WENATCHEE, WA - As a pop culture junkie, my ears instantly perk up at the words meet-and-greet. Meet-and-greets are sort of like the holy grail of fandom culture, which is why I must admit I’m a little jealous of the team over at Stemilt Growers, who recently had the opportunity of meeting-and-greeting with Stemilt’s spokeschef and Seattle-based award-winning chef Ethan Stowell. Those lucky ducks!

“Bringing Chef Ethan to Stemilt was a fun treat for our team members, who work together every day to produce World Famous Fruit and uphold our mission of cultivating people and delighting consumers,” said Communications Manager Brianna Shales. “It was exciting to share Pinata® apples, a variety that everyone at Stemilt is familiar with, in a new way. And chef Ethan was a big hit with our team.”

The event, which was held last week at Stemilt’s Fresh Center headquarters, is part of an ongoing partnership between Chef Ethan and Stemilt to deepen the farm-to-table connection and showcase the versatility of the grower’s apples, according to a press release. At the event, Chef Ethan prepared and served Stemilt team members a winter salad that featured the company’s signature apple variety Pinata, Belgium endive, frisee, goat cheese, walnuts, and a simple vinaigrette dressing—and I thought I was jealous before!

“Salads are a fun departure from typical winter meals, and these particular greens have a crisp, refreshing bite that matches perfectly with the juicy and slightly tropical Pinata apple,” said Chef Ethan, pointing to the reasoning behind whipping up a healthy salad during the midst of the winter season.

In addition to his show-stopping salad, Chef Ethan had the chance to tour Stemilt and witness apple packing for the first time.

“It’s always interesting to see how the ingredients I’m using in my restaurants are produced,” said Chef Ethan, who is a self-taught cook with over 20 years of experience and has cultivated 14 restaurants in Seattle. Chef Ethan also has an ever-growing legacy that includes marks on the menus at Seattle Mariner games and charitable causes that support nutrition, women’s rights, and the homeless. “I was amazed at the precision technology used to pack apples and the extreme care that the smiling Stemilt team takes to ensure only the best apples make it to the market.”

During the event, Stemilt took to social media to keep its following in the loop with Instagram stories, Facebook posts, and even a Facebook live session that gave Chef Ethan the floor to share his Stemilt experience.

“We’re thrilled to have chef Ethan as our culinary partner this year. He’s as humble and hard-working as they come and a great fit to represent our expanding brands and proprietary varieties,” Shales concluded.

With more to come from Stemilt’s partnership with Chef Ethan, including more farm-to-table experiences, AndNowUKnow will continue to bring you the freshest stories from around the industry.

Stemilt Growers