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News 12 Staff

1118spotlightNJpart2_2023-11-18-12-24-11

We love putting the spotlight on small businesses here in New Jersey. Pesto Joe is based in West Milford Passaic County. Karina Castagna is the founder and CEO, her mom, Jean Castagna is her right hand and quality control manager. Look at the two of them, they make a great team. This sauce you tell me, encourages families to sit down and take life slowly and enjoy it. Absolutely. Yeah. So while the reason behind it was in memory of my father, the passion behind it is to bring families together and really spend a nice dinner or a meal together. Um in our fast paced culture in our busy lives, we're always on the run. We're always going somewhere. But something that I really cherished growing up in our household was we always share dinner together no matter where we were, we made sure that we had dinner and it might not have looked pretty all the time. Sometimes it was grabbing it on the go. But we would always, whether our dinner was in a car seated together or whether it was around a nice dinner table, it was important to spend that time together. And so that's really the passion behind this um is in memory of my father. But in order for you to sit down with your family, spend special time together and then really enjoy the accompaniment of your family, your friends. Um because you really never know when your last meal together is we really don't, we really don't. Karina. So basil is a key ingredient and work with basil farms. We do. Yes. So we take, we take the ingredients very seriously. So there's no additives, no preservatives and you'll taste that in a flavor. It's nice and rich and bold. Um For those of you with Italian heritage, you're growing up with Pesto, it might taste like your Uncle Jerry's or Joe's whatever it is. Um It's a really nice bold hearty flavor and that comes from us sourcing local ingredients whenever possible. So we work with two different family farmers in New Jersey. We work with Link family farms and like in and we work with Valley View Farms in Wayne, New Jersey. And it's important for us to um support local while we are local. And then it also makes sure that um you're eating something that's healthy. There's a lot of omega three fatty acids in it. There's no additives, no preservatives and not only does that add to the flavor, but it's the enjoyment of life. It's organic. It is. Yeah, you, I mean, it's not on the label yet. I don't know if I can quite prove that. But it's delicious and it's healthy for you and it's really just here for you to spend time with your family and loved ones. And Pennington Farms. Penning's farms. Yes, that's in Warwick, New York. So that's also a family owned orchard. And I was lucky enough to just kind of pitch the idea. I went in with a quick question of how can I get my sauce on the, on the counter and on the shelves and they said, bring in a sample, we'll put it right up. And then ever since then it's been on the shelf and that's been very exciting. What's that like seeing your product on the shelf? Wow, it's kind of a dream come true. Actually. Um I had always teased Joe, stop giving it away. Why don't you make it a business and make some money and we can do something with it. But that was not his nature at all. Joe was a giver. Um But he'd be proud of you all. If he saw this in action, I think he'd be jealous. I would love to be here on camera. He was larger than life passionate. I always had a smile on his face which leads to the slogan. Smile wherever you go. But yeah, it's been a dream come true. It's really surreal and coming up at noon, Jan shares what it's like for this mother daughter duo to work together at Pesto Joe

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Are putting the spotlight on Pesto Joe, which is based in West Milford in Passaic County. It's a lovely small business here in New Jersey. It is run by Karina Kana and her mom Jean were here with me in studio. You also have a pop up tent that you do. I do. Yes. So getting this off the ground was a little intimidating. I don't really know where to start with a food business. I didn't go to school for food business at all. And so thankfully where I'm based out of West for New Jersey, we're a small local um farm based area. And so there's a lot of farmers markets in the surrounding area. And that was a great way for me to just reach out to my local community. Share the story. A lot of people knew my dad personally. So it was a heartwarming thing that they could relate to. Um especially following COVID. Unfortunately, a lot of people have lost their loved ones. So the story line really hit home for a lot of our customers and that was where we just started getting the name out there. I've had repeat customers which has been really exciting. We've been in West Preferred Kalan and Boot in New Jersey. And then we are rebooting and getting excited for next summer and spring season. And then we're looking into some events this winter, but that was quite more or less my storefront. That was my business. My tent was my office and it's been really exciting. You also have a commercial kitchen. Go ahead. J you had to, I was just gonna say the fun part about all this or hopefully the fun part is us doing this jointly. Um losing my husband and Karina's father and her being an only child. We've grown closer than ever side by side to the wee hours of the morning, picking and blending and dancing in the learning how to laugh at the stress as we proceed forward and, and watching it grow and seeing people really love it. It's, it's one thing when you make a dish and you like it and people try and say, yeah, it's good. But the response we're getting and from the samples and the purchasing. It's just, it's thrilling and exciting and it's, it's a ride we're, we're taking together and she had me laughing on the phone during the preview when she said that the staff is you, her and the blender. Yep. Yep. If you ask what our manufacturing line is, it's me and my mom in the blender and that's just what it is. Every container passes both of our hands. It's really quite literally a very small business and we're on our way up from here. How do you all find the time to get all of this done? How do you do that? I guess you have to be pretty organized. Uh Yes, that's, yes, yes. One of my many skill and that's another fun thing. Our skill sets are opposite and they complement each other and they complement each other very well because we need the organization processing, stay focused side and then the creative full of energy and passion like her father, like her father, you'd be so proud and you are too. She wanted to do this, immensely proud. Um I was all behind it because there was nothing better for her mentally then to live through the process of spreading a little bit of Joe everywhere, like spreading a little bit of Joe. Perfect tomorrow at 6 a.m. Karina and Jane Show and tell about the fossil in the freezer that launched their small business.

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1119spotlightNJpart4_2023-11-19-09-18-40

Pesto Joe is located in West Milford Pass County. This small business is a tribute to husband and father, the late Joe Castano. Don't you all love looking at this video we have from Pesto Joe, which is based in West Milford and Passe County. I want the lovely ladies here in studio to tell me all about it. What is this? What a as you can see the original container there in Karina's hand was made by Joe, the original Pesto Jo which prompted her emotionally to grasp that's not here anymore to make this for us. And that's what spurred the idea for the pirate pitch at Seton Hall to create the business in honor and memory of Joseph. Um So Pesto Joe will never die. No. And what did you call this video? You gave it in an adjective that starts with an F and no, it's not the word you think. Fossil. Oh Yes. Well, what's funny is in that photo where I'm pulling it out of the freezer. It doesn't look like Pesto anymore because it's been in there a couple of years. But unfortunately, since it's temperature sensitive, I can't quite put it on a shelf and commemorate it. So it's just our fossil in the freezer. There. It is right there. And that's my dad's original batch. Um And that was when I really came up with the idea of it. I mean, I've always had the, the memory of my dad making the Pesto and I grew up making it with him and it was a fond um joke of just calling him Pesto Joe and him was the official taste tester. I was, I would tell him when it wasn't cheesy enough or when it was too much garlic. I was the professional taste tester and I've taken that quite literally and seriously now and um so my dad's original batch, I pulled it out and I couldn't eat it. I was just kind of like that's the last one once that's gone, that's it. And so that really started the grinds. Um Everything going in my head of I need to make something of this. And then the summer accelerator program with Seton Hall really kicked that off and I'm gonna throw in another F word here and this one is fresh people because you like to underscore fresh basil is what you use all fresh ingredients actually. Yeah. Yeah. Whenever it's possible, we love to use local ingredients and the basil is really important ingredient. There's actually a lot of different strands of basil, believe it or not. I didn't. And so we use sweet basil and instead of buying it in a box or shipping it in from out of state or out of country. It's important for us to so source locally. And so we work with family farmers, which is also nice and it's their family businesses as well as mine. So one hand helps the other, especially down, we're in the farmers market. We're meeting the farmers who want to now join the Pesto Joe family and we're meeting basil growers and garlic growers and people that have actually offered us their fields for us to grow our basil because we can't grow in our backyard. We have to, we have to buy a lot. Yeah. My mom, my mom would know because her job is picking all the basil leaves off and washing it. And when we do a big load of 200 plants, my poor mother is, that's her job. I'm up until the wee hours of the morning. You are dedicated, aren't you? It makes such a delicious fresh product. Um It's not store bought and it's made with love and care. Don't you just love their chemistry? I know I do. Coming up next at nine, Karina and Jean share their family photos and memories with us.

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We are putting the spotlight on Pesto Joe based in West Milford in Passe County here on spotlight New Jersey. Karina Castagna is the founder and CEO J Castagna is her mom right hand and quality control manager. We have talked a lot about the business itself and what you do. Let's get into family. I wanna find out more about you. These pictures you sent are lovely. Thank you. Take us down memory lane. Well, besides um myself and Karina in the business, uh it's because of Joe and there you see Joe, that is my dear mother. Mom is almost 94 years old. She came to help this summer at the farmers market because that's what you do. She's, oh, she's a big seller too. She stood in front. She said this is my granddaughter's Pesto. You better buy some and she sold quite a few containers and how could you resist? Exactly. She's, she's quite something. Um, it, and it all is about family. Shouldn't it be um, life and love and sharing those times together? Yeah, hopefully with a dinner of Pesto Gel. Save you from cooking it. It's already there when he really was not a cooker. No, he wasn't. Which is the irony of it because it's not even like he could cook. He couldn't because he couldn't. No, he made good garlic bread because he burned it half the time and you can't really ruin garlic bread. But other than that, it was just the pesto. And thankfully, he left us with a great recipe when he was alive. What was the family dynamic? Like? Was he a bigger than life presence for you all? I mean, you knew the real person. Um There was no containing Joe. Joe had a very charismatic personable energy about him. Um People loved him, his energy. Um He's very magnetic. People likened him to Joe Namath really? And because of the photo, he looked like a young Joe Namath. That's who he reminds me of. I was trying to figure it out. Um So we'd literally go to the beach and toss a ball and call Joe catch the ball and people would ask him for autographs and can we take pictures with you? And he, he, he loved, he loved to just have a good time if he were alive today. What do you think he'd say and do with this business? He'd be giving it away for free quite honestly. So in, in that respect, it's a good thing, I'm in charge of the business end of it. Um But he would really just want you to enjoy it, try it. He was he loved trying foods, especially when I was growing up. Karina try this. Karina eat this when I was 2345. If I wouldn't eat, my dad would sit in front of me and hand me something and my dad could always make me eat something. So, um, this is really just a great way for you to enjoy family time. Enjoy a delicious meal, whether it's on top of pasta, spread it on bread, put it on crackers, put it on top of steak or chicken. Whatever it is, it's just gonna do that extra little something. Right. One of my classics I like to do, especially at Christmas time is by beautiful red Lobster raviolis. And you just dollop green fresh pesto. It just makes such a gorgeous plate and it's delicious and it just, it can be part of every day. You can see all of my segments with Pesto Joe on News twelve.com and my Facebook page.

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Pesto Joe is based in West Milford, Passaic County and rooted in family tradition. 

Spotlight New Jersey: Pesto Joe

Pesto Joe is based in West Milford, Passaic County and rooted in family tradition.

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