. While the company has grown, the mindset has remained local to the core, and it shows in the more than 2,500 locally produced items we sell in our stores.
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Salsa Queen

For generations, mothers have shown their love through cooking and feeding their families, and this sentiment is particularly strong in the Latino community. Utah’s Salsa Queen in the perfect example of this, and she shares her journey with our podcast hosts Chef Lesli Sommerdorf and Brandon Young in the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons.
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It's Chile Roast Time!

In 2008 Robert Seegmiller, fresh produce sales director for Harmons, took his own love for chiles to the next level when he was instrumental in launching Harmons Chile Roast. It started in one location, our West store, and each year the popularity grew until it reached all our locations.
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Pioneer Day and Pie and Beer Day

If you’ve lived in Utah for any stretch of time, you’ve undoubtedly heard the story of Brigham Young entering the Salt Lake Valley, where he uttered the words, “This is the place.” As we celebrate Pioneer Day, Taste of Harmons Podcast hosts Brandon Young and Chef Lesli Sommerdorf are joined by Harmons Executive Chef Aaron Ballard to explore the words that might have come next: “What’s for dinner?”
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Local Beef at its Finest

Braedon Paramore considers himself a desk cowboy. As the head of marketing and sales for Bar 10 Beef, he mainly works in the office but shares the same goals and beliefs as Kelly and Gavin Heaton, who spend their days as “real cowboys,” tending to the ranch and the cow herd that make up Bar 10 Beef.
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The Wonderful World of Cheese

Mariah Christensen loves cheese. If you think this is an overstatement, you simply need to listen to the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, as Mariah rejoins Chef Lesli and Brandon on a trip around the world…of cheeses.
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Loveland Living Planet Aquarium

If you’ve driven on I-15 near Draper and the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, you’ve undoubtedly seen the massive metal object protruding toward the sky. The 190-ton steel structure has a fascinating history, but more importantly, it has an important future: teaching humans about sustainability and preserving and improving the health of our planet.
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Made Fresh Salsa

You’ve probably seen the fresh-made salsa and guacamole in Harmons produce department, but you may not know the story behind it. In the latest episode of the Taste of Harmons Podcast, Chef Lesli and Brandon visit with Bob Harmon and Robert Seegmiller to talk about a few of our made fresh in store products.
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Happy Flowers

As a little girl, Amanda Hammond learned flowers make people happy. Today, as a certified florist for Harmons, her career is centered around flora and she’s still working to bring people joy.
Amanda is the floral manager at our Traverse Mountain store in Lehi, and in this episode of our Taste of Harmons Podcast, she shares a lot of information about the flower power behind the beautiful arrangements available in our stores and online.
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Isolation Health Tips

When turmeric root, ginger, and garlic went flying off the shelves with the toilet paper and hand sanitizer, the Harmons dietitians knew people were looking for ways to stay safe in the midst of a global pandemic.
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Honeybees with Hollow Tree Honey

Tom’s interest in bees, beekeeping, and honey started when he was living in an apartment with no place to have a hive, but luckily his wife’s grandmother agreed to let him keep a hive at her house and his passion took off from there. He started his company in 2013, and Hollow Tree Honey is dedicated to all-natural beekeeping practices, which not only creates healthy bees but local honey that Tom says is the best you will ever taste.
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Craft Beer

Welcome to the latest episode of Taste of Harmons podcast. In this installment Chef Lesli and Brandon Young, together with our special guests Will Gillane and Paul Konopelski from Bohemian Brewery, explore craft beer.
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Art of Coffee

Welcome to the seventh episode of Taste of Harmons podcast! In this episode, we were able to sit down and chat with the Caffe Ibis Director of Coffee, Brandon Despain!
Brandon travels around the world for Caffe Ibis finding the best of the best to add to their coffee line. He is here to share the Caffe Ibis story, explain how coffee is produced, direct vs. fair trade and so much more. Take a listen!
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Plant Based Cooking

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Welcome to the sixth episode of Taste of Harmons podcast! In this episode, we have a very special guest with us, Chef Callyn from one of our cooking schools.
She’s here to share with us more information about the plant-based diet, how you can cook plant-based, as well as the controversy regarding plant-based meats.
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Let's Talk Chocolate

Welcome to the fifth episode of the Taste of Harmons podcast! This week Mariah Christensen, specialty cheese buyer, is back to talk a little bit about bean-to-bar chocolate. Here she explains the difference between craft and candy chocolate, flavor notes, and why we put chocolate in the same category as cheese.
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Art of Oils

Welcome to the fourth episode of the Taste of Harmons podcast! This week we met with Chef Aaron and Dietitian Jonnell to talk about cooking oils. We’re answering the question: Why does what oil you cook with matter?
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Healthy Living with Dietitian Ashley

Welcome to the third episode of The Taste of Harmons! Today we’re talking about healthy eating misconceptions, intuitive eating, and so much more with Dietitian Ashley Quadros.
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Honest John Bitters

Welcome to the second episode of The Taste of Harmons podcast! This week we’re here with Sara Lund and Ryan Santos from Honest John Bitters to talk about bitters. Listen and learn a little about the company and the brand, how they make their bitters, and so much more!
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Cheese with Mariah

Welcome to the pilot episode of the Taste of Harmons podcast! Today we’re talking cheese: tips and tricks for a beginner’s cheese board, what flavors are trending, and a few stories of some really unique cheeses. Find videos, photos, and other information in every episode’s blog!
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