When it came to finding her way around the kitchen, Liz Pietrzak had a head start.
“My mom was an awesome cook. She was one of those moms that always had a home-cooked meal when you came home from school," says Pietrzak, aka Chef Liz, head chef and owner of Carlisle's Soups From Me to You. "Basically, my parents grew everything in the backyard even though they lived in downtown Hamilton. They had a garden that was full of everything.”
Although Chef Liz was once an IT consultant, that changed after her daughter, Stephanie, was born. Wanting to be a stay-at-home mom who didn’t just stay at home, she enrolled in the culinary program at George Brown College. After moving from the Toronto area to Carlisle, she found out from the Hamilton Business Centre that she could have a food company in her home. Her husband Richard built a small kitchen in the basement of their home, and Liz started serving
soup at Stephanie’s school.
Soups From Me to You was formed in 2019, but when COVID hit the following year, it meant pivoting and moving to online sales and selling at farmers’ markets and in small local retail stores.
New twist on mom's recipes
Many of the soups are inspired by Pietrzak's mother but updated to make them healthier. For example, mom’s Chicken Noodle soup evolved into Garden Chicken Vegetable to make it gluten-free. One of Liz’s favourites is the traditional Borscht that she makes as a vegan recipe. Other popular varieties include traditional soups from other countries, like Moroccan Lentil mixed with 17 different spices, Thai Carrot and Curried Butternut Squash.
“What makes us different is we are completely gluten-free. There are no wheat particles in my kitchen. We’re low sodium and no preservatives. All our soups have less than 5 per cent sodium levels.
"We use premium meats," she continued. "Our bone broth is all grass-fed beef, raised and finished. Premium is what you’re getting when you purchase our products. I sample everything that goes out. If it’s not to my standards, we redo it,” says Chef Liz.
The smoked beef brisket, pulled pork, and pulled chicken are all made with meat sourced from local farms that have grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chickens, and Berkshire pork. A blend of herbs and spices is rubbed into the meats and then smoked at a low temperature for four hours, then wrapped and cooked for up to another six hours using a special blend wood chip to give the meats a distinctive, delicious, smoky flavour.
Always looking for something new and different, when Pietrzak put some tomatoes on the barbecue and wondered what kind of soup she could create, Richard suggested making chili. The fire-roasted chilis in both the meat and vegan varieties are the newest addition to the menu at Soups From Me to You.
“I’m such a foodie. I love the markets and talking to people about what they can do with our products,” says Liz. “I love when they come back and they tell me, ‘You know I did with your mushroom soup? I made a roast chicken with it. I had it soaking overnight. It was delicious.’
"That’s fabulous when I hear that.”
To read Chef Liz's blog, view the menu or find out more about ordering from the online store, visit soupsfrommetoyou.com.
