About Secret Stash Sea Salts

Joseph Conrad first began playing with food when he was young, hoping to impress his mother and two sisters. It didn’t take long for his mother to appreciate her son’s natural gift in the kitchen. By the time he reached adulthood, his attempts were already deeply rooted in the legs of his family’s table.

Nowadays, his knack for creativity, innovation, and execution in commercial kitchens is commented upon by those who eat in his kitchen. Currently, Joseph is the Executive chef of Ventana and Twist restaurant in Seattle after 15 years of culinary experience in San Diego, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Joseph first started experimenting with house-made salts years ago as an Executive Chef in San Francisco. Today, his passion for salts is most inspired by its ability to bring family and friends together over a shared meal or Sunday Bloody Mary.

Secret Stash Sea Salts quickly became a natural extension when he teamed-up with Janna Wemmer.  For Janna, food is a celebration. It has an unparalleled ability to connect people regardless of where, who, or when a shared meal takes place. To her, food and drink crosses cultures, boundaries, and time; it is also what makes connections most memorable.

Together, their salts are the accumulation of fine-tuning within the restaurants that make-up the backbone of their combined culinary expertise. When they are not working full-time at Ventana restaurant, Joseph and Janna can be found at Seattle-area farmers markets. Being side-by-side with others reminds them of the unique interactions that take place within the inside walls of a restaurant.

Local farmers markets are uniquely special, matchless open-air gatherings, over-flowing with one-of-a-kind chances to connect to those who support farmers and independent, small-scale producers. That in itself is enough to make us smile.

Joseph’s innate talent coupled with Janna’s restaurant experience and understanding of food and wine sets the standard high. Together, they are a dynamic partnership focused on producing nothing but the highest quality, naturally flavored sea salts on the market.