You know when you’re dining out at a fancy restaurant and your French toast comes smothered in delicious maple cinnamon butter, or your juicy steak comes topped with a heaping dollop of truffle butter? Churn Foods took that idea and decided to deliver it to the masses. Founder Michael Tashman, a former professional chef, believes that butter is one of the best ingredients you can work with to elevate your food. So he set out to create a line of delicious flavored butters for chefs and home cooks to utilize right in their own kitchens.
Known as compound butter, (butter that has been imbued with another ingredient, or a few), it serves to enhance whatever food it’s paired with. Common iterations include everything from garlic butter to honey butter and anyone who’s had some knows that it can take a simple roll and transform it into a mouthwatering, must-have bite.
Churn Foods currently offers ten different flavored and versatile butters. We chatted with Tashman about the inspiration behind his flavors, why he started Churn, and the brand’s iconic collaboration with Mean Girls (“is butter a carb?”).
Compound butters seem to be having a moment. Why do you think people are drawn to them?
Compound butters are not just having a moment; they have become a lifestyle! People are increasingly looking for unique ways to elevate their culinary experience at home and Churn does just that. Compound butter is incredibly versatile, but making compound butters involves a lot of steps and ingredients, so Churn is essentially the fast and easy solution to chef-level cooking at home.
What made you want to start Churn?
Food has always been a huge part of my life and it’s something that’s followed me throughout the years, from cooking as a line chef while being a college athlete (football at U. of Miami), to working at Blue Hill as a fine dining chef, to now, as the founder of Churn. I loved butter as a kid but didn’t really understand it to be anything more than essentially a condiment (for bread). But as I started cooking professionally, I realized that it’s such a foundational ingredient – particularly for chefs looking to finish off dishes.
You worked at the famous Blue Hill of New York. What did you take away from that experience?
At Blue Hill, they are known for a cultured grass-fed butter that came from their farm about an hour north of the city. I was often tasked with preparing it daily for service. I fell in love with this butter and would take home pints of the stuff. I really couldn’t get enough of it. While I myself was having this butter “moment,” I would look at the butter section in the grocery store and was having the complete opposite experience. It wasn’t speaking to me at all. It was boring, outdated, and really lacking innovation entirely. It was just a poor representation of the product and I knew that there was a huge opportunity for a brand to come into the category with something different and disrupt. We launched with flavored butters to blend the highest quality flavors and ingredients, typically reserved as “chef’s secrets,” with the best quality butter in the world – grass-fed, pasture-raised. Churn is the only ingredient you need to cook like a chef at home.
Where do you source your ingredients from?
We take great pride in what we put in our product, as well as what we don’t put in! We don’t use any powders or dry seasonings to build flavor. We use all fresh ingredients, like farm-fresh herbs, grass-fed butter from small farms, freshly grated cheeses straight from Italy, and fresh roast garlic in-house. We also never use filler oils like canola oil. The only oil we use is extra virgin olive oil, to slow roast our garlic.
Did you create your butter flavors with specific food pairings in mind?Â
I did – to showcase the versatility of each variety. For example, our Garlic & Shallot butter pairs beautifully with grilled steak or roasted potatoes, while our Maple Cinnamon butter is perfect for spreading on warm biscuits or drizzling over pancakes. One surprising discovery was how well our Bruschetta butter complements grilled seafood, like salmon. It adds a burst of acidity and bright tomato-y flavor that takes the dish to the next level.
You recently collaborated with Mean Girls on a hot honey butter flavor. How did that come about?
Collaborating with Mean Girls was an incredibly fun and exciting opportunity. The cultural significance of the movie, combined with the iconic line “Is butter a carb?” made it a natural fit for us. We wanted to create a flavor that would pay homage to the film, while also being irresistibly delicious. The result was a sweet and spicy butter that’s perfect for everything from popcorn to fried chicken.
What are your best sellers?
Garlic and shallot is always our top seller. It’s great on steak, seafood and bread. It’s so versatile.
Where do you find your inspiration to come up with new flavor combinations?
Last year for the holidays we introduced Holiday Herb Butter which sold out online almost immediately. We’ll be bringing that back along with a few more seasonal LTO options.
Do you create all the recipes on the website?
Most are mine, but we love working with other chefs on recipes!
Do you think you’ll ever go back to working in restaurants?
Churn is my full-time gig now and I couldn’t be happier. While I loved working in restaurants and honing my culinary skills, running my own business allows me the freedom to be creative and pursue my passion on my own terms.
AUTHOR
Amanda Mactas is a freelance writer and editor based in New York City. In addition to Beyondish, her work can be found in Time Out, Women's Health, Bella Magazine, and more.
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