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A Bakery that Juices?

Yesterday I was lucky to spend my morning with some of the biggest juice gurus in the business at the first ever Juicing Summit, hosted by Breville and Edible Manhattan. I sat in the crowd with other healthy eating (and juicing) enthusiasts who gave their full attention to the experts who filled us in on what’s happening in the juicing world.

The first panel kicked off talking all about the business of juicing — how it works, what’s here to stay, and what’s to come (if anything!).

    • Panelists included Organic Avenue’s CEO, Martin Bates who shared the company’s focus on expanding their cold-pressed juicing business into providing more food options for the customer. “Everyone eats, but not everyone juices,” so why not appeal to a larger audience of hungry healthy eaters who are looking to chomp? I love this idea because I already drool over their current food options (think quinoa bowl with sweet potatoes,  veggie zest collard wrap, raw chocolate pudding, etc.). And I just may be invited to go taste test a few of their newest menu items in the next month — I’ll try to get a recipe so you can enjoy a drool-worthy meal too.
    • Another panelist was Karliin Brooks from The Squeeze. The Squeeze has been one of my favorite cold-pressed juice trucks in NYC for the past two years (you have got to try their PBJ). It’s become a popular online business where “even someone in Beaver Creek, Idaho ordered juices.” After hearing from juice-thirsty people in some of America’s smallest towns, Karliin’s vision is to “democratize juice,” to bring it to the masses to expand beyond the big cities where juice bars are already popping up on every corner. She proudly shared that just opened her first store in Bushwick, an area of Brooklyn that hasn’t really tapped into the health market just yet. But I think she maybe just sparked a movement, if she can just find a way to get those juice prices down (which is another big goal of her’s!). Look out Bushwick residents, your corner deli might neighbor a juice bar soon.
    • And last but certainly not least was City Bakery’s CEO and founder Maury Rubin. City Bakery is a famous bakery in NYC that he opened in 1990. It has the best of both worlds — one side is filled with fresh-from-the-farm vegetables in the form of soups, sandwiches and salads while the other is all butter, sugar, chocolate, and more butter. I’ve always loved City Bakery for its insanely rich, decadent and heavenly hot chocolate, but what came to my surprise is that Maury is also a big fan of juicing. In 1992, he started serving juices to his customers. Talk about ahead of the times, huh?! The juice bar option didn’t continue throughout the entire 22 years, but he’s brought it back. In his bakery you can purchase a freshly made juice right in front of you (as you peek over the counter past chocolate chip cookies the size of your head). Maybe Maury is paving the way for all bakeries in the future. Just maybe…

 

Here are the panelists in action. From left, Moderater by Jen Wieczner (Fortune Magazine); Panelists: Martin Bates (Organic Avenue), Karliin Brooks (The Squeeze), Maury Rubin (City Bakery).

 

I chatted with Maury briefly after his panel, while I was sipping on a green juice that came from — yep, you guessed it — City Bakery. I asked for the recipe, and voila, I’m sharing it with you. It’s definitely an interesting combination that we hadn’t thought of here at Reboot – but hey when it comes from a guy who owns a bakery and created the best hot chocolate in the world, it’s obviously good.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
2 oranges
1 large handful of cilantro

Directions:
Wash your produce. Peel the sweet potato and the orange, then add all ingredients through your juicer.