An Interview With Martita Mestey
… At one of our first farmer markets, a woman and her grown daughter came to our booth to sample the soup. The mother explained that all three of her girls have recently been diagnosed with Celiac disease and could not have any gluten. They tried my soups and really liked the taste of all the flavors we sampled that day. They came back every market after that and told me how satisfying and delicious the soups were and how great they felt after eating them.
In this interview series, called “Chefs and Restaurateurs Helping To Promote Healthy Eating” we are talking to chefs and restaurateurs who are helping to promote and raise awareness about healthy eating. The purpose of the series is to amplify their message and share insights about healthy eating with our readers. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ilona Kossoff.
Ilona Kossoff had been interested in meaningful nutrition since her early twenties, out of a need to heal digestive malfunction. After working in law and accounting, and as CFO of a commercial real estate company she co-owned with her husband, Ilona craved a creative outlet. She completed a 200-hour yoga teaching certification and enrolled in the prestigious Cornell University healthy living nutrition certification program. She then found her outlet for creativity and purposeful pursuit of nutrition in the kitchen with her inspiration coming from early morning farmer markets, the Cornell University healthy living program, and reading books by leaders in the field of nutrition. After months of learning, creating and refining, 18 Chestnuts was born.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restauranteur or chef?
18 Chestnuts is a passion project for me. I have searched for an outlet to express my creativity for many years. I have tried many different mediums and then recently after taking sometime off from my life obligations and routines, I realized that the answer has always been right in front me. I realized that I am most creative in the kitchen working with vegetables and spices as my tools. I love the colors, textures, smells, even sounds the vegetables make when cooked or in my case played and platted. In addition, it’s always been my life’s passion to pursue health and fitness. I am at my best when I work out (weightlifting, walking, rowing, hiking, yoga stretching). I am a 200-hour certified yoga instructor and have certification in YogaNidra. I have always been afflicted with sensitive digestion and live gluten-free, dairy-free and 90% plant based. I honor my body with no sugar. 18 chestnuts is a brand that stands for clean, optimal nutrition. It’s easy on the gut and digestion. Its beneficial to your whole body because of the variety of nutrients that are presented in each and every flavor profile. The way we make our soups is the reason why they were created into a brand.
Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?
Yes, most certainly. Vegetables are my inspiration, and main characters, and together they are a scrumptious indulgence. Imagine summer, early morning. The air is only full of humidity and the promise of a new day. Saturday morning farmer markets are my favorite place in the summer. There is energy, harmonious consonance of people and even bird chatter, set up of palates, boxes, and tables. And then as you turn around all of a sudden there are bountiful, colorful vastness filed with green rounded leaf lettuce heads, purple, orange, and yellow carrots, delicate French radishes bunched together so adorably that I just want to reach out and touch it. Watermelon radishes, long stem celery, sweet potatoes, green and yellow zucchini, green and yellow onions, huge bunches of dill and parsley. I can go on all day!
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that has happened to you since you started? What was the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?
I would have to go with most interesting…we have a small team. We wear a lot of different hats at any given time. I think that coming together from very diverse backgrounds with very strong personalities was the most challenging and most fun aspect of our company so far. It’s not easy to have grace when we are under pressure to bottle 500 jars of soup that’s hot-pipping 208 degrees. It’s not easy to peel and chop 200 pounds of pears and apples on any given day but I would say it’s incredible rewarding watching the team build my recipe minute by minute until at the end of the day the smell of soups lingers creating a sense of hunger, accomplishment, and pride. The lesson is the reward of meshing personalities of my team in an intricate dance that makes my dream come to life and gives my customers an opportunity to not only buy and eat our soups but to feel the joy and laughter with each they were crafted.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
My mentor, my cheerleader without any reservation has always been Steven, my husband. We met when I was 18 and he was 24. We grew up in life together. Parented three beautiful children. We believed and trusted in each other without a drop of reservation, blindly. We started with nothing much and created a commercial real estate company that invested for both our investors and for ourselves for about 20 years. He led the real estate company, and I was by his side as a partner CFO. And now, 18 Chestnuts is my turn as leader and he remains at my side as my mentor, cheerleader, investor, partner and shlepper. I could not have done this life without his contribution.
In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?
Joy in working with every ingredient that goes into the dish. I love each and every vegetable that is in the soup and I fall in love with the combination of those vegetable when paired with spices. For instance, my chestnut maple soup is the signature soup of our collection. I love the roasted chestnuts because they signify holidays, family, comfort, celebration. Pairing it with star anise brought the flavor profile of that soup to another high. The product is a beautiful cream color, smooth texture, and sweet essence with a hint of star anise.
Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal’ for you?
I love mushrooms. Lion’s mane, black and pink oyster mushrooms, chestnut and shiitakes, chantarelles. So, a large salad with microgreens, green and purple kale, kalamata olives, cucumbers, avocados, radishes, carrots, purple cabbage all topped with sauteed mushrooms. There is nothing else like it! It’s the way I feel after, energized and sated.
Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?
I am inspired by nature and creativity of painters. It’s been amazing to live in the forest through the four seasons this year. The large sycamores, hickory and oak trees topple over our roofline. In the summer these trees are filled out with greenery I can see for miles, in the fall yellow and reds create awestruck palate that could inspire everyone, winter storms that bring snow are equally breathtaking even if going outside is treacherous, and of course my favorite is the spring, the blooming flowers of pink, purple, yellow, orange just to name a few inspire just by being. And most importantly, I would say that I am inspired by painters (oil, acrylic, watercolors, mixed media). The colors, textures, variety, and their interpretation of the world they see outside is so magical. My favorite museum is in NYC, the Guggenheim. If I could I would go there every day.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?
I am currently continuing to develop our 18 flavor soup profiles. So far we have 7 and we will introduce another 3 as we progress into fall and winter seasons. We are continuing to develop strong ties and production schedules with our local farmers to bring the freshest ingredients to our customers. We are continuing to connect with local community, specifically Black Mountain Children’s Home (Independent Living Program kids) specifically. We are excited to plan field trips with them to our partner farms so they can learn to develop appreciation and respect for the people minding the fields as well as the produce they harvest.
Ok super. Let’s now jump to the main part of our interview. You are currently leading an initiative to help promote healthy eating. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
I personally have struggled with finding my way into clean nutrition. The data, research and doctor guidelines change continuously but your body and specifically your gut does not mislead. Food matters, nutrition matters and plant-based eating matters to everyone on the planet. I want to educate people about how plant-based eating benefits every person, why choosing vegetable to be a part of our daily eating is instrumental in our approach to longevity, optimal function, fitness and most importantly respect for our bodies.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
First and foremost, was my search for a healthy gut. I was so tired of feeling drained and hurting every day. My gut was unreliable, cramped, and bloated. It left me so emotional, tired, and sad. The doctors I went to only suggested antacids and worse and I was unwilling to go down that road. So I read, researched, and went to conferences about alternatives. I did food sensitivity tests 20 years ago when the technology was so new. Even then eliminating foods started to help. No dairy, no gluten, eventually no eggs. I saw my kids struggle as well and I knew I wanted to do better by them. So I completed Cornell Healthy Living program and that was very helpful because I was able to align my experience gained knowledge with forward thinkers and researchers who are changing the dialog about what nutrition is and how we as culture can heal ourselves through food. Next, came my search for creative outlet that I have been trying to find for just as long. One day I realized that I love to be in the kitchen, that my most exciting palate combinations of colors and textures lives in my ability to put together exciting combinations in my soups that I have been making for the last thirty years. Once, I combined these two aspects of myself, I could not wait to share the results with the world. I am so grateful that I have found my mojo and most importantly, I get to share it.
Without saying specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was helped by your cause?
At one of our first farmer markets, a woman and her grown daughter came to our booth to sample the soup. The mother explained that all three of her girls have recently been diagnosed with Celiac disease and could not have any gluten. They tried my soups and really liked the taste of all the flavors we sampled that day. They came back every market after that and told me how satisfying and delicious the soups were and how great they felt after eating them.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
1. Allow children to be educated at their schools, on the quality of food and the benefits of eating plant-based diets.
2. Widely disseminate information and risks associated with eating sugar.
3. A government ban on the production of soft drinks would be incredible but likely impossible.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Chef or Restaurateur” and why? Please share a story or an example for each.
1. That like everything this is also a journey.
2. The only comparison allowed is of yourself from yesterday to today.
3. Invest in yourself.
4. To detach from results and concentrate on daily/hourly tasks
5. Surround yourself with people that are driven and smart.
What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?
We have an ecommerce website where any flavor can be ordered. All were designed and created to satisfy people’s nutritional needs. So, give it a try!
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would say Dr. Steven Gundry. He has an inspirational story and journey to better health for himself as well as his patients. He has had an impactful influence on my journey to better eating and better health. I also use many of his supplements and protein shakes and truly feel amazing from their support.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
We are currently working on adding more flavors to our family of soups. So follow our website (www.18chestnuts.com) Instagram (@18chestnuts) and Facebook (@18chestnuts) to see what we are cooking up.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
How Ilona Kossoff Of 18 Chestnuts Is Helping To Promote Healthy Eating was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.