Found Treasure: Chef Butter by Monterey Farms (Plus ArtiHearts)

May 2, 2025—The shock is so sudden a neck injury nearly results. I do a double take at the dish in front of me and wonder, “I made that?”

The breakfast dish was about as simple as it gets, essentially a two-ingredient omelet, whipped eggs and dry Jack Vella cheese, with a squirt of backyard lemon and some Pezzini Farms Artichoke Seasoning.

Hence my surprise when I detected a mild, elegant but indulgent element of dill that made me wish my omelets were bigger.

Then the coffee kicks in.

I remember that instead of the usual olive oil, I deployed Lemon Dill Chef Butter on the pan.

Somewhere, longtime friends and former chefs Jane Hayes and Janet Melac had to be smiling.

This outcome—to make restaurant-level flavor so easy it approaches accidental—was front of mind for Hayes when she called her friend amid COVID to share a long-held ambition for fancy compound butters, made easy.

She tapped Melac—who graduated top of her class at Le Cordon Bleu Paris—to conjure the flavors, which originally numbered 25 that they tested with friends all over the country.

The nine they’ve simmered down to inspire recipe ideas by themselves.

Consider the possibilities for any and all of the following: Basil Garlic, Cabernet Porcini, Shiitake Ginger, Roasted Shallot, Serrano Lime, the aforementioned Lemon Dill, French Herb, Blueberry Lemon, Orange Cardamom.

Melac loves the “umami bomb” quality of the Shiitake Ginger, ticking off roasted butternut squash, sous vide turkey, scrambled eggs and steamed halibut as ways to detonate it.

“It’s just super versatile,” she says.

On the Chef Butter website, that type of creativity takes the form of a challenge: “The real question is…what can’t you do with Chef Butter?”

The answers furnished include “step up your salmon,” “enhance your corn on the cob,” and “elevate your grilled cheese.”

I’m looking at the Blueberry Lemon and thinking pancakes.

The longer backstory deserves some telling.

Hayes abandoned a successful career directing kitchens at late great legendary spot Old Bath House at Lovers Point, Pebble Beach Lodge and Tanimura & Antle to spend more time with her young kids.

But she couldn’t quit the flavor game, and set about building a business that would give busy chefs a tasty and well-conceived shortcut.

The first kitchen hack she developed I love even more than Chef Butter: Natural ArtiHearts. (In my defense I’m just getting into this #compoundlife, but have been about artichokes since pre-K).

Hayes transformed her passion for artichokes—a Monterey Bay staple that happens to tasty, healthy and labor intensive—into a max convenient ingredient that doesn’t sacrifice a nanoparticle of freshness or flavor.

When I dug into the area artichoke industry with “Artichokes: Diving to the heart of what makes the local gem great,” her Salinas-centered workshop—just down the road from her favorite Castroville artichokes—was the coolest discovery.

As I report in the print issue out now (Spring 2025):

Doing everything by hand, she and her team rescue artichokes deemed too flawed to sell whole—because they might look a little iffy from frostbite or have a hole in a leaf—hand-trim them to their hearts and give the leaves to local beef ranchers whose cows love to munch them.

Then those hearts are steamed, grilled, flavored and tucked in handy packets, ready for a pizza, pasta, salad, frittata or easy snack, without the work—or the mushiness, brine, oils or leaves of typically imported jarred hearts.

The piece continues from there:

A waste stream becomes a prized product, and one whose simple freshness and flavor speaks to the thought that went into it.

“When cooked properly, our fresh artichoke hearts add an element of richness and complexity to a meal not found anywhere else,” Hayes says. “I have vegetarian customers tell me that our artichoke hearts are a delicious substitute for meat.”

In addition to the hearts, which feel like a steal at around $5—at Grove Market in Pacific Grove, Bruno’s Market in Carmel and Star Market in Salinas and various Whole Foods—Monterey Farms also does a brand new product in ArtiQs, a fresh cooked, vacuum-sealed and halved artichoke, ready for a savvy restaurant chef or home cook.

Can I get a hallelujah from the congregation.

The last word here goes to my #1 tastebuddy (!!), the one who stocked the premium eggs (from River Dog Farms) and cheese (from time-honored Vella Cheese Company) for the omelets.

She also helps press the ++ olive oil I normally use with preparing eggs.

In other words, she has some specific standards in play, and savors simple and outstanding producers.

“I didn’t think it was going to add as much as it did,” she says. “It really does elevate the experience.”

More at the Chef Butter section of the Monterey Farms website.