Hip Chick Farms Jen Johnson and Serafina Palandech have been named one of Food + Wine Magazine’s Most Innovative Women in Food. The local couple founded the frozen foods company several years ago in Sebastopol, winning acclaim for their sustainable, locally-sourced chicken wings, meatballs and chicken nuggets. Congrats to our local gals!
Chicken fingers and Chez Panisse aren’t usually associated with one another. But Palandech and Johnson (far left), the couple behind Hip Chick Farms, are bringing a sustainable ethic to the world of frozen chicken dinners. Johnson, a former Chez Panisse chef, develops the recipes, which include spicy wings, meatballs and nuggets, using ethically raised birds from a local Sonoma farm. “Frozen foods don’t tend to be superhot items in the marketplace, but we’re a premium product,” says Palandech. The chef-driven, sustainably sourced recipes are especially appealing at a moment when consumers and retailers alike are paying more attention to the quality of their food. In early 2015, Hip Chick was in 300 stores; by the end of the year, it will be in 1,200.