#rick's picks

[fuckyeahricknielsen]

[ricks-picks-blog]

Welcome to Tumblr, Rick's Picks Customers

Rick's Picks has finally arrived to tumblr where we will post all our latest products and promotions.

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Stiff Competition!

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Guess who went to Rick's Picks today!

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15 Minutes with Rick Field

Rick’s Picks began making pickles from locally-sourced, seasonable vegetables back in 2004. Since then, the business has grown to become a nationally-recognised brand known for its original and eclectic take on this traditional and humble foodstuff.

We’ve been selling a range of those pickles at Beer Table Pantry (our Manhattan Location) since the store first opened and will soon be hosting two pickle-centered events at both Beer Table locations. So with that in mind one of our hard-working employees, Chris George, took the opportunity to dig a little deeper and sit down with Rick’s Picks founder and CEO, Rick Field, at his Lower East Side offices.

So Rick, why pick pickles?

For me, making pickles started as a family activity, something that we really enjoyed doing in the summertime when I was a child in Vermont. I found myself missing the process of making and eating pickles when I was working in TV in New York. The thing about making pickles is the barrier to entry is very low, all you really need is a couple of pots, so I figured I could make those family recipes again, and that’s where it all started. After a time, I began to branch out and experiment and I wound up with some interesting and out of the ordinary things, plus some miserable failures of course! And that’s how the whole thing started.

When you were starting up back in 2004, how easy was it to find the quality ingredients required to make a really good product?

There was a notable shift when I switched from doing it for fun, from what I would describe as ‘high-end amateur’, to doing it professionally. I maintained a lot of my relationships with the producers I was already using because my quantities were not that great at the start, but what I started to discover was that farmers, particularly in the north-east where land is harder to come by, typically grow only what they can expect to sell and command a high price for. So although I could get all the beans I needed from a greenmarket farmer, I’d still be paying retail price. That’s not so important when you’re buying 3 pounds of beans but when you’re buying 300 pounds it becomes a deal-breaker!

Also, over the next couple of years I began to forge relationships with farmers who were more specialized and each one of these folks had a couple of key things we were looking for. Firstly, they could provide the volume that we needed, but they understood some of the product specifications as well. For example, a string bean that is more than 4 inches long is unhelpful to me because a jar is exactly 4 inches tall. And if it’s curly it’s no good which means you don’t want to get the first ones of the season when they’re really young, and you don’t want to get them at the end of the season when they’re all big and gnarly, so there’s a sweet spot we go for right in the middle of that time frame. Otherwise I may as well be burning $100 bills!

When you’re coming up with new recipes is it a difficult birth process, or do you have more ideas than you know what to do with?

I think it’s a difficult birth process because, once you have a company, you need to have new recipes that meet a certain criterion which they didn’t need to when you were just doing it for fun. The ingredients have to be distinctive in relation to what you have already, I mean, there’s no point in making a pickle with smoked paprika when we already have ‘Smokra’ (smoked okra) which is really popular, there’s no point in doubling down on that. And then you have to look at things through what I call ‘the prism of scalability’. And this is:

‘What happens if people really like this? ‘ ‘Is this something I can practically make a million jars of?’ ‘Is this something I can make a decent amount of money from?’

There are a lot of people who have gone down in flames making stuff and losing money on every jar, and then there are other people making incredibly intricate things that could never be scaled beyond a small batch. What I try to do is preserve the small batch mindset whilst trying to make something that can be brought to a large group of people.

A lot of businesses suffer with growing pains. Do you think you’ve managed to grow the business without sacrificing quality?

You know, I’m very proud of the way we’ve been able to retain what I call our ‘artisan core values’ while at the same time becoming a national, and now international, business. I have a lot of pride around what I think has been a successful run whilst keeping all those values.

Is that borne of a specific business philosophy?

Well, I didn’t go to business school and most of my training on the food side has been learning through doing. If I have a philosophy it would be a philosophy of confidence. What I mean by that is any time we need a decision to be made we build a fixed and decisive set of ideas around whatever the issue is, don’t take too long doing it, and then make a decision based on that. Then we live with that and trust that 85% of those decisions are going to be good, and the 15% that aren’t good are things that we can learn from, that aren’t going to put us out of business… I mean 90-100% would be great but that just ain’t realistic!

Has it been easy or hard to get where you are today? Did you have any expectations?

I would say that the process of becoming a professional pickler was a slow evolution. I didn’t really set out to conquer the world one pickle at a time but there is a tipping point where you go from a place where there are no consequences and you have a safety net, to a place where there are consequences and you’ve lost that safety net. The advice I always give people when they reach that tipping point is that there is no such thing as half-stepping. You’re either completely in it or not, and as a result I’m a raging insomniac and have been for 8 years. You know, I used to think my TV job was stressful, but that was a walk in the park, man! Compared to now and ‘Where’s the truck with all the beets?!’

What are your thoughts on the New York food scene?

There is the specific New York food scene and then there is the larger American food scene. I sometimes think that the current local scene is too intense and self-referential and engages a little too much in navel-gazing, although having said that it’s hard to remember any time when there was so much dynamic creativity, innovation and great options at every turn. I mean, I just moved into Red Hook and there are five or six places that I’d never even heard of and I’m, like, ‘Damn, I gotta check those out!’

I think what’s interesting on a national level is that although we still have a tremendous problem with things like eating habits, obesity and choice around food, I think that messages that are being carried by things like greenmarkets and retailers like Beer Table regarding quality and health are beginning to resonate with a wider audience. And now we are finding ourselves victims of our own success. Things like greenmarket numbers are down from a high in 2007, and that’s because people have more choices about where to acquire our stuff, and other brands that come along and nip at our heels.

So what do you think the future holds for Rick’s Picks?

I’m hoping that in 5 years we can sell the business to a soulless multinational and I can retire and have a band called ‘The Artificial Hips’! But seriously, it’s hard to say where this is going to lead. There are a lot of stakeholders in the company, people who work here, people who have committed money, and I’d like to see everybody realize a successful result and feel good about the time and effort that they’ve put into it. But what that means specifically is an evolving concept and time will tell.

And finally, any regrets?

No, not at all! I do have a secret movie idea that the world definitely needs to see one of these days. But I’m keeping that one under wraps for now.

- Chris George If you'd like to try some of Rick's amazing Picks, be sure to stop by Beer Table Pantry on February 11th for a chance to taste some of his delicious preserved produce as well as meet the pickler himself.

Or if pickling sounds like something you might be interested in yourself, don't miss out on the opportunity to learn from the master! Beer Table in Brooklyn will play host to an in-depth pickling class the following night, February 12th.

To learn more about both events, visit: http://www.beertable.com/

For more information about Rick’s Picks, visit: http://rickspicksnyc.com/

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Bespoke Post Cocktail: The Healer

Our friends at Bespoke Post are including Rick's Picks Smokra in this month's "Box of Awesome".  Check out the delicious cocktail recipe made from our Smokra brine that was included on their website!

The Healer (aka Smoky Burb) I now know that I can be stranded on a desert island with a bottle of bourbon, and a jar of Smokra! Everything will be just fine (until I'm rescued!)!  Imagine: The modestly spicy love child of a dirty martini, and a whiskey sour. Keeper! Recipe makes 1 cocktail. double. triple. it all works out well! 3 oz Buffalo Trace Kentucky Bourbon 1 Jar of Rick's Picks Smokra, drained, pickled okra and brine reserved separately 1 1/2 oz of Rick's Picks Smokra brine with smoked paprika well blended zest of 1/2 lemon 1 oz lemon juice 1 oz grade A maple syrup Ice Shaker Small Mesh Strainer Fill cocktail shaker with ice. Add bourbon, Smokra brine (be sure to get all the good smoked paprika bits), maple syrup, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass using fine mesh strainer. Garnish with Smokra, halves.

http://bespokepost.com/

http://bespokepost.com/articles/smoky-burb/

[musicsnobs]

RICK'S PICKS EXHIBITION

Rockford, Illinois loves its own, especially one of its favorite sons, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick. It has so much pride in Rick that the Burpee Museum of Natural History has just dedicated 5,000 sq. ft to an exhibit of all things Rick, 'Rick's Picks' which will be on exhibit until next April.

The idea was pitched to Rick about a year ago when someone on the board of directors (a Cheap Trick fan) approached Rick about the possibility of displaying some of his guitars in the museum.  It soon became a reality, and Rick has plenty of his own clothes, videos, records, photos, fan letters and more all on display from his very own treasure chest.  It is a weighty exhibit, taking in everything from Rick's birth, to his lawnmowers and car and even personal letters written to his dad.  Of course, the main focus is on Cheap Trick.

Nielsen is known for his guitars and his pick flinging.  it is nearly impossible to see Cheap Trick and not grab one of his flying picks.  The exhibit actually has Rick's first custom pick and a selection of his different designs over the years...even a brand new one custom made for the exhibit.  He also has 72 guitars on display, showing off some of his favorites and ones with great sentimental value.  One oddity is a 63 telecaster which Rick had used in recording with John Lennon on his 'Double Fantasy' album.  sadly, after his death, Yoko thanked Rick and returned the guitar to him.

There is also a special section dedicated to the fans of Japan and letters exchanged, dolls sent and other figurines sent to their rock and roll heroes in Illinois.  No doubt, Japan is a special place for Cheap Trick, as their 'Live at Budokan' introduced them to the world.

Rockford may not be an ideal place to visit, or within reach for everyone, however...if you have the chance, it is sure worth the visit to see this massive exhibit of one of America's greatest bands ever. (Not to mention you get to see loads of Rick's famous sweaters and photos of him and his favorite rock stars!)

'Rick's Picks' is on until April 2013.  More info and tickets here.