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Condiments and spreads don’t just enhance flavor, sometimes they make a dish. Chef Austin Orwasher and his sister, Bess, know that’s true—and, so, in 2018 they launched Westport-based Bennett’s Butter Co., a gourmet, butter brand.
Consider the flavors: Cinnamon + Brown Sugar, Everything Bagel, Roasted Garlic, Blueberry, Mushroom and Sriracha Jalapeño. These spreads will take bagels, meat and snacks to “flavortown” (to borrow a term from Guy Fieri). Bennett’s also recently announced a collaboration with Balducci’s market in Westport, where the spreads are sold.
This brother-sister duo comes from a long line of food fanatics. Their family started Orwasher’s Bakery in NYC in 1916, serving quality bread and goods to the Yorkville area and beyond for decades. They continue to spread the wealth and flavor that has become a family-shared passion with their new compound butters. They started making them from scratch for cooking, because Austin realized it was a simple way to create flavorful food. When cooking with friends and family, he found that they were nervous and intimidated about working with spices and seasoning. They didn’t knew how much to use or what flavors worked well together, so they became focused on following a recipe to a T.
Butter became the solution. “We’re taking an already known and loved product that everyone uses,” says Austin, “and we’re turning it on its head. Trying to create these flavor profiles at home might seem daunting, so we’ve crafted the easiest way to make perfect chef-quality meals with this one ingredient. It doesn’t matter if you’re a foodie who loves to cook or a person who loves to order pizza, there’s a flavor and use of Bennett’s Butter that works for everyone.”
The brand has generated buzz from popular media outlets, including Delish, POPSUGAR and Elite Daily. The ultimate success of the products, like its Everything Bagel spread, will come down to using quality ingredients and understanding what people crave.
“Butter is something everyone knows and loves when it comes to cooking,” Bess says. “It was crucial that we tap into the tastes that make your favorite meal your favorite and to create familiar, delicious, craveable flavors everyone would want in their fridge.”