Frozen pizza is a handy thing to have in the freezer. Handy, but not terribly tasty — until now. E nter Spenst Bros. Premium Meats with a complete, and completely delicious, do-over. The Winkler business has survived potentially ruinous crises, thanks to an unbeatable combination: A close-knit family with a stubborn determination to succeed — and a really great pizza crust. “The crust is key,” says Paul Spenst who, along with his brother Garreth and their father, Gary, co-founded and co-manages Spenst Bros. “Each crust is handmade — we do have equipment for mixing and rolling, but each crust is handled a few times because there’s a certain process for it.” Of course, you still have to have quality toppings and a good sauce that people like. “The beef is ours. All of the pork is Manitoba-raised. All of the other ingredients we can source locally except for the pineapple,” he says. “The sum of the parts resonates in Manitoba. It says that people want a local product, and that’s more important to the consumer than I had ever thought.” Before there was pizza, there was cattle. That is, until the first crisis hit. It was 2003, and Paul and Garreth had just finished university and were ready to start their cattle operation. They would be the fourth generation to farm in the community. Then the U.S. closed the border to Canadian cattle out of fear of mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). “That turned everything upside down for us,” says Paul. “My mom and dad were OK in that they had all their land paid for and they were secure, but Garreth and myself had both bought land and cattle, so it was a do-or-die thing for us.” So, they decided to build their own meat- processing kitchen and sell their beef locally. “We built it ourselves. We poured the concrete. We built the walls and put up the rafters and everything.”
"It says that people want a local product, and that's more important to the consumer than I had ever thought."
The work took about 18 months. At the same time, a brand new Superstore was being built in Winkler — and it was right across the street. Luckily, the Spenst brothers’ mom, Connie, and Paul’s wife, Felisha, had made a request during construction. Since the shop would have fresh pepperoni, salami and bacon, they asked for a small kitchen area where they could make pizza. The pies were a hit and a side-business was born. “People were looking for other products so we made other things and we coined the
phrase, ‘Food the way Mom makes it,’ ” Paul says. “We make potato salad and soup, jam, relish — anything we make is ‘Mom-approved,’ and if we like it for our family, then we bring it to the store.” But that pizza ... “Dad and Garreth and myself had a meeting and we said we should take this pizza to the next level,” he says. “We actually had to build another building.” They redesigned the crust in 2017.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 >>
SPRING 2021
37
Powered by FlippingBook