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Warehouse of
Earthly Delights BY ALICIA AHN Everyone knows that aioli--the simple but decadent emulsion of eggs, oil, lemon juice and garlic--is supposed to be white. Back in 1993, when a batch of aioli he was making at Zefiro kept turning brown, Joe Guth knew the solution was better olive oil, and he knew of a company in California that could ship good oil to Portland. He recalls stopping in at La Catalana for customary "conversation and day-old bread" with friend Tom Kooiman, who was then cooking at the Southeast Portland restaurant. Kooiman offered to lend a hand unpacking the first shipment of olive oil, and Provvista Specialty Foods was launched. Over the next five years, Guth and Kooiman became the importers of choice for some of Portland's finest restaurants, bakeries and gourmet stores. You can drive by their colorful warehouse on Northeast Alberta Street, fantasize about what's inside, even line up outside the security gate and crane your neck for a peek inside--but sadly, you won't get in. Provvista Specialty Foods remains firm in its original commitment to wholesale, delivering the highest quality products to restaurants and retail stores only. But Guth and Kooiman graciously let me see their stash, and there wasn't even a vow of silence to sign. I'll happily spill the beans on what's inside, because just touring the place is an education in itself. My tour begins at the West Wall, home to bulk pastas, rice and olive oils. Kooiman, my guide, stops to talk about Italian short-grain rice. Provvista organizes them by starch content from the least starchy baldo to mid-range arborio and vialone nano (the most common risotto rice) to carnaroli. The carnaroli, Kooiman says, is considered to be the best quality; thanks to the high starch content, each grain retains more of its integrity, not turning to mush. The Central Aisle comprises shelf after shelf of the best canned tomatoes at one end and a sea of olives at the other. Kooiman is telling me about these particular olives, from the Fresh Olive Company of Provence (something about "green and dark olives marinated in mint, basil, lemon or herbes de Provence"), but I'm not listening. I've spotted a fantastically large jar of Cerignolas and I am fantasizing about how to smuggle it out. The East Aisle: peppers, vinegar, oils, nuts and more pasta. French vinegars imported by Kimberley Vinegars of California range from the classic red wine and Champagne varieties to tarragon, herbes de Provence and even a walnut vinegar. Cory Schreiber of Wildwood Restaurant is one of their biggest fans; they enhance the flavors of many of the dishes that emerge from the Wildwood kitchen. Kooiman climbs up a ladder to show me the revered products on the top shelf: Rustichella d'Abruzzo pastas. In their plain brown packaging, they look rustic, and because the company uses only the highest quality grains and air-dries each batch, they're head and shoulders above the rest. There's garganelli, the shape used for the timpano in Big Night, and oricchete, each one bearing a dried impression--the fingerprint of the person who hand-shaped it. In the cold storage area we sample dried tart cherries from Michigan, unwrap an entire untouched wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano and fondle a gorgeous jamon Serrano (a product which, before last March, was not allowed into the United States). Cured Italian-style sausages and prosciutto di Parma hang from the ceiling. The cheese inventory demonstrates great examples of sheep, goat and cow's milk cheeses: pecorino; chevre; Queso San Simon (a smoked cow's milk cheese that comes in a shapely package); dry Monterey jack from Sonoma's Vella Cheese Company (aged for 18 months in a simple rind of cocoa powder, oil and black pepper); and even a wine-soaked goat's milk cheese. Guth turns modest when I ask him about the praise coming from some of the city's top chefs. Some claim Provvista has changed food in Portland. "It's not really true!" he says. "We just really taste things. We have this really narrow niche, and it is what we love." Reflecting on the company's relationship with the restaurants and gourmet food stores in the city, Guth says, "We just really want to take care of them." And by taking care of them, Provvista is taking good care of us as well.
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