Pantala Premium Toppings

Susan Odell and Ann Bloomquist are two women who just can’t sit still! The two met in Park City, Utah in 2012, where Ann landed after 11 years of living on a boat with her family. Her informal culinary education came from the inhabitants of remote islands around the world who taught her how best to prepare the local foods. At the time, Susan was already deeply entrenched in the Park City food scene. She was a recent graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, the renowned Parisian cooking school, and was on a mission to share her culinary knowledge and love of good food with the community.

Their paths serendipitously crossed when Ann was seeking better school lunch options for her son. She attended a panel discussion on how healthy eating leads to healthy bodies and minds, and asked the question, “How can we make the school lunch program better?” Susan was on the panel and acknowledged the lunch program was in need of improvement.

Together, they approached the Park City School District, nurtured a relationship with the head of food service, and created the successful and impactful nonprofit organization, EATS (Eat Awesome Things at School), with a mission of improving school food offerings and educating kids about healthy eating. EATS Park City continues today as an advocate for improving the health and well-being of children and their families.

Since sitting still isn’t in their DNA, Ann and Susan set off for their next respective adventures. Susan, no stranger to the sea herself, lived on a boat for three years. Ann ended up in Europe and Mexico. Crossing paths periodically during their travels, they connected on yet another common thread – how to share the flavors they’d found abroad with their friends in an easy-to-prepare way. They agreed that a special topping or sauce often defines exceptional food, but home cooks just don’t have the time (or ingredients on hand) to make these accompaniments. Armed with their worldly culinary knowledge as well as business acumen (Ann in sales & marketing and Susan in accounting & finance), this was a problem they could solve! Returning to the kitchen once more, Pantala took flight.