48 min
#92 The Real Italian Experience - Cathy Whims, Nostrana Meaningful Marketplace Podcast
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- Business
Nostrana, is an Italian word, translated to English loosely means “ours”. And for the Nostrana restaurant, Portland, Oregon, “ours” means the food you are served is as fresh as can be because it has travelled the shortest distance possible. Hence it is Nostrana’s “own” production. The food is local and from the patrons’ own area, so authenticity is the restaurant’s marque. In most of Europe, markets are required to say where the produce originated, and this is Nostrana’s way of bringing that genuineness to their customers. Cathy Whims is founder and owner of Nostrana, a fixture in the community for 16 years now. And she has created not only a loyal following, she has created some dishes that have remained popular and on the menu since day one. One is the Grilled Beef Tagliata, a flat iron steak grilled and served on a bed of arugula with a garlic sauce (I think I’m getting hungry) an item always in demand. However for the rest of the menu, Cathy likes to keep things in flux so there is always something new to try and be delighted. Cathy started her culinary career as a chef because her mother was a great cook. Cathy was a vegetarian in high school and had to teach herself how to cook and share with the family. She simultaneously studied Latin in school and this gave her an affinity for the Italian language and cooking. So when she moved to Portland, she was lucky enough to get hired at Genoa, which at the time was an exclusive, special occasion, Northern Italian cuisine restaurant with a huge following. People were served a seven-course meal with a few choices and every item was premium. The experience of seven years as a cook culminated with Cathy becoming one of the owners and that evolved into a 20-year love affair with her dream job and dream business. She learned so much about Italian food and about local sourcing, especially the local wine. She became the buyer and began getting to know the Italian wine representatives, who urged her to come visit Italy as their guest. This gave her a great understanding of real Italian food and pure, simple Italian ingredients. Her knowledge base now greatly expanded, Cathy decided to follow her passion and create and serve real Italian food in a casual, relaxed atmosphere and that is exactly the Nostrana experience.
"Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall
We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland.
Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil
Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design
Website was designed by Cameron Grimes
Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster
10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes
Nostrana, is an Italian word, translated to English loosely means “ours”. And for the Nostrana restaurant, Portland, Oregon, “ours” means the food you are served is as fresh as can be because it has travelled the shortest distance possible. Hence it is Nostrana’s “own” production. The food is local and from the patrons’ own area, so authenticity is the restaurant’s marque. In most of Europe, markets are required to say where the produce originated, and this is Nostrana’s way of bringing that genuineness to their customers. Cathy Whims is founder and owner of Nostrana, a fixture in the community for 16 years now. And she has created not only a loyal following, she has created some dishes that have remained popular and on the menu since day one. One is the Grilled Beef Tagliata, a flat iron steak grilled and served on a bed of arugula with a garlic sauce (I think I’m getting hungry) an item always in demand. However for the rest of the menu, Cathy likes to keep things in flux so there is always something new to try and be delighted. Cathy started her culinary career as a chef because her mother was a great cook. Cathy was a vegetarian in high school and had to teach herself how to cook and share with the family. She simultaneously studied Latin in school and this gave her an affinity for the Italian language and cooking. So when she moved to Portland, she was lucky enough to get hired at Genoa, which at the time was an exclusive, special occasion, Northern Italian cuisine restaurant with a huge following. People were served a seven-course meal with a few choices and every item was premium. The experience of seven years as a cook culminated with Cathy becoming one of the owners and that evolved into a 20-year love affair with her dream job and dream business. She learned so much about Italian food and about local sourcing, especially the local wine. She became the buyer and began getting to know the Italian wine representatives, who urged her to come visit Italy as their guest. This gave her a great understanding of real Italian food and pure, simple Italian ingredients. Her knowledge base now greatly expanded, Cathy decided to follow her passion and create and serve real Italian food in a casual, relaxed atmosphere and that is exactly the Nostrana experience.
"Masoni and Marshall the meaningful Marketplace" with your hosts Sarah Masoni and Sarah Marshall
We record the "the Meaningful Marketplace" inside NedSpace in the Bigfoot Podcast Studio in beautiful downtown Portland.
Audio engineer, mixer and podcast editor is Allon Beausoleil
Show logo was designed by Anton Kimball of Kimball Design
Website was designed by Cameron Grimes
Production assistant is Chelsea Lancaster
10% of gross revenue at Startup Radio Network goes to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries thru kiva.org/lender/markgrimes
48 min