“I really fell in love with how it brings people together, and you can have common ground to share your day with people that you know, or people that you don’t know, over a tasty piece of food.”

Chris Fishbach of Two Loaves and a Fish grew up in the kitchen learning how to cook from his grandma and mom. Those hours together sparked a lifelong love for food and a culinary career. He brings his experiences and expertise developed over the years in his studies of culinary traditions in Spain, France, and Italy, and as a chef in the Twin Cities, to his small business of making specialty preserved foods made from locally grown ingredients, usually purchased from his fellow vendors right at the farmers’ market.

“I started my cooking career and culinary journey down in Milwaukee. I went to culinary school and learned how to cook in restaurants down there. Then I made my way up to Menominee to go to UW Stout. Now, I’ve been here in Minneapolis and St. Paul for the past eight years or so. 

One of my favorite sayings for the business, the way we do things, is ‘underappreciated to elevated’. So, kind of taking a fruit or a veggie or a piece of produce that you wouldn’t quite think of as the star of the show and making a pickle or a product out of it where that ingredient can shine and add something unique to a dish, as well as being able to stand out on its own. So taking something that’s underappreciated and elevating it to what it can be or showing you what you could do with it. It just takes a little bit of imagination and a little bit of trial and error.”

“I’ve always gravitated towards farm-to-table restaurants or places or bakeries where we work with the seasons. I wanted to carry that into my business. I really like working with local ingredients and having a bunch of it to work with at the time when it’s in season. I like learning how to preserve it either through a pickle or a jam or a relish, and being able to keep it for later on in the year.

I learned how to pickle and preserve at farm-to-table restaurants. I’m keeping that tradition going through working with the local produce at the markets and with what’s in season. I might do a jam for a month when that berry is in season, but then I won’t make my next batch until the next year. I’m highlighting what we have right now, and once it’s gone, you know, it’s gone.”

“When I make all my pickles or jams or relishes, I source everything from the market. It goes right to the farmers who are selling right next door to me. I get to kind of learn what they’re growing. And then I can kind of change my menu every other week with something new, like a new pickle, jam, or relish.

I really enjoy highlighting local produce that’s right here in our own backyard, to highlighting someone else’s hard work and making a tasty product using the produce that this family put all the hard work into. We get to kind of capture that in a jam or a relish. It’s a really, really fun way to do business!”

Embedded in each of his jams are memories, traditions, and community. Even his logo was created with help from his dad, who painted the fish, and his neighbor, who vectorized the art and turned it into a logo. Chris’s preserved foods highlight our exceptional local ingredients and celebrate the people behind them.

TWO LOAVES AND A FISH | Discover Fresh Flavor