When buying local in Seattle means you can get gadgets that change the world (Chef’n, Seattle)

See these Pepperballs?

One year I think we received five of them for Christmas.

FIVE.

And I never even knew that they were homegrown in my city.

Thanks to a field-trip I took at the International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle, we visited the Chef’n headquarters where a bunch of fellow food bloggers and I got to see where so many of the products that rule our kitchens are born.

This is one of my favorite reasons why I love being a blogger.  I have met so many interesting people in my city and beyond.  I feel like I know the pulse of Seattle and why so many things are the way they are.  I love talking with people from all over the world who write the stories I read and make the things that I buy.  And it is definitely mind-blowing when I find out something I see all over the world and recognize, comes from my city and I didn’t even know it.

Like Chef’n.

I love their products.  The Pepperball, the garlic machine, a little magical tool that takes the green stems out of strawberries called a Stem Gem (and now I can make that Santa Claus strawberry recipe that blew up my Pinterest last year) and a mechanical pulley-driven-food processor called a Veggie Chop that I have to buy because it will help my kids WANT to help me in the kitchen.

And not only did we get to see how they are invented, but we met the founder, CEO and inventor of Chef’n, David Holcomb, and heard the story of how his company came to be while he made us salsa on the rooftop of his headquarters.  He talked a lot about his luck in creating this business but clearly he is a fast-thinker who works hard and doesn’t give up.

This made me think of my kids and all their paper, glue and popsicle stick inventions.

It seems that creative play is the stuff that companies like Chef’n are made of and where innovation thrives.  And I really appreciate that.  I like to think that the things I use in my kitchen come from a place filled with love.

I am so thankful for my time at Chef’n and hearing all the stories behind the gadgets will make me endeared to them for years to come and it was one of the highlights of the International Food Blogger’s Conference for me.

(PS. while we were at Chef’n we ate some some delicious food and I was so glad to see they used bio-degradeable plates.  I love how environmentally conscious Seattle companies can be!)

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)