For the past few months, we at Harvie have been slowly introducing Harvie Kitchen to our lineup of producers. Run by Jordan Mason, Operations Manager, and Katie Geise, Sourcing Manager, Harvie Kitchen will reduce food waste, promote small farmers, and offer a wider range of products to our consumers.
“I wanted to be able to offer fresh-cut cheese,” says Katie, speaking to the creation of Harvie Kitchen. “But then, pulling on that thread, we realized the kitchen opens us up to offering so many more things that we haven’t been able to: prepared foods, bulk foods, bakery options, and more.”
“I think it’s worth saying — we have Jordan,” Katie continued. “We have a person with this crazy skillset that we can build the business around. With Jordan, there’s so much potential that we’re realizing.”
Jordan comes from a long history of kitchen and culinary experience. She earned a degree at Johnson & Whales in Baking and Pastry arts and from there, moved on to lead the bakery team at Reed College. Returning to Pittsburgh, Jordan pursued her Master’s in both Food Studies and Business Administration, eventually landing at Harvie in 2020.
Leading the kitchen — with her “crazy skillset,” as Katie says — Jordan plans to use as much leftover food as possible in prepared foods and more.
“If there’s a little nick on a pumpkin and we can’t send it out or if there’s a funny-shaped zucchini, we’ll be able to take it and use it in something in the kitchen — which I think our members will value,” Jordan said.
This plays directly into the kitchen’s focus on farmers: “Often, small farmers don’t have the same ability to grow exactly the grocery store sizes, and while we donate a good amount of that, we would prefer to use those products, pay the farmers, and keep it in the cycle,” Katie explained. (In a typical grocery store, this food might never come out of the field or be thrown away.)
“For example: right now, Yarnick’s Farm is sending different-sized zucchini. We’ll be able to take the ones that aren’t the right size and turn them into zucchini bread,” she continued. The goal is to save produce that may be overlooked, wasted, or thrown away with Harvie Kitchen — through delicious food.
Jordan and Katie have already begun expanding Harvie Kitchen’s footprint in the store with bulk items like olives and pickles, fresh-cut cheeses, and holiday specials such as pie dough and cheese plates. In the future, they’re hoping to stock the Harvie shelves with prepared foods, fresh meals, deli meats, and more.
Harvie Kitchen currently operates out of Fulton Commons, a coworking kitchen in Manchester. For the upcoming holidays, Jordan has many surprises up her sleeves: cookie dough, veggie trays, cheese platters, desserts, and more!