Contact Us
We'd love to hear from you! If you have any questions about our products, this web site, wholesale/retail opportunities or to just say "hi". please feel free to contact us by the means outlined below.
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Phone: |
888-GARLICFEST 888-427-5423 831-638-9556 |
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Fax: |
831-636-3505 |
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Email: |
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Mailing |
Garlic Festival® Foods,
Inc. |
History
In 1979, Gilroy held its first Gilroy Garlic Festival which featured fresh garlic in the many food booths and for sale in the form of braids and loose garlic. Caryl, the creator of Garli Garni was, at the time, the owner of an advertising and graphic design firm. Inspired by the festival and being a fine cook, she started mixing up a garlic herb blend that she used regularly in preparing daily meals as well as dishes for her frequent entertaining. Guests regularly asked what the seasoning was and wanted to take some home. Up to that point, it had been a loosely thrown together concoction.
Down the road a few years, the Hayward Zucchini Festival joined the food festival scene. Caryl's "secret seasoning", Garli Garni, was the seasoning used in the stir fry vegetables prepared in a giant wok for the kickoff for the press and VIPs. Attending the event were several food writers from Bay Area newspapers. After the cooking and tasting, several of the food writers from the Bay Area wanted to know what the secret was to the "best stir fry they'd ever had". The carrots, zucchini, onions...? NO! It was the Garli Garni! Thus, a star was born.
At that point, Caryl realized she had a winner on her hands. Alas, however, the formula was lost. Caryl spent a feverish month trying to duplicate the formula she had sent to the Hayward Zucchini Festival. But, something was missing from the many ingredients. Finally, success! The missing ingredient was rediscovered and Garli Garni was born (or reborn, as it were). A period of test marketing followed. The bottles were flying off the shelves at the new Garlic World store in Gilroy. It was a winner!
In 1986, Caryl started Garlic Festival® Foods with Garli Garni as her first and still most popular product. She then went on to create a whole line of award-winning "garlic laced" products that are marketed nationwide.
The company has remained family-owned with various family members having worked in the business over the years.
The Folks Behind Garlic Festival® Foods
Caryl Simpson
Caryl Simpson is the President and creator of Garlic Festival® Foods award-winning specialty food products. She has a degree in Art and a BS degree. Before starting Garlic Festival® Foods, Caryl owned an advertising and graphic design firm as well as a screen printing and sign firm. Her experience as an artist who did work for many other firms came in very handy when it came to designing packaging for our extensive product line. Several years ago after studying at the University of California, Davis and training with international experts, she became one of the first certified olive oil tasters in the United States and served on the tasting panel of the California Olive Oil Council, which certifies oil to be "Extra Virgin". She has also served as a judge at the International Olive Oil Competition held in Southern California. In that capacity, she has been a guest on radio programs, conducted training for culinary professionals, held olive oil tastings, has conducted seminars on olive oils at such places as Cornell University in New York. She is also an accomplished landscaper/gardener, designer, still cooks daily for family and friends, and loves to entertain. Most recently, she has been the chef / owner of the popular "Cafe Aromas". |
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Diana LentzDiana, whose nickname is "the bulb counter", is the bookkeeper and office manager. She has been with the company for 15 years so she "knows where the bodies are buried". Most likely, if you call the office you will be speaking to Diana and she will solve ALL your problems (assuming you have any. Diana likes to cook and has regularly contributed to our recipes section. She has three grown children and is the "mother" of a cockatiel, a cat, and two dogs (see Diana's famous bean recipe). |
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Cesar Acosta Cesar is in charge of our shipping department and is the one who makes sure your shipment gets to you on time and intact. If it doesn't, it's his fault so don't come whining to us. Call him. Here's his home phone number : (823) 542-7312. (just kidding! We don't know whose number this is....). Cesar is a native Californian and has lived and worked in this area his whole life. He is married with a son and daughter and is an avid runner who regularly wins races (fueled by garlic, no doubt) and is in great shape for an "old guy" (over 40), and handsome. |
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Charles Sargenti, PhD. What can I say? Charles is really strange. How many guys do you know who have a PhD. in molecular biology and are licensed building contractors? And, he's computer savvy and conversant in accounting. All in all, he's just what every small business needs. He's our troubleshooter, computer geek, scientist, and builder all rolled into one. What a bargain! And, he's handsome. You may have noticed; we only have handsome guys here. |
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Hannah....The Garlic Girl Hannah had the good fortune to be born into a family-run garlic company and automatically became our "spokesgirl" from the age of two; that is, from about the time she could actually speak. And, as you may have guessed, the first words out of her mouth weren't "mama" or "dada", but "gaga", which we naturally understood to mean garlic. She is the daughter of Heather and Greg and the granddaughter of Caryl Simpson, the founder of Garlic Festival® Foods. From the time she was a toddler, some of her favorite foods have been garlic stuffed olives and pickled garlic. And....she won't hesitate to tell you....she LOVES Garli Garni! A child with excellent and highly developed taste! Watch for some of Hannah's favorite recipes. Great for kids AND adults! |
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Heather Simpson-Bluhm Heather is the daughter of Caryl and mother of Hannah. She has been working for the family business in one form or another since she was 9 years old and has attended 30 out of 32 Gilroy Garlic Festivals. Heather created our original web site and opened our retail store in Gilroy where it thrived until she decided to "retire" seven years ago in order to bring baby Hannah into the world. Since then, Heather has filled in various roles at Garlic Festival® Foods from answering phones to marketing to overseeing our new push into social media when she isn't working as an artist or shuttling Hannah to play dates or horseback riding. |
