Deli's By Dan

More and more, the world of food is making a shift towards smaller, locally produced goods and produce. The era of locally inspired, grown, and manufactured food is finally having it's heyday in kitchens across America. It's no surprise then that the world of kitchen wares is also seeing a new dawn, through the sprouting up of small and specialized businesses. Today we look at one such business, Deli's By Dan.

In 2001, Chef Dan Phillips worked as the sous chef at Malanga, a locally owned and operated vegan muffin shop located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. A New York native himself, Phillips constantly sought to keep the company's business entirely local, purchasing produce daily from local farmers markets. The restaurant even went so far as to purchase all of its aprons and side towels from Knitterman's, a local producer of hand-knit clothing and accessories. "We were pretty much obsessed with keeping things local," Dan remembers, "...it was really important to us."

It was in 2003, while calling in a Tri-Mark order, that Dan Phillips had a realization that would shape the next decade of his life. "It just broke my heart," Dan lamented, "...imagining ream after ream of plastic wrap, trash bags, and deli-containers being shipped across state lines. Something about it just didn't sit right with me." It was then that Dan resolved to change the face of restaurant-ware production forever.

It was in 2005 that Dan finally got the loan to begin production of Deli's By Dan. The early prototypes were crude, but quality slowly improved. "The model has pretty much remained the same since we started. Our team collects and recycles plastic from all over the Brooklyn area. We bring it back to the garage and melt it down. That's where the artistry really begins."

The Deli's By Dan operation is a small one. At only five employees (Dan included), the operation is about as bare bones as it gets. Phillips' garage serves as the company's headquarters and production site. Dan explains, "Once we get the old bottles back to the garage, we melt them down in a makeshift furnace. It's basically a big metal drum with a fire going in the bottom. From there, Sarah puts on a pair of leather gloves and works her magic."

 Sarah Johnson is Dan's head artisan Deli-Molder. Sarah comes equipped with a Brooklyn Community College Bachelor of Arts Degree in Ceramics. We asked Sarah how she felt about working for Mr. Phillips. "Dan approached me one day while I was walking around campus. To be honest, I had never heard of a deli-container before then. We pretty much just melt down the plastic, then I try to shape them as best I can. Every time they come out a little different, but I guess that's just part of the charm of artisan kitchen-ware production. Sometimes the fumes make me feel a little funny in that little garage," she laughs, "but it just feels so good *cough* knowing that you're a part of a local community of artists and cooks."

Dan says he has no immediate plans to move past deli-containers, but instead to focus on perfecting the current model. The company currently offers three different sizes of deli container. The website describes them as "About a Cup, About a Pint, and About a Quart". They are available for $5, $8, and $10 dollars each, respectively. Phillips reflects on the tradeoffs of artisan production:

"They don't always seal up real good, but at least it's local."