BC:  You make sausages, other than being a fourth-generation butcher, what led you to this?

Growing up, the concept of not wasting food was constantly drilled into our heads. Butchers’ margins are incredibly slim, which means we make our money on literal scraps, and we have to be very careful to not waste a thing. My grandpa used to inspect the scrap buckets in the cutting room at the end of the day and if there was anything useable in there, people were in trouble.

I’ve worked in restaurants and butcher shops since I moved to NYC 16 years ago, in pretty much every position imaginable—waitress, busser, barista, line cook, prep cook, baker. Every position showed me, in different ways, how careless people are with their food waste. Sausages are essentially the oldest sustainability-minded food product—they make whole animal butchery possible. I gravitated to sausage-making a little over a decade ago for this reason, and have been pushing the boundaries on how to make them even more sustainable ever since.

BC: What does being a modern butcher mean?

I think being a modern butcher means recognizing the environmental impact that meat-eating has and doing our best to educate ourselves and our customers on how to do it better. That means never getting complacent—I am constantly reading about sustainable agriculture, visiting farms, talking to people with different ideas and testing new processes to make sure I’m on.

BC:  What is a carbon neutral sausage?

 We’re working with a company called Carbon Credit Capital to quantify the carbon emissions created by our production process. Then we offset those quantified emissions through various environmental projects like planting treats, building wind turbines, etc. to neutralize our impact!

BC:  Seemore Meats & Veggies is about to launch, what can we expect to see?

All of Team Seemore stress-crying.

Just kidding! Expect to see all 4 of our launch products in 200 Whole Foods on both coasts (they’ll be here in NYC), starting Feb 10th.   We’ll also be in Park Slope Food Coop, Murray’s Cheese, and available for order online.

BC:  What would you tell someone who is intimidated by colorful sausages?

This used to happen sometimes with my customers and I do get it! We’ve gotten very used to brown and beige sausage and to see anything else can be shocking. I think the most important thing to know is that making rainbow sausages wasn’t the goal, it was just a happy byproduct of the goal (which is to stuff as many vegetables into a sausage as I can).There are no dyes or weird things inside, just meat and spices and vegetables, which happen to be beautifully colorful.

BC:  Your partners Erin Patinkin and Ariel Hauptman come from vastly different backgrounds...could you tell us more about how you chose your team?

 I had known Erin peripherally through the food world for years, but was formally connected with her through a friend about two years ago. I was looking for advice on how to scale up my sausage-making venture, as the demand was getting two high to keep doing it with just my two hands. What started as an informal conversation quickly turned into a much larger conversation, which eventually turned into a business partnership. Erin knew Ariel through the baking world and when we started looking for a third partner who had operational experience, Erin immediately thought of her. We all met and fell in love and the rest was sausage history. 

BC:  Your office at our Bushwick location is so cute– do you have any advice for someone trying to elevate their office space?

Don’t buy art just to fill a space, buy it because you genuinely love it/the artist and it means something to you—that makes your space happier. Also, plants make everything better, but you guys already know that.

BC:  Do you have favorite nook or area to work at Bond Collective Bushwick?

I hate calling people on the phone more than anything, but there is something about the phone booths at Bond that make me a super human calling machine. I get into that booth and become a whole new person, I’ll get on the horn with just about anyone.  

BC:  What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

It sounds very simple, but “if you don’t know something, ask a question.” I think in the age of social media, faking-it-til-you-make it and pretending you’re an expert is really tempting. But you’ll learn a lot more and save everyone a lot of time if you ask for help.

BC:  Can you describe yourself in three words?

Intuitive, sensitive, ambitious

BC:  Bushwick lunch spot rec?

Win Son Bakery!

Learn more about Seemore Meats & Veggies at @eatseemore and eatseemore.com