Chris Kirby from Ithaca Craft Hummus
This week in Lost + Found we had a chat with Chris Kirby, owner of Ithaca Craft Hummus. After launching in Ithaca, New York, this all-natural hummus company has expanded to multiple states. Their fresh, simple products have been popping up on shelves everywhere from small food co-ops to Wegmans. Check out their website at ithacascoldcrafted.com, give them a follow on social media, and get your hands on some delicious hummus.
Tell us a little about Ithaca Craft Hummus. Any news or updates you would like to share?
Ithaca Craft Hummus launched at the Ithaca Farmers Market five and a half years ago. We are getting ready to make an adjustment to our packaging design. Our name is going to change from Ithaca Cold Crafted to Ithaca Craft Hummus. As we look to expand our distribution, we have found while the “cold crafted” part was unique, it was also a bit confusing to people unfamiliar with our product. So in August we’ll be launching some new packaging.
Another update is that we have expanded from our original base in Ithaca, New York. We now have an office in Rochester, New York where we manufacture our products. We have a presence in New York City, and I personally have moved to Raleigh, North Carolina. One of our goals this year is to support more Ithaca and Finger Lakes-related organizations, projects and events. It’s a big goal for us in the second half of 2019, so that’s something for readers in the Finger Lakes region to look for.
What other food or local eateries are you enjoying at the moment?
I love the Ithaca Farmers Market. I spent two years there as a vendor. As a chef, I loved access to fresh, local items—produce, meats, dairy, all that good stuff. My food destination in Ithaca is always the Farmers Market. Beyond that, one of my favorite places to eat in Ithaca is Saigon Kitchen. Their Pho is among the best I’ve ever had. I love any type of broth-based soup. I make it myself and I certainly can’t get it to taste as good as Saigon Kitchen.
Do you have a favorite local beverage?
I love South Hill Cider. They make cider with heirloom apples and they name their juices after each apple varietal. It’s a cool way to do it because you’re tasting a number of different types of apples with each cider. I love the beverage for sure, but I also love the transparency of seeing the different apples and knowing each one is going to be different from the last. It’s a perfectly imperfect idea.
What is your favorite outdoor activity to do around the Finger Lakes?
My wife and I have a dog, so we love to take Joey out on the trails, hiking the gorges. He’s a pitbull but he’s a huge sweet heart. We got him in Ithaca when he was just six weeks old.
What is one of the best kept secrets in the Finger Lakes?
I’m gonna say Keuka Lake. We used to do the Penn Yan Farmers Market and I would always pass by Keuka Lake on the drive from Penn Yan back to Ithaca. There’s just something about it that attracted me. Maybe it even seemed more lively because it’s smaller than Seneca and Cayuga Lake. I would encourage people who haven’t been there to check it out. There’s a convenience store called The Olney Place on Keuka. They sell beer you can drink in the back. It’s a great place to hang out.
Photo: Ithaca Craft Hummus
Lost + Found is a series of short, standardized Q+A interviews with people involved in the Finger Lakes community. We sit down with the seekers, artisans, crafts people, and enthusiasts of the region, searching for food & drink, entertainment, culture, nature – everything that makes The Finger Lakes great. We invite you to get lost with us, and maybe find yourself along the way.
