Cream of Potato

Great Potatoes from an American original from Idaho by way of the Andes.

Natives of the Andes were cultivating over 3,000 varieties of potatoes before the Spanish arrived in 1535. Today by comparison, "only" 250 varieties are grown in the US. Our potatoes come from a true American original. In 1923, J.R. "Jack" Simplot quit school at age 14 to start his own business. Just over 20 years later as World War II came to a close, The Simplot Company was the largest shipper of fresh potatoes in the country. After the war, change came quickly as Americans took to the roads and the American fast food industry and Simplot followed. In the 1950's, this Boise, Idaho, company created and marketed the first commercially available frozen French fries in the world. Today, the Simplot family remains a major supplier of outstanding "spuds" to the world... and to us!

Tom Tranthum and his family don't just make great butter- they make cows happy!

On his South Carolina dairy farm, aptly named Happy Cow Creamery, his grass-fed herd munches happily twelve months out of the year, thanks to an internationally acclaimed grazing process he pioneered. Actually, his cows were the real pioneers. His stroke of genius came after the bovines broke out of their pen, started chomping away at the weeds in a near-by field, and started producing not only more milk, but milk that tasted better and was better for you. That was back in the 80's. These days, he and his wife Linda stay pretty busy. Folks travel hundreds of miles to purchase his dairy products from their on-site country store. His philosophy is simple: happy cows make better milk, which makes better butter. We couldn't agree more - the creamy, smooth quality it lends to our soup delights our taste buds. One slurp of our soup and we think you'll agree - it's quality you can taste.

Don't Mess with Texas Bacon!

Just north of Texas Hill Country and about 100 miles southwest of Dallas, you will find Hamilton, Texas. Settled just before the Civil War by folks mostly from South Carolina and Mississippi, Hamilton is a natural spot for growing some of the best all natural bacon you can find. Leaner, sweeter and richer with a wonderful smoke flavor, this is serious bacon made by the folks at Pederson's for almost two decades. Sure the Longhorns are by the highways, the County Museum is in the old jail, and the Texas Rangers and the Comanches played a prominent role in Hamilton's history, but it is the bacon we went there for... and the bacon that will keep you coming back for more of our Cream of Potato soup!

Exceptional Old-World Style Cheddar Cheese from Wisconsin.

It all started in 1949 when an enterprising man looked around post World War II Wisconsin and decided he was going to dedicate himself to the challenge of producing the very best Old World style cheddar cheese. Leonard Gentine teamed up with Joseph Sartori to create the Sargento Cheese Company of Wisconsin, the first company to market shredded cheese. Today, lead by Lou Gentine, Leonard's son, Sargento is proud of its heritage and outlook, proudly living by its motto: "Persnickety People. Exceptional Cheese."... and by the way, their office address is "One Persnickety Place"... an outlook that works just fine for us!