In the months to come, New Englanders can enjoy the many flavor combinations and benefits that the cranberry has to offer at any of our chefs’ restaurants in a variety of mouthwatering dishes and beverages. The chefs chosen to be a part of this Collective all share a passion for featuring local ingredients on their menus, have a special connection to our native fruit — the cranberry, and strong farm-to-family ties.
MEET OUR CHEFS
Chef Will Gilson
Chef Will Gilson
Puritan & Co | Cambridge, MA
50
Chef Irene Li
Chef Irene Li
Mei Mei | Boston, MA
50
Liam Luttrell Rowland
Liam Luttrell Rowland
Spindler’s | Provincetown, MA
50
Chef Evan Mallett
Chef Evan Mallett
Black Trumpet | Portsmouth, NH
50
TRY THEIR NEWEST CRANBERRY CREATIONS
Our chefs are spreading their love for cranberries at each of their restaurants year-round. And now, you can take their cranberry creations home with you (and not just in the form of a takeout box)! We’re revealing some of their top secrets and sharing their newest restaurant favorites right here for you to make in the comfort of your own home. Let us know what you think by writing a review or sharing photos of your versions of their creations and tagging us @oceansprayinc on Instagram or Twitter!
CRANBERRY-APPLE COBBLER PIE BY WILL GILSON
CRANBERRY SAGE PORK DUMPLINGS BY IRENE LI
Cranberry Mostarda by Evan Mallett
Gin and Juice Salmon Gravlax by Evan Mallett
Cranberry Mignonette Oysters by Liam Luttrell Rowland
Cranberry Negroni by Will Gilson
Yellowtail Nayeh with Cranberry Ezme by Cassie Piuma
HARVESTING GOODNESS TOGETHER
To kick off the Collective and inspire our chefs, we invited them to visit one of Ocean Spray’s sixth-generation Farmer-Owner families, The Gilmores, in Carver, MA to learn first-hand how cranberries are cared for and harvested before making it to the chefs’ kitchens.
The chefs described their experience as...
“A magical day with my favorite indigenous fruit” - Irene Li
"An amazing tour of the crazy process it takes every fall to bring these beauties to our plates and glasses. Very excited to get cooking with you and all our, ahem, cranbassadors” - Will Gilson
"Learn[ed] a ton about this New England treasure...” - Evan Mallett
A LOVE THAT GROWS AND GROWS
We are always finding even more reasons to love cranberries. Click each cranberry icon below for some of our favorites and some we learned from the Cranberry Chef Collective:
- 1. Native
- 2. Nostalgic & Relevant
- 3. Versatile
- 4. Beautiful
- 5. Unique
- 6. Good For You
- 7. Holiday Staple
CRANBERRIES ARE ONE OF THE ONLY 3 FRUITS NATIVE TO AMERICA, ALONG WITH THE CONCORD GRAPE AND BLUEBERRY.
CRANBERRIES ARE ONE OF THE ONLY 3 FRUITS NATIVE TO AMERICA, ALONG WITH THE CONCORD GRAPE AND BLUEBERRY.
“Cranberries are a legacy ingredient. They are a constant reminder of what has been locally available to eat, long before the colonists arrived. When you eat cranberries, you invest in our community and that’s a simple way to educate people about the return to the philosophy of local and regional foodways.”
- Chef Liam Luttrell Rowland
CRANBERRIES ARE NOSTALGIC, YET RELEVANT
CRANBERRIES ARE NOSTALGIC, YET RELEVANT
“Cranberries are a traditional ingredient that have been around a long time, but really play an important part in a more modern culinary profile. The fusing of sweet and sour meeting salty and hot. You can play off the nostalgia and it works, but cranberries’ health benefits and sour flavors are very contemporary.”
- Chef Will Gilson
CRANBERRIES ARE VERSATILE AND KEEP WELL (YOU CAN FREEZE AND USE THEM YEAR-ROUND!)
CRANBERRIES ARE VERSATILE AND KEEP WELL (YOU CAN FREEZE AND USE THEM YEAR-ROUND!)
“It can be hard to stay devoted to local foods with only a 6-month growing season... preserving cranberries at the height of their season allows us to have variety year-round. That means jams, jellies, dried fruits, sauces, and juices. We freeze a lot, too.” - Chef Will Gilson
“We dry, freeze, puree, and make jam out of cranberries because we use them all year— they offer a wonderful punch of brightness without adding salt. We add cranberries and homemade vinegars to elevate or balance the flavors of a dish. We don’t use very many lemons or limes. When we need acidity or a sour note, cranberries are our go-to.” - Chef Irene Li
CRANBERRIES ARE BEAUTIFUL AND VIBRANT, THEY ADD COLOR AND FLAVOR TO OUR PLATES AND CULTURE
CRANBERRIES ARE BEAUTIFUL AND VIBRANT, THEY ADD COLOR AND FLAVOR TO OUR PLATES AND CULTURE
“We use cranberries year round for a lot of reasons. They have the most beautiful color and while food has to taste good, how food looks is also important in Chinese culture, red is ‘auspicious’ and a lot of emphasis is paid to tradition. Any chance to use a local ingredient invokes nostalgia and a level of delight in supporting our hard won culture and the folklore of New England.” - Chef Irene Li
“We aren’t using cranberries just because they are from here, but because they are versatile and so beautiful. The sweet and tart flavor they bring to food is part of the modern palette and the color gives me a lot of options from just a bit for pale pink to really vibrant, deep red.” - Chef Liam Luttrell Rowland
CRANBERRIES ARE UNIQUE, FROM THEIR REGIONAL YEAR-ROUND CARE AND MOST BEAUTIFUL HARVEST TO THEIR LOW SUGAR CONTENT AND HEALTH BENEFITS
CRANBERRIES ARE UNIQUE, FROM THEIR REGIONAL YEAR-ROUND CARE AND MOST BEAUTIFUL HARVEST TO THEIR LOW SUGAR CONTENT AND HEALTH BENEFITS
“I remember the first time I connected food and culture when I was a kid in Chatham, Mass. I went to a cranberry bog during harvest, as part of field trip and we got to see them growing in their natural habitat and I felt like, wow, just like cod or lobster, this was our regional ingredient.”
- Chef Evan Mallett
CRANBERRIES ARE GOOD FOR YOU AND PROVIDE MANY HEALTH BENEFITS
CRANBERRIES ARE GOOD FOR YOU AND PROVIDE MANY HEALTH BENEFITS
“I grew up with cranberries. Before we knew words like free radicals and antioxidant, my mother was a staunch advocate of cranberry juice as ‘THE cure, the panacea, to rid us from everything from UTIs to cancer to the common cold’.”
- Chef Evan Mallett
Learn MoreCRANBERRIES ARE A HOLIDAY STAPLE THAT BRING FRIENDS AND FAMILIES TOGETHER
CRANBERRIES ARE A HOLIDAY STAPLE THAT BRING FRIENDS AND FAMILIES TOGETHER
“When it comes to cranberries, they are the New England ambassador at the Thanksgiving table.”
- Chef Will Gilson