Patter Matters — real food

Most food companies source ingredients by price. The question is: what is the cheapest ingredient that satisfies the specification? The specification is usually narrow — a certain protein content, a certain moisture level, a certain shelf life. If an ingredient meets the spec, it ships. A chef thinks differently. The Culinary Standard Patter Gersuk trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London and spent years as a specialty sourcer for before founding Patterbar. The sourcing philosophy she brought to the bars is the same one she brought to professional kitchens: the ingredient is the food, and the food is only as...

There is a fact about most energy bars that rarely appears in their marketing: they are designed to sit on a shelf — or in a gym bag, a glove compartment, an airplane seatback pocket — for up to a year without spoiling. Think about that for a moment. Real food does not do that. A banana lasts a few days. Almonds, stored properly, last a few months. Medjool dates, refrigerated, last about a year — but at room temperature, considerably less. Dried fruit, depending on how it was processed, lasts weeks to months. An energy bar made entirely of...