It took a very simple twist of fate for Katie Das, owner/founder of Das Foods, to get to where she is today. Katie began her company in 2006 as a way of showcasing her gourmet cooking and finishing salts. Soon after, she was invited to participate...

There’s nothing like fresh beer from just up the road especially when its produced by the very capable hands of the good people at Half Acre Beer Co. here in Chicago. If you’ve never visited their brewery and tasting room out in the Northcenter...

We couldn’t be more thrilled to host Matt and Clare of Quince & Apple in Chicago this upcoming weekend for the 1st Annual Pastoral Artisan Producer Festival. Together they produce some of the most unique and delicious small batch preserves in...

Well, its down to the homestretch for the 1st Annual Pastoral Artisan Producer Festival on Saturday, April 30th. We sure hope that you’ve cleared your day on Saturday so you can come down to the Chicago French Market and taste fantastic foods from...

Plenty of people are coming from far and wide to present at the 1st Annual Pastoral Artisan Producer Festival but we’re lucky enough here in Chicago to call Sweet Margy one of our hometown favorites. The self-crowned “Confection Diva” mixes up all...

Today we’ll travel to see how one of our favorite standby cheeses, Prairie Breeze, is made at the Milton Creamery by Rufus & Jane Musser in Milton, Iowa. It’s the least we could do since they’ll be paying us a visit to meet all of you good...

What more needs to be said about Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, WI? I mean…Pleasant Ridge Reserve, their cheese made in the French alpine style (ex. Comte), has been named BEST CHEESE IN AMERICA! Winner of Best in Show at the American Cheese...

With less than 2 weeks to go before the 1st Annual Pastoral Artisan Producer Festival, our first Artisan Focus of the week is devoted to Potter’s Crackers from Wisconsin.

This mother/son team of Nancy and Peter Potter have combined their passion...

Of the 14 cheesemakers joining us for the 1st Annual Pastoral Artisan Producer Festival on April 30th, Sweetgrass Dairy is from one of the more unlikely regions of the country. I mean, did you know there was such great cheese being made in South...

In the days that remain before the big event, we encourage you to return to our blog to acquaint yourself with some of the wonderful individuals and products that we will be showcasing.

Today we feature photos from our favorite Illinois...

As you may have heard, we have a very exciting event that is rapidly approaching…

The 1st Annual Pastoral Aristan Producer Festival is taking place on Saturday, April 30th from 11AM-3PM at the Chicago French Market (131 N.Clinton).

This will be...

Hello all! We are chock full of brand new cheeses here at Pastoral and want to go ahead and introduce you to some of our recent arrivals in the cheese case. Let’s start with some fun facts about 6 of these cheeses and we’ll go from there!

Up in...