Soup Sorceress
The name Soup Sorceress emerged while chatting with some friends over soup, realizing the magic and health benefits of each beautiful ingredient.
I started Soup Sorceress through the inspiration of our CSA bundles.
With so much abundance of produce and the exhilaration of using only what was in season, I began to make all kinds of flavors, at least 300 of them over time. I was exceptionally inspired to spread the message about the farms we love to support, and having the soups available at the little community cafe in Topanga, called Mimosa.
My Grand Papa had Andy Warhol lithographs of Campbell's soup on the walls. He had cream of mushroom, tomato soup, and chicken noodle. Every time we visited his house, my siblings, Aunts, cousins, and I often questioned what he liked about the lithographs.
When he passed about 7 years ago, I inherited a few things… but not the lithographs! Instead, what was passed down to me was a very big soup pot and ladle. This was right at the beginning stages of me creating every food experiment I could using our CSA bundles. I think something about seeing those soup cans growing up seeped in because I never thought I would be so inspired one day to create a soup company.
I set out to change the world with soup.
After having worked with small farms for several years, I realized there was only one way I wanted to invent my soup company — I would change the ingredients in every batch. Which is the best way to support our smaller farms.
I thought about what life was like before big farms — not because I don’t appreciate them — but to focus on the feeling of being so connected and rooted. I imagined it was simple and nurturing. We cared for our land and we made do with what we had available in our community. We had connections and we had produce that was picked fresh.
Making the healthiest soups meant sourcing from the farms that I know and love.
I labeled every soup each week with nutrition facts after the batch was done instead of using all the same ingredients with the same labels. Everyone thought I was crazy but I was on a mission! It certainly would have been easier to make chocolates — but I was after something different.
It’s been a wild adventure. My soups have been in Erewhon and Follow Your Heart and now I happily sell only direct to our customers.
The big mission is to have a large enough soup company where a small farmer can count on me to buy a certain amount of what they plan to grow. They can also call me and say, “I need to get through the ______ crop, can you help me?” and I can say yes and make a soup with that!
It happens often through our CSA. I can’t tell you how many times a farmer has showered me with appreciation for buying a variety that they need to sell in order to keep the farm thriving. And that’s what we want. We want more small, organic farms thriving.
~Kali
