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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2017)
SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 // 11 “Alimento” is an Italian word meaning “sustenance” or “nourishment.” For $84, or $14 an entrée, each meal kit contains the ingredients for three dinners for two adults, with detailed step-by-step recipes and por- tioned pantry ingredients and sauces. Be- yond the meal kit service — available for pickup or delivery on Fridays — Catalano also offers home chef and catering services, and hopes to start a series of limited-seating dinner services featuring wine and beer pairings at his Astoria home as well as other venues around town. A devoted following Alimento’s meal kit service has already found a devoted following in the local food community. Merianne Myers, a board member of the North Coast Food Web, has been using the service every week since its inception. “Although I cook frequently, I have learned so much from Andy by using the kits,” Myers said. “We’re eating new things and learning new preparations. And, we know almost all of the folks who are growing, raising, catching the food. I love having world-class food that I don’t have to shop for, and I love having no leftovers. Andy’s portions are spot on.” Another regular, Jen Adams Mundy, also joined the service at the get-go, following Catalano to Alimento from his Street 14 gig. “When we learned that Street 14 was going to end its dinner service, we were adamant about knowing what (Catalano’s) next move was,” Adams Mundy recalled. “We heard whispers about him starting his own locally sourced and environmentally conscious meal kit service. We were sure to stay in the loop so that we could become customers as soon as possible and learn to cook like a restaurant chef!” Myers raved about Catalano’s “transcen- dent” pastas and house-cured charcuterie. Adams Mundy recalled her family recently enjoying a clam and chickpea stew featur- ing preserved lemon, local greens and pasta as well as a house-made kimchi fried rice with spring turnips. For his part, Catalano was proud of a recent dish of a honey-glazed spiced duck breast with roasted heirloom cauliflower and quinoa. “It was probably the most technically demanding dish to cook,” he said, “and I was concerned that people might be a bit unsure about duck. But the responses I received were overwhelmingly positive.” Both Myers and Adams Mundy had nev- er really considered using a meal kit service before Alimento came along, both citing excessive packaging as a major concern. Myers has dedicated herself to promoting the local food economy so shipping in food COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Andrew Catalano loads up his vehicle with ready-to-cook meal kits at the North Coast Food Web prior to delivery. Farm-first philosophy COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Catalano uses locally sourced ingredients to construct his meals for Alimento customers. from elsewhere isn’t appealing. Adams Mundy added: “The personal touch and Andy’s attention to his custom- er’s satisfaction is really unsurpassed. It is certainly something you would not get with the larger corporate meal service plans.” With relationships with 46 North, Lazy Creek, Spring Up, Nehalem River Ranch and more local farms, the environmental footprint of one of Alimento’s meals is remarkably low. Catalano sources meat that has been humanely raised without antibi- otics, and fish that has been sustainably caught by local producers like Ocean Beau- ty and Bornstein’s. If fish is on the menu, it is bought, processed and packed that Friday morning. Consider a recent meal kit that included a dish of roasted, bone-in chicken thighs and a tomato-and-peach panzanella, a play on the classic Tuscan tomato-and-bread salad. Using his farm-first philosophy, Catala- no conceived of this meal after getting his hands on some peaches from Island’s End Farm on Puget Island, Washington, about 25 miles upriver. The chicken was raised across Youngs Bay in Lewis and Clark COLIN MURPHEY/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Continued on Page 22 Chef Andrew Catalano delivers one of Ali- mento’s ready-to-cook meals to a customer.
