Until two months ago, Scott Brennan was running Café Rouge‘s highly regarded meat market on Fourth Street — butchering whole pigs, whipping up foie gras and head cheeses and holding Monday night classes aimed at demystifying the topography of a goat carcass.

Now Brennan is venturing out on his own with a new business, The Fifth Quarter Charcuterie, where he will be making and selling his handcrafted charcuterie and selling it through local farmers markets. The only thing standing in the way of his launch is finding a kitchen.

“I am still searching for a shared kitchen space that is right for me. The East Bay is preferred, but I am open to start anywhere so long as the space is organized,” said Brennan.

Brennan’s motivation was threefold: he relishes getting out in the community, he’s ready to go it alone, and he looks forward to being able to separate the production side from the customer service side. “It’s always a struggle when you’re trying to work and help customers at the same time,” he said.

As the new business’s name implies, Brennan will be promoting the “fifth quarter” of the animal — liverwurst, beef tongue, lamb’s tongue, pork liver, as well as the more standard charcuterie such as paté, terrine, rillettes, and fresh sausages. … Continue reading »