Press

A Family Tradition of Natural, Nourishing Meals Goodness-to-go is the specialty of the house at the new Confluence Kitchen & Market in the Bowman Area

by Jan Coleman
Friday, Dec. 12, 2008


Steve and Amy Ricardelli serve up fresh organic food at the newly built Confluence Kitchen & Market in the Bowman Area.

When he made plans for a “nourishing-meals-to-go” kitchen in Auburn, Steve Riccardelli had no idea it was a family tradition. “It’s the way your great-grandmother did it,” his father said, describing the way she sold home-cooked dishes straight out of the kitchen at the back of their neighborhood market in New Jersey.

Now Riccardelli is the one selling straight out of spanking new kitchen he built here in the foothills, a big step up from peddling his unique take-home foods at Farmers’ Markets.

For Riccardelli, whose background is in the food-service business, the idea for the Confluence Kitchen & Market came to him a few years ago. He and wife, Amy, with their two young daughters, began selling Riccardelli’s frozen chicken potpies.

“Coming from a traditional Italian family, cooking is in my blood,” Riccardelli says. “And if you go to all the trouble of making hand-made ravioli, it may as well be big batches you can freeze and share. I never left my grandmother’s house without armfuls of food. She taught me to do it right, so you don’t lose flavor or quality.”

Soon, the Riccardellis expanded their business with additional nourishing meals and sold them at the King’s Beach Farmers’ Market on Tuesdays and at another market in Tahoe City on Thursdays.

The organic meals – Tuscan Quiche, Steak Chili Pie, and Pesto Spinach Lasagna – gained quite a following. People asked: Are these available anywhere else? How can we order more? So, with his wife’s prompting, Riccardelli began the yearlong process of building the new business, which opened in November at 13471 Bowman Rd., alongside Hwy. 80.

From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, you can dine-in or take-out. Enjoy a China Bar Wasabi Tuna sandwich, the Andean Quinoa and Corn salad or some Latin Pork and Potato Stew. Or you can purchase fully prepared frozen meals – “healthy, hearty, hand-made” – to go. While Riccardelli cooks—with the help of Sarah Aherns, who specializes in healthy salads—Amy manages the store.

“I stock the shelves with everything needed to round out the meal,” she says. “I also visit all the local farms, ranches and businesses and try out fresh produce, specialty sauces and condiments. I’m loving it.”

Riccardelli calls his take-home edibles “comfort foods.” There are four principles that flow together to make it food you can feel good about, he says.


  1. It must be nourishing and healthy. That’s why he makes everything from scratch with only fresh ingredients, and naturally raised and pastured beef, poultry and pork. “Fresh, locally grown produce has a nutritional edge,” he says.

  1. It must be easy and convenient to prepare when the need arises.

  1. It must be local, whenever possible. “When you know where and how food is prepared, you trust it’ll be good for your family,” he says.

  1. It must be delicious. “Healthy food is never boring,” he says. “Food might be healthy, but if it doesn’t taste good, who wants to eat it?”

According to a recent American Dietetic Association survey, three out of four Americans want a healthier diet. Consumers are waking up to the risks of preservatives and trans-fats through packaged foods. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, organic food is the fastest growing segment of the country’s sales markets with more than 20 percent growth per year since the 1990s.

For the Ricardellis, the natural and organic trend keeps them optimistic that their new business will continue to see the success it’s seen in its first month. Says wide-eyed customer Kim Dunn, who drove from Grass Valley for a chicken salad lunch, “Have you eaten here yet? It’s amazing.”