It seems Phoenixville Farmers’ Market customers have found one of their favorite new vendors of the season—LOST Gourmet. LOST Gourmet (local, organic, sustainable and traditional) offers healthy and convenient packaged meals to serve for dinner or compliment other market purchases.
Olga Sorzano’s upbringing in Siberia only included traditional foods and she was introduced to fast or processed foods when she came to the US 11 years ago. Olga was a chef in the restaurant industry for 16 years and was looking for a change of pace. She created a gourmet personal chef service, but wanted to make gourmet foods more accessible. After that, she decided to launch a new business venture, LOST Gourmet, at the beginning of this farmer’s market season in May.
“I was always into organic foods and when I had my children I found when I don’t cook, I can’t find a healthy alternative. I would always feel guilty,” said Sorzano. “I thought ‘wouldn’t it be great to make the food made from local and organic ingredients? You are doing a good thing for the world and you.’ ”
The menu for LOST Gourmet is seasonally-based and changes weekly. Each dish boasts a balance of flavor and nutrition. A few of Olga’s recent creations has included chilled cucumber soup, tomato basil compound butter, strawberry rhubarb shrub (a colonial beverage, which offers a refreshing healthy boost), quinoa and wild rice salad and veggie hummus. Many of LOST Gourmet’s meals are vegan or vegetarian. Everything is gluten-free. LOST Gourmet is also available for catering through the winter months. They use frozen and fermented items from this summer’s harvest.
Olga takes pride in the fact that her foods are perishable. Most have a shelf life of seven to ten days (no preservatives or artificial flavors are found in her cooking). She only uses produce grown organically and grass-fed humanely raised meats from local sources (Green Meadow Farm, Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-Op to name two).
Sorzano’s meals are the epitome of freshness. She prepares her meals for the market within days of taking fresh delivery from the farm. All meals are made either the day before or the day of pickup. Every LOST Gourmet dish comes in a mason jar which can be returned for a dollar credit. Olga chooses preparation methods that provide maximum health benefits. She prefers lacto-fermentation over canning, butter over refined oils, and unrefined sugar instead of artificial sweeteners.
A visit to the LOST Gourmet booth at the farmers market is more than a way to pick up great meals for the office, home or to share with guests—it’s an educational experience. Their menu enables people to try foods they may have heard about but didn’t know how to use. Olga and her right-hand woman Anne are always willing to talk about the recipes, local foods, health tips, anything to do with organics. They enjoy getting to know their customers.
Every week, their creative menu is sent out in their newsletter (click here to sign up) on Tuesday. Customers may place their orders until Thursday at 9 p.m. Pre-orders can be picked up at their kitchen in West Chester on Fridays from 4:30-6:00 p.m. or at the Phoenixville Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings. LOST Gourmet dishes are in high demand, so it is highly recommended that you pre-order.
In addition to feeding and educating the people of Phoenixville, Olga is looking to create a community around the lost art of traditional cooking with wholesome ingredients and healthy methods.
She will be leading a series of cooking classes at ACAC on August 1, 15, and 29 at 6 p.m. For more information about her mouthwatering events and menus, visit their Facebook page. LOST Gourmet refuses to use anything your great grandmother would not recognize, so go back to your roots, one meal at a time with LOST Gourmet.
