24 December 2015

Three siblings from Smithfield have found a unique way to honor their lategrandmother.BytakingtheirfavoriteoftheirgrandmotherRachel’sfoodrecipesandproducingtheminbatchesfordistributiontogrocerystoresanddelisalloverNewEngland,theyareabletocelebrateRachel’smemory. AdamLaGreca,JonLaGrecaandAllysonFarrarboughtthebusiness,formerlyTroino’s, lastyear.While the siblingskept some items fromTroino’s, they intro-ducedseveralnewitems,eachofwhichwasinspiredbytheirgrandmother’srecipes. “Whenevermydadwouldstartastory,it’dbe,‘Well,mycousinandIwereatRachel’stable,”Allyson,whoistheyoungestofthesiblings,saidoftheirinspirationforthenameofthenewbusiness.“Thewholethingisafamilyaffair.” RachelLaGrecawasbornin1926andlivedinSmithfieldherentirelife.EachrecipefromRachel’sTableisreflectiveofRachel’sItalianheritage,Allysonexplained. “Shewas that Italiangrandmotherwhowhenyou’dwalk inwouldprepare amealinminutes,”shesaid.“Itwasmagic.” Aschildren,Adam,JonandAllysonwouldsitattheirgrandmother’stableeverySundayafterchurchtoenjoyabigmeal. “Shewouldn’tletyouleavethetableuntilthefoodwasfinished,”saidJon,whoservedintheCoastGuardbeforegettingintobusinesswithhisbrotherandsister.“Shewasalwaysforcingfoodonyou.” AdamsaidRachelandhertwosisterswouldwhipupfoodatanytimeoftheday.Hehasmemoriesofwakingupatseveninthemorningtothearomaofmeatballscookinginthekitchen. Although the siblings aren’t able to include someof their favoriteofRachel’sdishesintheirproductlistduetoshelflifelimitations,theysaidtherearestillplentyofrecipestochoosefromwhichlendthemselveswelltodistribution.Despitesomerecipeshavingbeentweakedforthesakeofproduction,Allysonexplainedthattheyareall stillmade“intheoldfamilytradition,”andmaintainthe integrityoftheoriginalrecipes. Eachof the siblings agreed that themost excitingpart ofbeginningRachel’sTablehasbeenhavingtheopportunitytoworkwitheachother. “Wehaveblowoutfights,”Adamsaid,laughing. Allysonelaborated,explainingthatthebiggestargumentsthesiblingshavein-volvewherethey’llgoforlunchthatday. “It’sgreat tobeable toworkwithmybrotherandsister,” saidAdam,who istheoldestofthethree,“andtohavecreatedabusinessinourhometownthatwillsustainourfamilies.” ThethreehavelivedinSmithfieldfortheirentirelives,andeachcurrentlyliveswithinafewmilesfromeachotherandfromtheRachel’sTableproductionfacility.AccordingtoAdam,helivesthefurthestfromthefacility,ataround2.7miles. Currently, the company produces eight salads, five stuffed pepper items andtwostuffedclamitems.Theirmostpopularproducts,Adamsaid,includetheirhotcherrypeppers,stuffedwithprosciuttoandprovolone,andtheirsnailsalad.Thesiblingssaidthey’reexcitedtointroducesomenewitemsfromtheirgrandmother’srecipebook,includingcuredsausagesandpickles,nextyear.Adamsaidhe’sespe-ciallyexcitedtobegintheproductionanddistributionoftheirpickles.

“Wemakeahellofapickle,”helaughed. Adamexplainedthateachitemishandmadeandcontainsasmallingredientlistwithnoadditivesorartificialcoloring. “Ourfoodisascleanascanbe,”hesaid.“Ifyouwenttoyourmother’shouse,thisiswhatshe’dmake.” Thecompanyproducesitsfoodsinafood-productionfacilitylocatedinSmith-field,whereemployeeswearinglight-bluecoatsandhairnetsworktogether,mixingupvariousseafoodsaladsandstuffedpeppersandweighingandpackagingfood.ThefamilysentimentthataboundsinthecompanyisextendedtoeachoftheRa-chel’sTableemployees,Allysonsaid. Theitemsaremadeinsmallbatches,Adamexplained,andaredistributedweek-lytodelisandgrocerychainsincludingWholeFoods,Dave’sMarketandShaw’s. “There’ssomethingthat’slostwhenyougoto700-or1,000-poundbatches,”Adamsaid. Adamsaidthedemandfortheirproductshas increasedeachmonthsinceof-ficiallyopeningthebusinesslastspring. “Weknowalotofpeople,”hejoked. Theholidayseasonwillbetheirbusiesttime,Allysonsaid.Astheholidaysap-proach,thecompany’sfoodproductionisexpectedtodouble,sheexplained,add-ingthattheseafooditemsareperfectfortheItalianChristmascustomFeastoftheSevenFishes. Ofcarryingontheirgrandmother’slegacyinsuchaway,AllysonsaidthatRa-chel,whodiedinthelate1980s,wasaveryhumblewoman,andthatshemayhavewantedthesiblingstopickadifferentnameforthebusiness. “She’dhave said, ’take thatdown,’” she joked. “Shewas alwaysproudofhergrandkidsthough.”

Grandmother inspired and provided the recipes at Rachel’s TableBy Kendra Gravelle

Employee Brenda Farrell packs snail salad for deliveryto one of the area markets and delis Rachel’s Table supplies.

Photo by Albert Tavakalov/The Smithfield Times