Ice Cream, Bread, Chocolate and More: Looking Back at the Past Year of The Deligram
The Deligram is an ode to the artisanal food makers of New York. Ever since we launched in March 2021, we’ve met so many inspiring talents, including those behind some of the best chocolate we’ve ever had, the most thoughtful bread we’ve ever eaten, the ice cream we dream about, the fermented beverages that made us re-think what tea could be, and so many more. This week, we’re doing something different by sharing our story of how we decided to launch The Deligram, what we’ve learned from the makers we’ve featured so far, and what’s next for us. On behalf of our ever-growing team, we hope you enjoy, and have a happy, healthy new year!
Anna Polonsky, founder of Polonsky & Friends and co-founder of The Deligram: My love of food started with my dad, who is an incredible, product-obsessed cook and a true historian of restaurants and food. Growing up, he would always take me to markets in France, and that appreciation of artisanal goods has been a part of me ever since. My husband and I always loved to cook but like most New Yorkers, and because it's my job to understand food industry trends, we would eat out constantly. With COVID, we started to eat at home a lot more. That is when my obsession with restaurant news shifted to a fixation on food makers; their products became the spice of dining in.
Teddy Wolff, photographer and co-founder of The Deligram: I started doing the same. I’m a photographer, and I’ve always been a fairly intense home cook. During the beginning of the pandemic, I didn’t have any work, so my cooking began escalating. I was shopping from restaurant suppliers and buying things I wouldn’t otherwise, like a whole bone-in veal breast (with some help from my friend, Chef Oscar Lorenzzi of Contento, I made a blanquette de veau) and 50 lb sacks of flour (three at a time, to make pizza and bread to raise money for charity). And I knew there were so many other people - chefs and home cooks - doing the same, putting a lot of work into goods that catered towards eating at home.
AP: It was difficult to figure out who was making what, and what was good, since traditional media outlets weren’t covering this movement. I met Teddy years ago in 2015 when he photographed a project I did in the Rockaways, and knew he shared my love of under-the-radar food recommendations. So we launched The Deligram last March, in order to shine a spotlight on the many incredible food artisans of New York that we were discovering through word of mouth, Instagram and lots of research.
TW: We made this newsletter not just for foodies, but rather for everyday cooks and eaters, and for people that are just curious about what’s happening around them in their community. The issues are snapshots of people in a moment trying something. Their challenges and victories are relatable. I’m always surprised at how isolated the makers are from their peers who are doing similar things. It makes sense that makers, who are often a one-person operation, often running a business entirely out of their apartment or a small commissary kitchen, wouldn’t have a lot of support. That’s something I hope we can change. We always want our audience to be rooting for the makers.
AP: We want to keep making our content better with deeper storytelling, with more features on makers and more special issues. We’re also ready to go to the next phase: we want to launch an online platform for our readers to be able to purchase the goods we recommend directly, and we also hope to bring The Deligram community together with IRL events in New York and elsewhere.
TW: We want to be directly involved in helping to make the products of small-scale makers more accessible and convenient.
The Most Inspiring Story: Kimchi Kooks. TW
The Most Surprising Products: Unified Ferments’ teas and Hana Makgeolli’s rice wine. AP
The Product You Could Eat Every Day: Bad Habit ice creams. TW + AP
The Funniest Maker to Talk To: Danny Castañeda of Danny’s Nut Butter. TW
The Best Maker to Have Dinner With:
Lani Halliday of Brutus Bakeshop. AP
Sarah and Jonah Reider of Pith. TW
The Best Products for a Dinner Party: Unified Ferments’ Qi Dan, Cochonnerie's charcuterie, Parchment's Kubannah bread and dips, an Anti-Conquest Bread Co. boule, and Chef Nasrin Rejali's date cookies. AP
The Best Pantry Staples: Pith’s vinegars, Trade Street Jam Co.’s jams, and Pastiche’s spice blends. TW
The Best Maker on Instagram: L’Appartement 4f. AP + TW
