Our Story

Named for Chad. Made by his family.

A locally owned family company, started in 2000 near Bear Lake, Utah, and still run by the same family from the same raspberry patch.

How it started

A raspberry patch, planted for a reason.

Chad was born with a rare liver disease. In 1987 he needed an organ transplant, and the next year an infection took his sight.

Chad’s Raspberry Kitchen was founded in 2000 as a support for Chad and an occupation for him: a farm he could work, and a company that carried his name. His parents and younger brother ran it from the property in Bear Lake, and it started small. Our very first product was a three-ingredient raspberry jam.

In 2006 Chad gained his independence when he received his Seeing Eye dog, Huck. Through it all he kept facing chronic health issues and more than a few emergency surgeries. On Christmas of 2012 he fell ill once more, and in February of 2013 he passed away from an infection in his liver.

The gold name of Chad’s is not simply the name on a bottle. It is golden because it is imprinted on our hearts.

As his family, we are continuing to tell his story and share our raspberry products with everyone. Chad’s younger brother, Patrick, and Patrick’s wife, Kayla, have moved to the property and now run the company. We’ve grown from a very tiny raspberry jam company into barbecue sauces, salsas, vinaigrettes, syrup, and a few jams that aren’t raspberry at all. The kitchen is still a few hundred feet from the field.

1987
A transplant, then darkness

Chad receives a liver transplant. An infection the following year takes his vision.
2000
The kitchen opens

The family plants raspberries in Bear Lake and starts Chad’s with one three-ingredient jam.
2006
Huck arrives

Chad receives his Seeing Eye dog and gains his independence.
Today
Patrick & Kayla carry it on

Chad’s younger brother and his wife live on the property and run the company in his name.

Real Bear Lake

The only “Bear Lake” raspberry company that’s actually in Bear Lake.

Bear Lake is famous for raspberries. The cold nights sweeten the berries the way the first frost sweetens apples. Plenty of companies borrow the name; we’re the only one headquartered here, growing our own berries here, and cooking those berries into everything we sell.

From the raspberry field to our kitchen is only a few hundred feet.

Our Farm & Process

Raspberries are a high-stakes crop. We give them the attention they demand.

They’re difficult to harvest and need plenty of water to survive at our high elevation. Every jar starts with the health of the plant, so a good chunk of our year happens in the rows, not the kitchen.

From the field to the jar

Raspberry canes live in two phases: a year of growing, then a year of blossoming, fruiting, and dying back. Farming them is a cycle we repeat every season.

Early April
Caning

We prune the patch, removing last year’s spent canes so this year’s can take over.
Spring
Plow, water, feed

Plowing between rows keeps weeds down and growth in check. Water and plant food carry the canes through our high-elevation climate.
Early July
Blossoms

When the flowers appear, harvest is only weeks away.
Late July – August
Harvest

Three to four weeks after blossom we pick three or four times a week with our harvester.
Right after picking
Clean, process, freeze

Freezing stabilizes the berries’ acids so we can make jam, syrup, and salsa all year long.
Year-round
Cook, bottle, label by hand

We thaw and cook in small batches, then bottle and label every jar ourselves. The recipes stay in the family.

A healthy choice

Our pledge: fresh, natural ingredients. Nothing to cover up the berries.

Our goal is to bring out the rich, natural flavor of Bear Lake raspberries, not hide it. You won’t find a long list of ingredients you can’t pronounce on anything we make.

Naturally gluten-free

Every food product we make, hand-crafted and gluten-free by nature.

Never corn syrup

Not in the jam, not in the salsa, not even in the syrup. Real sugar, real fruit.

As few ingredients as possible

No fillers. Our first jam had three ingredients, and we still cook that way.

Real fruit & vegetables

Our own raspberries, plus the freshest tomatoes, peppers, and onions in the salsa.