About Cook Natural Products

 

Our History

CNP was founded in San Francisco in 1908 as Cook Flour Company. Cook operated as a Grain and Flour trading company under control of the Cook Family and one successor family until 1985 when present ownership succeeded.

Our Philosophy

Over the past 20 years we have had the benefit of working with some of the most accomplished bakers in the United States. These "Artisan Bakers" as they are now being referred to in the popular media, have taught us a great deal about flour and Specialty Grains.

It became abundantly clear to us that we could not serve the "Specialty" baker or food manufacturer with the generic milling response that prevailed in our industry. In an attempt to give better service to our customers we sought to learn more about the flour and grain we were providing in our capacity as distributors for the major mills.

In time, we developed a profile of the flour characteristics that a consensus of world class artisan bakers believed to be important to their baking success. These distinctive qualities, while important to the Artisan baker, were not attainable from the traditional milling sources whose customer base is largely dominated by the national white pan bread bakers.

Cook Natural Products has affiliated itself with a series of mills strategically positioned in the grain producing regions of the United States. These mills are large enough for milling efficiencies but small enough to be able to do the "custom" milling required for the artisan products.

Cook Natural Products has developed relationships with a network of Organic and Conventional producers in key grain producing regions. We have long recognized that the biggest challenge facing the Organic end user is the fragmented nature of the supply side of the equation. We are encouraging more and more of our Organic producers to increase their committed acreage, and insuring them a stable outlet for their total annual production. In short we are developing a partnership among our producers, Millers and end users.

The cornerstone of our relationships is our willingness and ability to provide each of our partners detailed and relevant information on a continuous basis. Our web page is continually updated when we move from one lot of product to another. Our distributors and their customers are able to track in advance of receiving their product any variations from previous lots. This dialogue has proven to be invaluable to our customers.

Where We Are

Cook Natural Products strives to bridge the information gap between farmers and bakers. Our flours are a result of an ongoing collaboration with what bakers want and what farmers can do.

This goal is a work in progress. We do not claim to have "magic" in a bag. We do claim to give you, the baker, access to every possible bit of information regarding the assembly of your flour. We expect bakers to provide feedback on past and current performance, and look forward to your participation on future wheat blends and flour qualities.

Grains We Buy