We have been working on this website since 1997. The definition of evolution when it comes to websites is pain & joy. The amount of work is enormous. Compared to the first and second websites we ever built, this one was amazingly simple and easy.

What is totally crazy is that the new site took seven months to complete and the first two we did in just a few months. Granted, for the one for MSN there was over 40 people working on it around the clock.

And the amount of code we wrote decades ago was unbelievable because at the time it was the new frontier. We worked so many 24 hours days! I remember Jeff, the designer sleeping on the keyboard in between the rest of us making decisions. I couldn't do that anymore!

This new site is my favorite ever. We hope you will like it, too!

The new website is easier to navigate (we think!) and will streamline many of our antiquated ways of doing things—giving us more time to do what we like best: sharing ingredients and food stories with you all!



You will be able to sign in with the email you have been using with us. You may be prompted to change your password for security reasons.

Your previous orders and unused gift certificates have been moved over, and you will be able to see your order history once you login.

You will need to enter your credit card information at least once. If you've logged into other sites that use the Shopify platform, your information—such as payment methods and shipping addresses—may be stored. Don't worry: Shopify keeps your information safe and separate from each site, while still offering the convenience of not having to fill out all your info over and over.

We have tested and tested, but history has taught us that there will still be a few things that don't work as expected. So, if you find any issues, please let us know!

Here are some of the new "features" we have added.



Search is way better in every way! As soon as you start typing, results with product thumbnails and suggestions start appearing. It's a great way to quickly and easily navigate the site and find all the ingredients you're looking for!



The wish list.

Every product can now be added to your wish list. And you can make more than one wish list--so you can organize by theme, like "sweets" or "Italian."

Note that you can't add recipes to your wish lists yet (it will be coming soon). But, think of the Wish List as a way to store ingredient ideas for the future. It's especially handy when your package is getting close to the 12-pound flat-fee shipping threshold.





Out-of-stock items.

As many of you know, we're all about obsessively sourcing the freshest products possible through JIT (just-in-time) ordering—be it just picked or just canned. This works great...when it works. And not so great when it doesn't.

The new site has a bit of intelligence baked in that may help us better anticipate demand. We're excited to see how that reduces our backorders!

Many of our items are being cycled constantly, meaning they're on order all the time.

So, when you see the new "Notify Me When Available" button, click it and enter your email. You'll get a message as soon as the item is back in the warehouse. Emails go out in order based on your place "in line." Your product will be held for you and of course, there's no commitment until you decide to buy.



Gift notes and special instructions can easily be added to your order within the Shopping Cart.

If you've used the Shopify shopping cart before, this will feel very familiar. And once you get to know it, it's very easy-to-use!

Some items that may take some getting used to:



Ship to is the red arrow - click the chevron to see the options.

Shipping Method is the orange arrow - click the chevron to see the options.

Payment method is the green arrow - click the chevron to see the options.

Discount code - Gift card is the blue arrow.

There may still be a few content import issues, where special characters got turned into things like "é" and other oddities. We're correcting those as we go.



As many of you know, we're a little company, and we all wear many hats (toques!) here. So, taking on a major website upgrade is a massive task, with many, many, many little parts that need to work together.

We last made a major backend change (inventory and order processing) in 2012, and a design refresh to the frontend (website) in 2021.

We made our first website in 1993--for kid hero videos--long before the web was really the web, when 14.4 modems were still pretty new. It was one of the first "retail" websites ever.

Later, we made our MSN food site, where we focused on producing 9 to 12 new recipes each week and 3 articles.

Then we launched ChefShop.com on the Yahoo Store platform. It was a huge success—we even made the news and the cover of Yahoo Magazine!

The thankful news is:

We still get to try new foods and ingredients every week.
We get to meet some of the nicest people in the world—people who are passionate about keeping the industrialization of food at bay.
And, as one of our suppliers once said, "You have the nicest customers in the world." And we agree!

Thank you all for reading and shopping with us. We appreciate you!

Cheers!

And thanks to David, Ashlee and Brandon at SandCastle Web for making the move to the new site as painless as possible. It is great to have people who have your best interest at heart and are also food people!

Click here to see the old website before it's gone to the Wayback Machine!

My friend made this with some of the cherries I had sent her and said it was a fabulous success at the lake potluck party! Using our Almond paste and cherries she said that everyone swooned!

You can see the recipe on Monday on the new website home page.

My friend is an awesome cook, she is a "fly by the seat of her pants" kind of cook who feels her way through a recipe. I think it is the artist in her and she has great taste!

You can see some of her work here:

See the Easy Cherry Almond Cobbler Recipe on Monday!