By Tod Shapiro for the Flatiron Hot! News

It’s a tough time for all Flatiron denizens, with the omicron wave forcing many of us back into our apartments and in front of our computer screens.  So, when I heard from a friend of this blog about the great idea of adding natural herbs to home-baked products, my ears perked up. Many of us are baking up a storm to keep our spirits up until the current wave of Covid passes, so this should literally add some spice to our days! 

Hence, I spoke with Liz Thompson who is promoting this great idea. Liz has an interesting background – as a precocious kid, Liz was baking every chance she had, but at that time career opportunities just were few and far between. So, Liz went on and got some solid business background of the conventional sort, obtaining both her BBA and MBA in marketing. Then, it was on to a successful stint as a product and marketing manager for some impressive Fortune 500 companies and packaged goods brands, including Chiquita Brands.

Liz then decided to follow her passion for baking, dining and food by attending the French Culinary Institute, and followed that by moving to LA to work with Michel Richard to learn pastry, and showed her entrepreneurial talents by going on to co-own three restaurants and deal with all aspects of the business. Liz built on these experiences, moving on to teach culinary skills, and also by focusing on things she knew first-hand – restaurant management, food, and new product development by starting up a consulting business.

So this is how Liz ultimately was able to combine her knowledge of business and marketing with that of restaurants and food in the form of Liz Thompson Marketing, which helps restaurants and those in the restaurant and food services sector promote their businesses and products, often with some unique or novel food or cooking-related twist! A native New Yorker who now lives in California, Liz has a soft spot in her heart for all things New York – once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker in spirit!

Liz’s latest interest is in promoting the use of herbs and other organic foodstuffs (such as one can buy at local farmer markets like our own Union Square Farmer’s Market) with baking or simple home concoctions such as cocktails or home-made ice cream.  What could be a better or more tasty distraction from the computer screen and Covid doldrums than this, and who among us doesn’t relish an excuse for a trip to the Union Square Farmer’s Market, anyway?

I spoke to Liz recently about her efforts and she kindly offered to whip up some herb-flavored recipes especially for Flatiron Hot! News followers. Check them out and give them a whirl! Click on the links for the following herb-based creations – Rose Petal Lime Cocktails, Lemon Grass Creme Brulee, and Lavender and Ginger Scones. Thanks Liz, I’m going to see if I can get my wife to whip up these recipes!  You can find out all about Liz, her company, and her latest efforts by clicking here.

(Note below – an Herbal Cocktail Creation! – Rose Petal Lime Juice Vodka Cocktail – Photo: Tasha Powell)