Long before Bob Moore announced that Bob’s Red Mill was to become an employee-owned company, people were clamoring to know more about the man behind the mill. Since that momentous announcement in 2010, the clamor has grown to a roar and the inquiries just keep flooding the phone lines. Who is Bob Moore? Is he even real? What led him to start grinding whole grain flours on stone mills? Why does he make flour with stone mills?

As our customers, you know that Bob is very much a real person, but you may not know all the details of how he got his start in milling and what led to Bob’s Red Mill becoming a leading manufacturer of stone ground, whole grain flours, cereals and baking mixes. This is why we are thrilled to announce the release of Bob’s biography: People Before Profit: The Inspiring Story of the Founder of Bob’s Red Mill. This inspiring biography details how Bob overcame challenge after challenge to build our company and become the world’s foremost provider of whole grain foods for every meal of the day.

Bob spent countless hours over the last two years working with author Ken Koopman telling his story from his modest beginnings to where he stands today. Bob says, “I am truly humbled by the release of this book. I am amazed to think that there are people who would be interested in reading my life story, and the fact that this book exists is a true testament to everyone who has helped to make Bob’s Red Mill what it is today.”

To celebrate the launch of Bob’s biography, we’re pleased to give away 3 signed copies of this book. You can have it signed generally, or have it made out to someone special. As a big reader, I can truly say this book is worthwhile. Don’t want to wait? You can pick up a copy for the special introductory price of $17.95 on our website.

{Giveaway}

We had a few hiccups during our last few giveaways, so I’m going to try and explain myself a little better for this one. We are going to use this handy app (handy for us) to count and tally everyone’s entries. There is a great 45 second tutorial for how to use this app here. It’s pretty simple, enter using your Facebook login or an email address and password. You absolutely must leave a comment to be counted. I do double check, so don’t think clicking on “I did this” and not commenting will win you a prize. Do be sure to leave your comment and click on “I did this” or you won’t be entered.

Mandatory Entry:
Fact: Bob’s favorite cereal is our Scottish Oatmeal. What is your favorite Bob’s Red Mill cereal? Tell us in the comments to be entered (then be sure to click “I did this” in the app below).

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I have worked at Bob’s Red Mill for over 8 years. In that time, I’ve watched the customer service department grow from just two employees to ten. I’ve helped at countless events, created incalculable baked goods and spoken with hundreds of thousands of customers. I’ve learned a lot about whole grains and the gluten free lifestyle and I’ve made meaningful friendships, both with my coworkers and with some customers. I’ve been here so long that I consider Bob’s Red Mill to be my family. This fall, however, it’s time for me to say goodbye.

My passion in life has always been helping animals, so I’ve made the decision to go back to school in pursuit of a degree in wildlife biology with a focus on marine mammal health. I’m very excited about this new adventure, but it’s a bittersweet excitement, as I will miss my Bob’s Red Mill family a lot. I adore the people I work with daily and will miss their laughter and encouragement.

My proudest accomplishment here was the development of our Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix, with the help of our Marketing Department and customers like you. (We really do listen to our customers! Your feedback helped us decide which flours to use in this mix.)  We hear on a weekly basis how ecstatic people are when they learn that pizza can be incorporated into their gluten free diet again. Stories about how this mix has changed the way customers approach the gluten free lifestyle make me feel so honored that I was given the opportunity to develop this product.

I have also developed almost 100 recipes in my short time here, many of which are gluten free and/or vegan to accommodate food allergies and special diets. Below are a few of my favorite recipes to leave you with. Enjoy, and take care!

Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies

These cookies were developed when Bob’s Red Mill introduced Organic Coconut Flour to the market. I really like them because they’re light, but packed with flavor.

Barley Almond Coconut Cookies

I love how these cookies are whole grain and surprisingly flavorful.

Lemon Chia Bread

This recipe emerged out of a 30 minute time crunch when I was craving something sweet but should have been at my desk. It was such a delightful surprise. You should ask Elizabeth in customer service how many loaves she’s made at home since the development of this recipe.

Cannellini Herb Spread

I really enjoy hummus, but sometimes it’s fun to add a little variety. This spread uses the mild flavor of cannellini beans and the
pungent flavor of herbs. I think it will really change your idea of bean-based spreads.

Hemp No Meat Loaf

When we added Hemp Seeds to our product line, we needed some recipes to go with them. This recipe seemed to be the sleeper hit. The customer service team hounds me to make this dish for company potlucks more than anything else.

We get a lot of sponsorship requests from athletes of all varieties at Bob’s Red Mill and we can’t possibly fulfill on all of them. So when Nick Duttle first contacted me about a potential partnership with Bob’s Red Mill to support his mountain climbing, I was already thinking of how to explain that we couldn’t help support his passion. Little did I know what an incredible person Nick would turn out to be and we are proudly supporting him with whole grains to fuel his climbs. Here is his story, I hope you’ll find it as inspiring as we do.

Nick Duttle is a professional climber from Las Cruces, New Mexico who currently travels the country in order to climb the most difficult and technical sport routes and boulders in some of the most beautiful climbing areas accessible.

Nick has guided climbing trips in Colorado, enjoys teaching clinics and attending climbing events whenever possible, and serves as an ambassador/ sponsored athlete for several well-known climbing and outdoor companies.  He excels at a wide variety of climbing styles and continually seeks to complete the most powerful and aesthetic lines, always aiming to reach new goals and inspire others to do so as well.

Nick began climbing during college, using the indoor climbing wall at New Mexico State University, and soon spent most of his free time at the nearby world-class bouldering destination of Hueco Tanks.  Despite having a genetic condition (Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia) that affects the skin and development of sweat glands, Nick has overcome many physical challenges throughout his life to pursue his dream of training and performing as a full-time athlete.

Believing wholeheartedly in the importance of good nutrition for a healthy and active life, Nick relies on whole foods and grains to power and sustain his intense training schedule.

Nick’s regular training includes running, swimming, cycling, hiking, and of course plenty of climbing in whatever location that presents the next challenge.

Nick’s favorite products from Bob’s Red Mill have long been the 10 Grain Cereal and the Steel-Cut Oats (often mixed!) which are an integral, if not imperative, part of his morning routine.

Watch Nick climb Esperanza here.

Watch Nick climb Deep Puddle Dynamics and the Automator in Rocky Mountain National Park.

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

In case you missed the segment on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer last night, you can view the clip with Bob here: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/boss-company-workers-9882190

If you missed the NPR segment, you can listen to Bob’s interview on Markplace here: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/popup.php?name=marketplace/pm/2010/02/18/marketplace_cast1_20100218_64&starttime=00:07:24.0&endtime=00:11:15.0

Francesca Berrini at the Farm

Enter: Francesca Berrini

Francesca is our new Marketing Administrative Assistant and helps keep us organized and pound out the many projects we have going on in this company. Francesca estimates that she’s been with Bob’s 7.6% of a year, but she has lived in Portland for approximately 5 years. Before Oregon, Francesca lived in Washington, Nevada, Rhode Island, California, Hawaii, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York! How’s that for variety?

Francesca likes to top her hot cereal with dried fruit, maple syrup (or honey) and salt. She was proud to say that she starter her day with rolled spelt, dried cherries, flaxseed, milk and maple syrup. When asked about her least favorite vegetable, Francesca told us, “I love all vegetables if they’re prepared properly. Okra can be hideous if done wrong. I used to be repulsed by Chick Peas as a child.”

Her ideal day involves an adventure with her husband, probably followed by her favorite dessert, Tiramisu. If she could have any superpower, she would pick “flying, even floating a little would be nice.” In her free time, she enjoys indulging her creative spirit, snowboarding, gardening, biking, and baking.

We’re happy to welcome Francesca to our team and we hope you will welcome her too.

Artwork by customer Evelyn Horne

I have worked at Bob’s Red Mill now for just over six years.  Shortly after I started, I had the privilege of talking with customer Evelyn Horne.  She was trying to figure out an order and was having difficultly determining shipping costs.  I was happy to take the time to hear what she wanted and make sure all the costs were clear.  She was very appreciative and a new friendship was started.  Soon after our conversation, I received a drawing in the mail from Ms. Horne.  It was such a touching display of what Bob’s Red Mill meant to this elderly woman and it made me so happy to receive such correspondence.  I now talk with Ms. Horne a few times a year; helping her with orders, sending holiday cards, sharing stories and exchanging birthday wishes.  She turns 78 year young this month.  Happy Birthday Ms. Horne!

At Bob’s Red Mill we try to take the time with every customer, even though friendships are not created daily, we do hope satisfaction is.  If you have a question about our products, please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-349-2173.

Look, it's me! Here I am shooting some video of the competition.

When our team began planning our trip to the Golden Spurtle World Porridge Championship we had very high hopes for the photos we could capture, the people we could meet, the foods we would taste and, um, the video we could shoot. So we got ourselves a fun and easy-to-use video camera and started shooting movies… er… clips. What we didn’t count on was just how much effort goes into making a lovely video like the one I posted yesterday from Fergus Thom of Carrbridge Films.

I got a video program and my first experiment was a bit shaky. So I watched a couple of tutorials and did some basic step-by-step editing. I am proud to say that after a few tries, I think I have something watchable. Here is Matt explaining who we are and what our dish was all about. Enjoy!

A Wee Bit o\’Banter with Matthew Cox

Next on my list- how to properly size videos to upload into WordPress. Any suggestions? You can email me at Cassidy(at) Bobsredmill.com

Bo Thomas is the head of our Engineering and Maintenance department; he also heads up our comic relief team. An Oregon native, Bo has worked for Bob’s Red Mill for over 18 years and has been keeping everyone in stitches since day one. When asked what he loved about his job, Bo enthusiastically replied “Number 1, I really feel like our company is providing something that is good for people. Number 2, we have good people! Number 3, it’s just so interesting! Working with machinery and observing the physics of the different grains. Wheat acts differently than corn. Teff acts differently than soy beans.”

Bo’s first job was picking strawberries, “I really didn’t enjoy it because most of the other kids just wanted to goof-off. It was very sobering to observe the migrant workers and their reaction to us kids. We were out there for fun and a little money. They were there with their families, working very hard to maintain a level of subsistence that I never had to experience.”

Bo is a hard worker with a big heart. When asked to describe his ideal day off in three words, he said, “My lovely wife.” You can find Bo gardening, watching NASCAR and reading in his free time. He enjoys playing the piano both at home and, to the enjoyment of our employees, on one of our pianos here at the mill. He would pick invisibility, if given a superpower and has a penchant for oatmeal cookies.

Bo can bring a smile to the face of almost anyone and is always thinking up new ways to improve production and solve challenges around the mill. Bob’s Red Mill just wouldn’t be the same without him.