PASSION BEHIND THE PRODUCT Laura’s Gourmet Granola

Laura’s Gourmet Granola

If you’re tired of granola that’s more candy than health food, chef and entrepreneur Laura Briscoe’s o erings are just what you’ve been looking for.

BY NEIL ZEVNIK

Shopping for granola? Prepare to be utterly overwhelmed by a bewildering be utterly overwhelmed by a bewildering profusion of cartons, sacks, and containers profusion of cartons, sacks, and containers encompassing an extensive panoply of encompassing an extensive panoply of fl avors and ingredients. And let’s not even get started on the dizzying stacked even get started on the dizzying stacked rows of granola bars on the shelves. “Creating a

It was not always product that thus, of course. Once makes people upon a time, there was only “granula,” feel good— that’s what chefs do,” says Laura that’s what chefs do,” says Laura the fi rst-ever cold Briscoe, founder Briscoe, founder breakfast product. of Laura’s Gourof Laura’s GourInvented by health met Granola. “We met Granola. “We reformer James Caleb Jackson in create recipes, a dish, or a meal that plays a role create recipes, a that plays a role 1853, it promised in a wonderful much more than moment.” simply good nutrisimply good nutrition. According to Mr. Jackson, it was Mr. Jackson, it was a “pure” food that would help make you would help make you calm, give you better calm, give you better Christian values, and even reduce carnal desire—a lot carnal desire—a lot to ask of a breakfast to ask of a breakfast cereal, however healthy it might be. healthy it might be.

The idea was stolen by another health reformer, John health reformer, John Harvey Kellogg (yes, that Harvey Kellogg (yes, that Kellogg), and under the slightly altered name “granola” was soon off and running. By the time the hippie ’60s rolled around, granola had become a darling of the counterculture, inspiring the slightly derisive moniker “granola-head.”

And that’s when an unfortunate transformation began in this traditional fatty nuts, and multiple sweet ingredients that rendered granola more a candy treat than a

health food. Along with health food. Along with widespread popularity came widespread popularity came the addition of sugary fruits, the addition of sugary fruits, fatty nuts, and multiple sweet ingredients that rendered granola more a candy treat than a healthy breakfast option.

Reinventing Granola

Which brings us to Laura Briscoe, who left the tech industry to follow her passion for cooking, and became a successful private chef. One day, as she recounts, “I found myself experimenting with a granola recipe that could deliver the taste granola recipe that could deliver the taste I’d loved during college but without all the I’d loved during college but without all the fat, dairy, and sugar.”

Several months and many versions later, she felt she had fi nally found the perfect recipe. How did she know? “As a culinary instructor, I always told my students they would know something was seasoned well when they immediately wanted to take another bite.”

While she’d only intended to make the treat for family and friends, the response was so positive that she

make it!

Winter Antioxidant Porridge

Serves 6

1 Tbs. Vital Farms organic unsalted butter 1 large apple, peeled, cored, and grated (about 1 cup) 1 cup canned organic pumpkin ½ tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. ginger 2 cups Laura’s Gourmet Granola,

BlueBerry Bliss Crunch ¾ cup dried cranberries 2¼ cups oat milk 3 Tbs. Bare Honey

Solar Grown Honey 3 Tbs. heavy cream (optional)

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add grated apple, stir, and cook 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon, and ginger, and cook 1 minute more. Add granola, cranberries, and oat milk. Bring to slight simmer, reduce heat, and cook 7 minutes, stirring often. 2. Remove from heat.

Divide among six bowls, and drizzle each portion with honey and cream, if using.

Per serving: 310 cal; 4g prot; 8g total fat (4g sat fat); 58g carb; 5mg chol; 95mg sod; 6g fi ber; 34g sugar

decided to explore retail possibilities. Beginning with a local specialty grocer, and “with nothing more than strong intention and moral support from friends and family,” Briscoe used her culinary background and personal determination to create Laura’s Gourmet Granola. “From allergens to dietary preferences, ingredient-phobes to snobs, we have worked to create options that appeal without sacrifi cing fl avor, texture, or the authentic nature of our original intent,” she says.

And in memory of Laura’s dad, the company contributes a portion of its proceeds to Alzheimer’s research, education, and care. It’s all part of the personal passion that led Briscoe here. “Creating a product that makes people feel good inside and out—that’s what chefs do,” she says. “We create recipes, a dish, or a meal that plays a role in a wonderful moment and subsequent happy memory. Knowing I have accomplished that motivates me every day. I don’t know where this journey will ultimately take me, but I am strapped in for the ride.”