We're excited to share an artisan profile today on Zora Tabin, owner and founder of Wild Zora Foods.
Here's a secret: we were skeptical of her flagship product, meat and vegetable bars, for quite awhile until we had the chance to try one. And guess what? We were instantly converted to fans - they are delicious! In fact, they're one of our go-to snacks in the warehouse these days (alongside New Beat Crackers)! We love the BBQ Beef and the Mediterranean Lamb flavors best (it's what we stock in our Build A Box section) but every single flavor is so good. Zora is also busy branching out into paleo meals-to-go as well as a brand new portable tea product. We love that all of Zora's products are so Colorado: ultra healthy and compliant with many diets including paleo and gluten free diets, portable for hiking and camping, etc.
Read on to learn more about Zora - her story is a truly inspirational entrepreneurial story. One of my favorite facts is that when she learned about the difficulty she'd face in finding a facility where she could create a meat-based product (which requires tons of direct USDA oversight) she got herself a list of every meat processing facility in northern Colorado, including slaughterhouses, and starting calling them all, looking for a place where we she could start to create her bars. I also love that she has named her ovens...this one below was "rescued" from an abusive restaurant in Chicago and is named Ivan. :)
Such a fun loving office, complete with plenty of friendly dogs!
Our family and professional lives are very busy (I am a mom of 2 teenagers), we needed to fuel our bodies with the right snacks. We had enough of all the sweet bars filled with grain, sugar and nuts.. We needed more protein to sustain us and traditional jerky that is usually too salty and made from conventional meat was not an option.. I was searching for a snack that would be more balanced, more nutritious, made from real food and convenient to take anywhere. That’s how Wild Zora started.
We prefer savory breakfasts; German rye bread soaked in Greek olive oil, with domestic free-range eggs hard-boiled eggs or Norwegian or Alaskan lox, with organic tomatoes, red onion and capers and of course few slices of avocado :-) And to drink: English breakfast tea :-)
If you enjoyed this Artisan Profile, check out a few other profiles we've done recently!
The majesty of Colorado's Sawatch Range. Words & photography by Wilder Ruth.