There are certain things we value in our friends--cocktail-making skills, good taste in music, the ability to be the life of the party, etc. But what we're really into are friends who are down with sustainability, just like we are. Good thing we paired with the crew behind Stag Dining Group for our San Francisco launch. Not only are they skilled event planners trying to bring back the fun in dining, they're also all about local, organic, and sustainable eats. Read on to see how they're staying green and shaking up the SF scene with their "clandestine dining" concept. Pretty sure we're gonna like our new home in SF.
Kanon Vodka: When working on a pairing menu with cocktails, what is the step by step process like?
Stag Dining: We look to create the food menu first because of the seasonality of the ingredients. From there we work with Cocktail Lab to develop pairings that complement or contrast from the flavor profiles of each course.
KV: What are some of the craziest pairings you guys have ever put together?
SD: The Bacon Powder Deconstructed Martini that was used for the Kanon event is my vote. It was paired with the smoked oyster and crab chowder. It was an epiphany type moment in which you can really experience how incredible a well paired course can be.
KV: You guys describe your events as "clandestine dinners"––what exactly does that mean?
SD: Our Clandestine Dinner Series has been our signature event series to date. These occur on a monthly basis, and we have developed themes for each of these dining events like the cocktail-paired Speakeasy Dinner, Summer Solstice Intervention Dinner and our Celebration of Soul dinner with Aloe Blacc. The clandestine aspect of the dinner is that each time they take place in a different location and diners don't know of the location until the morning of the event; it gives a sense of adventure to the dining experience. Additionally, this secretive nature is conducive to socializing with other diners, and we really try to emphasize the community and social aspect of food that so often gets lost at restaurants. At our dinners you are on a journey and you get to interact with a lot of great people though the course of the evening.
KV: As an organic, sustainable vodka, we love that you guys place a focus on sustainability in your events. What are the challenges and rewards that come with that in your business?
SD: The rewards are obvious. We work with superior products that support businesses that take the environment into consideration. We have a shared philosophy with the communities that we work with and source these ingredients. There is a special bond that develops and you feel good about what you are creating. It gives us peace of mind and our diners love this element of our dinners as well.
The challenges are many. Our sourcing philosophy incorporates local, sustainable, organic and Fair Trade products. This framework helps us, but challenges still exist. Sometimes you have to make a decision about a local product vs an organic one and weigh the options. Certification for organic products has also become a challenge for a lot of farmers. We are seeing an emerging amount of farmers that are in the process of certification or doing the same things that a certified farm would do but they don't care about the endorsement.
I think what we do really well with our model is make each event emit zero waste. Because each event is ticketed and we know how many people are attending, we can plan our portions precisely so there is no excess waste; in the food industry that is very rare. We also set up a recycling and composting infrastructure in each place we hold events.
KV: What are your favorite aspects about San Francisco's dining and bar scene?
SD: The dining and bar scene is creative, supportive and it is a community. It is reflective of the spirit of the city which draws its unique inhabitants from all over the world. There is a culture of excellence in the food industry here as well; people take pride in their work. The underground food scene is also incredibly vibrant in San Francisco and it is where you are seeing a lot of innovation with pop-ups, supper clubs, and underground farmer's markets that are changing the way people experience and interact with food.
KV: If you could use one word to describe the spirit of San Francisco, what would it be?
SD: Eclectic.
Photo courtesy of Patricia Chang.
