In Portland, Sarah Marshall is committed to local sourcing during the pandemic

By Catherine Neville

During our Jacobsen Salt shoot last year, I stopped by Sarah Marshall’s home to interview her about her commitment to sourcing locally-produced ingredients, like Oregon-made Jacobsen sea salt, for her nationally-distributed line of artisan sauces. With the broad impact the pandemic is having on the food industry, I thought it was time to reach out again and see how she’s strategizing and staying connected to her close-knit culinary community.

Sarah began her career in social work and that focus on human connection extends into the brand that she’s built from her home-based commercial kitchen in Portland, Oregon. You can procure her sauces through national retailers like Williams Sonoma, but you’ll still find her at the Portland Farmers Market, selling sauce to locals and sourcing ingredients directly from the farmers she shares space with. The onset of the pandemic changed the way artisan makers like Sarah do business — farmers markets adapted the way they operate, restaurants pulled back on wholesale orders as they shifted to carryout … the culinary landscape changed seemingly overnight.

Today, as states are beginning to “reopen” and people tentatively begin piecing things back together, makers are learning to adapt. Listen in as I chat with Sarah in the video above, and then check out her site and learn more about Sarah and her deep commitment to the Portland community.

Marshall’s Haute Sauce
Portland, Oregon