Olive & Sinclair Caramels

While strolling through the newly-opened Ponce City Market, a certain little candy package caught my eye (okay, three, we designed them all). It never gets old seeing Green Olive’s work out in the real world, and these Olive & Sinclair Caramels are no exception.

Available in Sea Salted and Duck Fat varieties, we think we hit the nail on the head designing a box, slightly reminiscent of vintage shot gun shell packaging, that speaks to the tradition and nostalgia of the product’s own flavor. We challenge you to try one and stay in the here and now; we’ve found it way too easy to transport ourselves to grandma’s — er, Scott Witherow’s — sweet aroma-filled kitchen, ourselves.

Florida Restaurant Branding And Design

With current restaurant branding projects underway in Miami Beach and St. Pete Beach, we wanted to post a little about several other projects that we've completed recently across Florida. We're ready for more...get in touch with us if you're opening a place in the Sunshine State...

St. Johns Provision Co. - Jacksonville, Florida
Naming, logo design, menu design, print collateral, environmental signage

Red's Chicken Shack - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Logo design, menu design, print collateral, environmental signage, apparel

Highball & Harvest - Orlando, Florida
Naming, logo design, menu design

Mile Marker 15 - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Logo design, menu design, print collateral, environmental signage, apparel

Restaurant Paradis - Rosemary Beach, Florida
Logo design, website design

Crave Roadside Burgers - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Logo design, menu design, print collateral, environmental signage, apparel

Cocktail Recipe Cards - Mason's / Nashville, TN

Here are a few of the cocktail recipe cards that we've designed recently for Mason's in Nashville, TN...

American Graphic Design Awards

Congratulations to the Green Olive design team for winning three American Graphic Design Awards.  The American Graphic Design Awards are sponsored by Graphic Design USA magazine. For more than 50 years, GDUSA has covered graphic design news, products, trends and technology while showcasing the best in design work across multiple mediums. 

Check out Green Olive Media's award-winning design work on the following projects:

• Passion Food Hospitality — Burger Tap & Shake Website

• Madre + Mason — Logo and Identity

• Loews Atlanta — Saltwood Menu Design

Tuffy Stone

From chef and restaurateur to pitmaster, caterer, competition barbeque cook, and television personality, Tuffy Stone’s nearly 30 years of experience runs the gamut.

Tuffy’s story begins in 1986 in his home state of Virginia. After four years of serving in the Marines, he got his start in restaurants working as front-of-house staff to support himself while he attended Virginia Commonwealth University. Tuffy came to the realization that his talents were better suited in the kitchen, and after researching the top chefs in the area, he approached critically-acclaimed Chef Alain Vincey of La Maisonette in Richmond to offer his services as an apprentice.

Working his way through the ranks, Tuffy developed his culinary craft while serving as Sous Chef, Manager and eventually Partner at La Maisonette before becoming Sous Chef at Millie’s in Richmond in 1991. After a six-year industry tenure, he followed an entrepreneurial itch and opened A Sharper Palate Catering Company in 1993, an upscale catering company that grew to one of the largest in Richmond.

Not one to sit still, Tuffy began dabbling in the art of barbeque, and in 2004 formed a competitive team under the name Cool Smoke. Earning the nickname “The Professor”, he became obsessed with each factor of this slow-cooking method, especially smoke’s ability to dramatically alter the end result. By 2008, Tuffy had garnered national attention in the competitive barbeque circuit, and laid the foundation to open Q Barbeque. Coined as a restaurant offering “better barbeque for everybody,” Q Barbeque has grown to four locations throughout Virginia in just seven years.

When he is not offering tips to up-and-coming pitmasters at competitions or teaching classes with Cool Smoke, he can be seen on Destination America’s BBQ Pitmasters where he has been a judge since 2009. Receiving numerous accolades from The Washington Post, Saveur Magazine, Taste of the South and an appearance in the 2012 documentary, Kings of BBQ Kuwait, Tuffy Stone is considered one of the top pitmasters in the country.  

All aboard The Olive Bus! We’re road trippin’ to Richmond for Tuffy’s November 13-14 session of Cool Smoke BBQ School.

Fall Class Schedule — Cool Smoke Competition BBQ School

October 16-17

November 13-14

Details + Registration

Green Olive Media’s Expanding Into Birmingham

Thanks to our clients, friends, family and support from awesome folks like you, we're expanding into Birmingham, Alabama! After successfully building relationships and working in the market for a number of years, we are excited to watch Birmingham grow into the next hot food city. Our office located in the Homewood neighborhood is officially open for business. Give us a call at (205) 414-7523.

For more details, click here. 

Bourbon Bash at Bank & Bourbon - Philadelphia, PA

Last year we were fortunate to be brought in to handle the branding and design for Bank & Bourbon in Philadelphia. Located in the historic PSFS Building, they're celebrating their first anniversary on April 28, 2015. Come have a drink with us!

Gary's Hamburgers

Just a cool sign (and a good burger) while passing through Johnston, South Carolina.

Bacon Bros. Public House - Greenville, SC

We stopped in to Bacon Bros. in Greenville last week for a quick meal - check it out:

Pulled pork "tots" with pig ears:

Rabbit & dumplings:

We also recently redesigned their logo and menu:

Cherry Bombe Jubilee - New York, NY

“Cherry Bombe is a beautifully-designed biannual publication that celebrates women and food—those who grow it, make it, serve it, style it, enjoy it and everything in between. It is about sustenance and style and things that nourish the mind, the eye and, of course, the stomach.”

Over the weekend, our good friends Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu held their 2nd annual Cherry Bombe Magazine -- Jubilee conference at the High Line Hotel in NYC. The space is stunning. (Our pal Billy Reid has also taken over the space a time or two during NYC Fashion Week.)

The annual event is a meeting of the most brilliant female minds – discussing all sorts of topics from food activism, management, modernist cuisine, diet, and change.

The room at the Highline Hotel is filled with the most talented female minds in the food world. — View from the stage 

Caroline Randall Williams — daughter of our friend Alice Randall, teacher, author of Soul Food Love, owner of 2,000 cookbooks. 

Her mom, Alice, would love to be “the last fat black woman”. 
— "One of the best compliments you can get as a black woman is to be called 'thick,' but the way to talk about it... it's not about getting thin. It's about getting healthy."

Padma Lakshmi – mother, television personality, food enthusiast, founder of the EFA.

On the fear of not having the traditional culinary background of her fellow hosts on Top Chef – and fear in general: “Concentrate on what you do know rather than what you do not.”

Caroline Randall Williams + Padma Lakshmi

We have worked with some great modernists – Richard Blais, Sean Brock, John Shields, Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan, etc. The panel was a dream team of chefs we have long admired. 

From left: Iliana Regan (Elizabeth), Elise Kornack (Take Root), Dominque Crenn (Atelier Crenn) and Anjana Shanker (Modernist Cuisine) 

Snacks — definitely a surprise — lovely diced veggies

Whey — it's here. We sipped this "Skinnier, sassy twin sister to yogurt" courtesy of The White Moustache.

Elizabeth + April Bloomfield

Chef April Bloomfield plopped down in the seat next to us (yep, the shameless ask for a picture took place) and the convo was all about the Spotted Pig burger – going strong for 11 years. Bloomfield originally wanted to be a police officer. Her “fall back” gig was a chef. Upon being offered the job to open a gastropub in NYC, she asked “Who’s Mario Batali?” Bloomfield’s aim was to not necessarily open a gastropub – she wanted to open a place that served “restaurant quality food in a casual setting”

Gail Simmons: How do you manage when you have so many restaurants and people demanding your time?
April Bloomfield: Uber.

When asked what childhood favorite dish she would like to bring to one of her menus? "Duck savories."

April's next book drops on April 21st — A Girl and Her Greens: Hearty Meals from the Garden

Bobbi Brown + Ina Garten

A few notable quotes from Ina Garten —

"Someone asked me to endorse a line of fertilizer and I thought, 'Oh, you want me to endorse your shit?!'"

"I hire people who are happy. You can teach people about cheese, but you cannot teach them how to be happy."

Chef April Bloomfield, Kerry Diamond, Gail Simmons, Erin Mckenna

Lauren Bush Lauren discussing her FEED Supper Project 

Facts about FEED —

So far, FEED has provided 88 million meals in 8.5 years

Elizabeth Karmel, Amy Mills & Elizabeth Moore  

Elizabeth Karmel created CarolinaCueToGo.com, an e-commerce website for all things BBQ.  She is the founding executive chef of Hill Country Barbecue Market in NYC, Brooklyn and Washington, DC, and NYC and Brooklyn’s Hill Country Chicken.  Thrilled to know her and respect the hell out of her.

Amy Mills is one of our dearest friends in the business – she is a barbecue heiress, daughter of barbecue legend Mike Mills, and author of the James Beard Award-nominated book, Peace, Love and Barbecue. Her company, OnCue Consulting is amazing.

These ladies have a rock solid boot collection and are sure to be the best tressed and dressed around any pit.

Chills. Mimi Sheraton + Diana Kennedy 

The Donut King - Eufaula, Alabama

One of our long-standing favorites when driving between Atlanta and Florida, The Donut King is the only donut shop we know of with fish mounted over the counter...

Chicken Fried Steak Thursdays

Our friends at Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q in Atlanta have been featuring chicken fried steak as a special on Thursdays recently - here's our lunch today (with a side of Frito pie and tater tots for good measure)...

On The Road Again - It's Festival Season

The Green Olive Media team's been on the road this spring at all kinds of food festivals...

South Beach Wine & Food Festival — February 20-22, 2015

Elizabeth & Celia take Miami for the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival

Goya Foods Swine & Wine event — Biltmore Hotel, Miami 

Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q at Swine & Wine

Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q Whole Pig with Crispy Skin Taco Charred Tomatillo Salsa, Pickled Radish & Cilantro 

Fox Bros. whole hog fresh from the La Caja China

Bill Schoonmacher, Justin Fox, Cecelia Strong, Elizabeth Moore, Jonathan Fox, Bennett Hollberg

BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival — March 5-8, 2015

Kelly English, Jonathan Fox, Justin Fox — Cross Culture BBQ 

Elizabeth & Sam Jones (Skylight Inn, Ayden, NC) — Rain or shine, the show must go on!

Some of our design work for the Southern Foodways Alliance displays at the Charleston Wine + Food Festival 

Matt Basford of Canoe & Allison "prepping" for a demo — Charleston Wine + Food Festival 

Allison with Griffin Bufkin of Southern Soul Barbeque 

Matt Basford showing off so he can sweet-talk the Evo-Grill folks into a "gift" 

On the heels of his James Beard House Dinner, Chef Drew Van Leuvan of Seven Lamps made it just in time on Sunday

Blowing off some steam — Justin Fox, Matt Basford, Allison Haber, Celia Strong, Elizabeth Moore, Drew Van Leuvan, Jonathan Fox

Love the "Make Your Own Manhattan" at Charleston's Fig restaurant

Reggie Washington & Duane Nutter (One Flew South) playing around backstage. 

Elizabeth & Linda Harrell of Cibo e Beve 

Planning to take over the world  with Elizabeth + Celia + Bill Schoonmacher (Fox Bros.Bar-B-Q)

BBQ Pitmaster John Lewis takes on Chris Hall (Atlanta Chef-Owner of Local Three, Muss & Turners, Eleanor's, etc.) in the Waffle House Smackdown

South By Southwest, Austin, TX — March 19-22, 2015

Thanks to Billy Reid for the love & helping us eat some veggies at SXSW

Smitty's BBQ, Lockhart, TX

Lambert's Downtown Barbecue in Austin - crispy boar ribs!

Combo plate at Amaya's Taco Village - Austin

Our unofficial house band, Great Peacock, playing on 6th Street in Austin (Pictured: Blount Floyd + Andrew Nelson) 

Hangin' with the band, Great Peacock — Blount Floyd, Ben Cunningham, Andrew Nelson, Jeff, Nick Recio, Elizabeth, Clay Houle