Terry Frishman. Founder of Culinest
Terry is an inspiration and a mentor. I look up to her and admire her intelligence, business acumen and absolute love for life and food. If you’re passionate about starting a food business, or need help profitably growing one – reach out to her via Terry@Culinest.com! She loves helping aspiring and established food entrepreneurs successfully move forward, and making their professional dreams a reality.
You can also reach her on her Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn feeds.
She has helped everyone from artisanal chocolatiers and jam makers, to vegan cheese and burger producers, and worked with just about every food category, including ice cream, seafood and meat to empanadas, crepes and soul food.
She is an MBA, Columbia Business School graduate, Founder, Culinest – a boutique food consultancy and educator, with over 20 years of experience helping entrepreneurs strengthen their concepts and move their businesses forward with strategic and tactical assistance. She began her food career managing a $120 million brand and launching a profitable-within-1-year $20 million product line for Kraft General Foods, Through Culinest, she takes food businesses to the next level with consulting and education. Aspiring entrepreneurs and established companies successfully launch and grow their food businesses — with her brainstorming, strategy, branding and marketing, as well as research, PR and sales.
Terry was Sarabeth’s International Sales Manager, launched all the products and recent cookbook for Sylvia’s Soul Food restaurant in Harlem, helped Crepini with their initial concept and quality focus, guided Chocolat Moderne through launch and on several occasions since then, as well as worked with Nuchas Empanadas and The Lobster Place as well as taught thousands more.
She’s in the Culinary Institute of America’s Society of Fellows, has been a repeat guest speaker on Food Network, for the Specialty Food Association and the International Restaurant Show, and regularly teach food business classes at the Institute of Culinary Education, Natural Gourmet Institute for Food & Health, New School University Food Studies… plus elsewhere… She was President of the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice (NY) and VP for both the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance and the International Wine & Food Society (NY).
In short she is a true gem and I’m very lucky to have met her.
Below she shares her secret ingredient and the 3 brands she has worked with and loves.
Terry’s Secret Ingredient:
I especially love how cinnamon sticks subtly enhance tomato sauces, “barking” up the flavor…My Puttanesca Pasta Sauce (vegetarian for my daughter Becca) — with freshly-sliced garlic sauteed in good olive oil, crushed San Marzano tomatoes, either chili peppers or crushed red pepper, and last-minute-added small capers and pitted Nicoise olives — wouldn’t be the same without it!
Tip 1: Everything is better with freshly-grated aged parmesan cheese on it!
Tip 2: Try bronze die cut pastas for that extra toothiness and sauce-gripping wow. I like Brooklyn’s Sfoglini or two Italian brands (Pastificio Faella or Pasta Martelli) imported and available through the wonderful Bronx-based importer of “Italy’s Best Foods” – Gustiamo.
Left is a photo with Gustiamo’s team in front of great graffiti – recently taken near their Bronx office!
Yu Puffs Coconut Oil and Flax Seed Yucca :
Dani and Kurt – a great husband-wife team; she’s from Brazil – make this classic Brazilian product. Plain yucca puffs are traditionally served with coffee back in Brazil; Yu Puffs takes that formula and kicks the flavors up a notch, in true American snack-food tradition. Deliciously light and crunchy, this addictive yucca-based snack is also gluten-and-dairy free. My absolute favorite? The coconut oil & flax seed flavor. Once you start, you truly cannot stop.
Sarabeth’s Orange and Apricot Marmalade:
My very first client – I’ve always loved their products. Their Orange-Apricot Marmalade is Oprah’s favorite, and mine too! It’s won many awards…. and I loved selling it when I was their International Sales Manager. Tangy, deeply-flavored and perfect on everything.
303 Salsas Piky Lux Salsa:
Mexican chef Julio Mora of Cantina Royal in Brooklyn crafts an extensive line of incredible salsas. Rather than aim for just spice, he blends complex aromas, textures and tastes that, as Julio puts it, give you a lot of “action in the mouth”. My favorite is always changing, but I’m partial to the deep red color and garlicky heat of the Piky Lux salsa.
I especially love how cinnamon sticks subtly enhance tomato sauces, “barking” up the flavor…My Puttanesca Pasta Sauce (vegetarian for my daughter Becca) — with freshly-sliced garlic sauteed in good olive oil, crushed San Marzano tomatoes, either chili peppers or crushed red pepper, and last-minute-added small capers and pitted Nicoise olives — wouldn’t be the same without it!
Tip 1: Everything is better with freshly-grated aged parmesan cheese on it!
Tip 2: Try bronze die cut pastas for that extra toothiness and sauce-gripping wow. I like Brooklyn’s Sfoglini or two Italian brands (Pastificio Faella or Pasta Martelli) imported and available through the wonderful Bronx-based importer of “Italy’s Best Foods” – Gustiamo.
Left is a photo with Gustiamo’s team in front of great graffiti – recently taken near their Bronx office!
Dani and Kurt – a great husband-wife team; she’s from Brazil – make this classic Brazilian product. Plain yucca puffs are traditionally served with coffee back in Brazil; Yu Puffs takes that formula and kicks the flavors up a notch, in true American snack-food tradition. Deliciously light and crunchy, this addictive yucca-based snack is also gluten-and-dairy free. My absolute favorite? The coconut oil & flax seed flavor. Once you start, you truly cannot stop.
Sarabeth’s Orange and Apricot Marmalade:
My very first client – I’ve always loved their products. Their Orange-Apricot Marmalade is Oprah’s favorite, and mine too! It’s won many awards…. and I loved selling it when I was their International Sales Manager. Tangy, deeply-flavored and perfect on everything.
303 Salsas Piky Lux Salsa:
Mexican chef Julio Mora of Cantina Royal in Brooklyn crafts an extensive line of incredible salsas. Rather than aim for just spice, he blends complex aromas, textures and tastes that, as Julio puts it, give you a lot of “action in the mouth”. My favorite is always changing, but I’m partial to the deep red color and garlicky heat of the Piky Lux salsa.
My very first client – I’ve always loved their products. Their Orange-Apricot Marmalade is Oprah’s favorite, and mine too! It’s won many awards…. and I loved selling it when I was their International Sales Manager. Tangy, deeply-flavored and perfect on everything.
Mexican chef Julio Mora of Cantina Royal in Brooklyn crafts an extensive line of incredible salsas. Rather than aim for just spice, he blends complex aromas, textures and tastes that, as Julio puts it, give you a lot of “action in the mouth”. My favorite is always changing, but I’m partial to the deep red color and garlicky heat of the Piky Lux salsa.
