We are delighted to see a number of our vendors win 2021 Good Food Awards, and we proudly stock many of their winning products here at Driver’s. Look for the blue Good Food Awards seal on our shelves! Read on to see the winners.
Jacobsen Salt Co.
Ben Jacobsen was living in Denmark when he first discovered good salt. Back in the US, he noticed that people were into artisanal food, but weren’t paying attention to salt quality. Ben moved to Oregon and started Jacobsen Salt Co in 2011, where he harvested from the pristine waters of Netarts Bay. Jacobsen’s salts are clean, brightly white, and flaky …
Arbor Teas
Arbor Teas is a family-owned tea company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan since 2004. Their mission is to sustainably source the world’s best organic teas. For founders Aubrey and Jeremy Lopatin, this is a process that they are always working to improve. They envision a tea leaf that moves through its entire life cycle creating a healthier world and healthier …
Wrecking Ball
Business partners Nicholas Cho and Trish Rothgeb are known within the coffee industry for raising the bar — both on the quality of their roasts, and for their progressive edge. At the Wrecking Ball Coffee cafe in San Francisco, the pair are committed to diversity and inclusion. A leader in social justice issues in San Francisco and beyond, count on …
CaCoCo
CaCoCo takes chocolate seriously. “We take chocolate back to the roots,” says founder Tony Portugal. This drinking chocolate is vegan, raw, non-GMO, gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free and free of cane sugar. It’s made in Nevada City from wild harvested, spring-fed Arriba Nacional heirloom cacao beans grown high in the Ecuadorian Andes. Prepare CaCoCo without milk, and be ready for the whole …
Chantelle’s
One morning Chantelle Cheng treated her mom, Sally Li, to a breakfast of freshly made granola. Sally loved it! They knew Chantelle, a nutritional chef, had created a great recipe, and they were inspired to share it with the world. The mother-and-daughter team launched Chantelle’s, at first with Chantelle in California, and Sally in Hong Kong. When Sally relocated to …
Saltroot Bakery
Juliana and John came to Marin from Brazil in 2015, excited to introduce Saltroot Bakery to a new community. Their business philosophy values fair trade and sustainable practices: set a good example, and minimize waste! Saltroot’s Brazilian popovers are based on an authentic, naturally gluten free pão de queijo recipe (pronounced “pow de KAY joe“,) and are made with cassava …
U-Konserve
Based here in Sausalito, U-Konserve is the result of two mothers’ struggle to be environmentally conscious as they packed school lunches. They knew the disposable bags and containers they used were headed to landfill. They took action and launched U-konserve in 2008, initially offering reusable school lunch gear. Demand increased, and customers began asking for products designed for a variety …
Dram
Dram Apothecary makes their line of unique bitters and syrups in Colorado, where they forage plants and herbs from the wild. Native Coloradan Shae Whitney founded Dram with a background in food science, bartending, and a passion for botany. Shae believes that bitters are not just for the cocktail enthusiast, and that their health benefits — including as a digestif …
Spirit Works
Founded in Sebastopol in 2012 by husband and wife team Ashby and Timo Marshall, Spirit Works is an award-winning distiller of craft spirits. Though Timo hails from England and Ashby from the West Coast, they share a passion for the environment and working with their hands. At the distillery, the pair work side-by-side with their team of mostly female producers …
Granola Guru
Ayana K.’s Oakland-based granola company is committed to excellence. She started The Granola Guru as a personal mission to elevate a timeless classic. The Granola Guru’s collection of small batch granolas are designed to provide you with sustainable energy throughout the day, and Ayana bakes each batch with coconut oil, pure maple syrup, and organic coconut sugar for unrefined goodness. …
Teranga Baobab
Teranga means “hospitality” in Wolof, the national language of Senegal. It is this spirit of camaraderie that inspired founder Nafy Flatley to start her own company. Born in Senegal, Nafy’s favorite childhood memory is of her grandmother using baobab fruit to make refreshing drinks. The baobab tree is an essential part of African culture, and Senegalese use the entire tree, …
Robert Lambert
Robert Lambert has made a career out of memorable food. He grew up preserving fruit on his family’s farm in Wisconsin, and honed his skills catering prestigious parties from Los Angeles to San Francisco. In his line of jams and preserves, Robert harvests, processes and cans fruit himself. He says it’s the beauty of the fruit that sustains him, but …
Casa Agria
The best relationships are rooted in friendships. That’s the motto at Casa Agria, located in Ventura County with a brewery in Oxnard. Brewer owned and operated since 2015, the crew at Casa Agria love to share their unique styles of beer with friends new and old. At Casa Agria, everyone is welcome! New to Driver’s Coolship, Casa Agria’s focus is …
Primavera
Karen Taylor started selling Primavera tamales at the Berkeley Farmers Market in 1992. The organic farmers she met there still supply produce for her now iconic tamales. Today, Primavera employs a team of 30 who bring their own expertise and regional recipes to the kitchen. Primavera produces handmade tamales and tortilla chips for almost 300 stores, and for the San …
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
When Jeni Britton Bauer founded Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002, she had a vision: use dairy from grass-fed cows, whole ingredients and inspired flavor combinations. Jeni brings her creative background — as an art student, a professional baker, and an amateur perfumer — to her beautifully crafted ice creams. Her line of traditional ice creams have a unique buttercream …
Wild Planet
A visit to the “Oceans in Crisis” exhibit at Monterey Bay Aquarium in 2001 inspired founder Bill Carvalho to transform his family’s seafood company. By 2004, Wild Planet sourced their tuna exclusively from pole and line catch fisheries. The company selects only the finest quality, 100% sustainably caught seafood for all their products, placing environmental health as the top priority. …
Kettle & Fire
Paleo enthusiast Justin Mares was searching for a bone broth to help his brother Nick heal from an ACL tear in 2013. Online offerings were limited: non-organic, shipped with styrofoam, frozen. So he and Nick set out to develop their own recipe, and Kettle & Fire was born. They combine marrow bones with vegetables and filtered water in steel kettles. …
Piment d’Ville
Krissy Scommegna and Gideon Burdick traded life in Boston for a farm in Boonville, CA where Krissy started Piment d’Ville in 2012. Piment d’Ville is a Renegade Certified farm that produces hard to find chile powders, and offers better pay and working conditions than conventional farms. Krissy and Gideon also founded the Boonville Barn Collective to run farming and marketing …
Katz Farm
After a serendipitous trip to Italy, restaurateurs Albert & Kim Katz moved their family to Napa and helped launch the olive oil renaissance in California in the 90’s. Together with their partner, Jim Parr, they began growing organic olives in the historic Suisun Valley. Today the Katz’s offerings include award winning olive oils, artisan vinegars and honey. Truly top of …